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For all the debate over building the Keystone XL pipeline, the oil is moving without it.

Railroads such as Warren Buffett’s Burlington Northern Santa Fe LLC are the rolling alternative, keeping oil flowing from the Bakken in North Dakota to refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast, as the White House deliberates on the fate of TransCanada Corp.’s petroleum artery.

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They’re boosting employment in the process: Rail transportation payrolls have climbed by 9.1%, a pace more than twice as fast as total job growth, since the end of 2009.

These guys are putting real dollars in the bank each week and railroads are making a darn good profit on hauling this in tank cars

“Its having a ripple effect that’s really creating jobs and wealth and investment opportunities,” said Charles Clowdis, the managing director for transportation advisory services at IHS Global Insight Inc. in Lexington, Massachusetts. “There’s so much crude being produced that can’t be piped. These guys are putting real dollars in the bank each week and railroads are making a darn good profit on hauling this in tank cars.”