Railroad News

BNSF Railway Co.'s $3.3 billion capital investment plan will put the railroad in a position to meet customers' growth and service expectations this year, President and Chief Executive Officer Carl Ice told the Surface Transportation Board (STB) last week.

Ice is one of two Class I executives to respond so far to the STB's recent request for 2018 service outlook reports, as the board looks into shippers' complaints about deteriorating freight-rail service.

BNSF Railway Co.'s 2018 capital expenditure program will include $90 million for maintenance projects in Minnesota.

The largest component of this year's capital plan in the state will be replacing and upgrading rail, ties and ballast, the Class I announced in a press release.

The Washington Department of Ecology last week approved BNSF Railway Co.'s response plan in the event of a crude-oil spill.

The action marks the first railroad oil-spill plan approved in the state, according to a department press release.

BNSF Railway Co. will spend $80 million this year on maintenance and expansion projects in New Mexico.

About half of BNSF's New Mexico capital expenditures plan will focus on upgrading rail, ties and ballast. The remainder of the plan will go toward track expansion, including in the Gallup Subdivision.

BNSF Railway Co. has requested to join Lighthouse Resources' lawsuit against Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and key members of his administration over permit denials for Millennium Bulk Terminals' proposed Longview coal terminal.

BNSF's complaint contends that Washington state officials unduly violated interstate commerce, a violation of the U.S. Constitution's dormant commerce clause and the ICC Termination Act (ICCTA) by using supposed rail impacts to deny permits for Millennium Bulk Terminals.

BNSF Railway Co. posted fourth-quarter and full-year operating income of $2 billion and $7.3 billion respectively, an increase of 11 percent and 10 percent, respectively, compared with the same periods in 2016, the Class I reported yesterday.

Fourth-quarter revenue rose 6 percent to $5.6 billion, while full-year revenue increased 8 percent to $21.3 billion. BNSF attributed those results to increases in unit volume for the fourth quarter of 3 percent and full year of 5 percent, as well as higher average revenue per car/unit.

BNSF Railway Co. will spend $110 million this year on network maintenance projects in Oklahoma.

The Class I's Oklahoma capital expenditures program in 2018 will primarily focus on replacing and upgrading rail, ties and ballast, according to a BNSF press release.

BNSF Railway Co. this week continued to roll out its 2018 capital expenditure plans for individual states where the Class I's network operates. BNSF's latest announcements: Texas, Kansas and Missouri.

In Texas, BNSF expects to spend $375 million this year on maintenance of rail, ties and ballast, as well as expansion projects designed to enhance the network's capacity and fluidity, BNSF officials said in a press release.

BNSF Railway Co. will spend $160 million to upgrade its infrastructure in Washington state, the Class I announced yesterday.

The railroad's Washington capital expenditures plan this year will focus on maintenance projects. The plan's largest component will involve replacing and upgrading rail, ties and ballast, BNSF officials said in a press release.

BNSF Railway Co.'s customers invested nearly $7.7 billion in new or expanded facilities in 2017, the Class I announced yesterday.

Last year marked the seventh consecutive year that BNSF customers and local economic development organizations invested more than $1 billion in a calendar year on new or expanded facilities. The investments are expected to generate 3,500 new jobs in local communities, according to a BNSF press release.

BNSF Railway Co. will spend $3.3 billion on capital expenses this year, the Class I announced yesterday.

The investment is the same amount as last year's capital budget, according to a BNSF press release.

A Cloud Peak Energy subsidiary has entered into a term coal export sales agreement with Singapore-based JERA Trading Ltd.

Coal produced at Cloud Peak Energy's Spring Creek mine near Decker, Montana, will be carried by BNSF Railway Co. to Westshore Terminals at Roberts Bank, Vancouver, where it will be loaded and shipped to two new integrated coal gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plants in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.

By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Managing Editor

By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Managing Editor

BNSF Railway Co. and the Port of Portland have begun offering a new service at Terminal 6 that enables shippers to move their products on a rail shuttle to the Puget Sound ports.

The new partnership will move containers between Portland and Seattle/Tacoma, where goods can be loaded onto ocean carriers. The rail service will operate five days a week.