Railroad News

Rail News Home Kansas City Southern 1/21/2021 Rail News: Kansas City Southern
The master planned park will offer 2.4 million square feet of potential building capacity for traditional warehousing and distribution.Photo – Kansas City Southern/YouTube

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 1/21/2021 Rail News: BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway Co. yesterday announced it will spend $2.99 billion on its capital plan this year, down from $3.08 billion in 2020.Much like last year's plan, this year's capital expenditures will focus on replacing and maintaining the Class I's core network and related assets."Every year through our capital plan, we work to ensure we are able to continue to operate a safe and efficient rail network, provide our customers with the level of service they have come to expect from BNSF as well as position ourselves for future growth opportunities," said BNSF President and Chief Executive Officer Katie Farmer in a press release.Maintenance projects, which are budgeted at $2.41 billion in 2021, mostly entail replacing and upgrading rail, replacing ballast and ties, and maintaining rolling stock. The plan calls for 11,000 miles of track surfacing or undercutting work, and the replacement of 428 miles of rail and 2.6 million ties.About $400 million will be spent on expansion and efficiency projects. On BNSF's Southern Transcon route between the West Coast and Midwest, the railroad will continue a multiyear effort to add several segments of new double track in eastern Kansas. Once completed, BNSF will have 50 miles of additional main track to support traffic growth, company officials said.In addition, in the Pacific Northwest, BNSF will continue a multiyear bridge project near Sandpoint, Idaho, to increase train capacity.About $180 million of the 2021 capital plan will be spent on freight cars and other equipment acquisitions.

Rail News Home Union Pacific Railroad 1/21/2021 Rail News: Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Corp. today reported fourth-quarter 2020 net income of $1.38 billion, or $2.05 per diluted share, near the previous year's Q4 results of $1.4 billion, or $2.02 per diluted share.The Q4 2020 results include a previously announced $278 million pre-tax, non-cash impairment charge. Without that charge, the Class I's adjusted income was $1.6 billion, or $2.36 per diluted share."These outstanding results demonstrate the true potential of our franchise as we leveraged all three profitability drivers simultaneously — volume growth, productivity and pricing — to produce record fourth-quarter results," said UP Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Lance Fritz in a press release.UP's operating revenue declined 1% to $5.1 billion in the quarter compared with the same period in 2019. Business volumes, as measured by total revenue carloads, climbed 3%. Premium volumes rose, while bulk was flat and industrial traffic declined, UP officials said.In addition, quarterly freight revenue fell 1%, as volume growth and core pricing gains were offset by decreased fuel surcharge revenue and a less favorable business mix.UP reported a 61% operating ratio for the quarter compared with 59.7% in Q4 2019. When adjusted for the impairment charge, the Class I's operating ratio was 55.6% — an all-time quarterly record."While the economic outlook for 2021 remains uncertain, we will build off our solid 2020 performance to produce continued strong productivity through operational excellence," said Fritz. "We expect our enhanced service product will support both solid core pricing gains while also increasing our share of the freight transportation market."Also today, UP reported it plans to spend $2.9 billion on capital expenditures this year, up from $2.8 billion in 2020. The 2021 capital plan includes $1.8 million for infrastructure improvements; $255 million for locomotives and equipment; $535 million for capacity/commercial facilities; $235 million for technology; and $80 million for positive train control/energy management systems.