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Rail News Home BNSF Railway 3/6/2017 Rail News: BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway Co. will clean up coal and petroleum coke in waterways, fund a study of rail-car covers and pay $1 million for environmental projects in Washington state, according to consent decree filed in U.S. District Court.The decree resolves a Clean Water Act lawsuit in Seattle brought against BNSF by environmental groups including the Sierra Club, Puget Soundkeeper, Columbia Riverkeeper, Spokane Riverkeeper, RE Sources for Sustainable Communities, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Friends of the Columbia Gorge.Under the decree, BNSF will pay for the cleanup of Pacific Northwest waterways that were polluted by coal or petroleum coke that spilled from open-topped rail cars. In addition, BNSF will pay $1 million for environmental projects in the Bellingham, Puget Sound, Columbia River and Spokane River areas. The Class I also will clean up areas of the Columbia River and its tributaries that have been littered with coal and petroleum coke from BNSF trains.Moreover, the decree requires the railroad to fund a study about covers for rail cars carrying coal and petroleum coke.BNSF officials said the agreement reflects the Class I's long-term efforts to address coal dust "and allows us to continue that practice without the distraction of a prolonged legal battle," according to a prepared statement issued by company spokeswoman Courtney Wallace.The environmental groups initially sued BNSF for $4.6 trillion, and the $1 million settlement "reflects the truth that the sweeping allegations from the plaintiffs were simply unfounded," said Wallace.Additionally, BNSF denies any violations of the Clean Water Act, and the U.S. District Court judge did not find any specific violations.Regarding the study of physical covers for coal and petroleum coke trains, Wallace said the first step will be to identify available prototypes for testing."BNSF will develop a study protocol to assess the safety and commercial and operational feasibility of available prototypes, as well as their effectiveness in reducing coal or petroleum coke dust," Wallace said. "The settlement does not require a particular outcome or conclusion with respect to car covers. The study results will be driven by data and technical analysis."During a weeklong trial in November 2016, scientists testified that a million or more coal particles per second come off each rail car. The particles release mercury, arsenic and other pollutants into waterways along BNSF rail lines, they testified, according to a press release issued by the environmental groups. Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff. More News from 3/6/2017

3/6/2017    

Rail News: BNSF Railway

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 2/28/2017 Rail News: BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway Co. reported fourth-quarter 2016 revenue, operating income and net income all declined compared with the same quarter in 2015.In 2016, total revenue slipped 2 percent to $5.3 billion, operating income fell 8 percent to $1.8 billion and net income decreased 8 percent to $993 million compared with the previous year's quarter, BNSF said in a financial performance statement.For the full year, the Class I's total revenue dipped 10 percent to $19.8 billion, operating income tumbled 13 percent to $6.7 billion, and net income plummeted 16 percent to $3.6 billion compared with 2015's results.BNSF attributed the decrease in earnings for the quarter and full year to "continued decline in demand, in particular in coal and crude oil businesses."The drop in total revenue for the quarter and full year was due to "a flat unit volume for the fourth quarter and a decrease in full year 2016 unit volume of 5 percent, respectively, compared with the same periods in 2015, as well as business mix changes and the impact of lower fuel prices on our fuel surcharge revenues."The railroad also reported an operating ratio of 65.1 percent for Q4 2016 compared with 62.6 percent for Q4 2015, and 65.5 percent for full-year 2016 compared with 64 percent in 2015.Among the business unit highlights for fourth-quarter and full-year 2016:
• Higher domestic intermodal volumes and the addition of a new automotive customer helped boost consumer product volumes 3 percent and 1 percent for Q4 and full year, respectively, compared with the same periods in 2015.
• Industrial products volumes fell 9 percent and 8 percent for Q4 and full year, respectively, compared with the same results in 2015. The primary cause was lower petroleum products, reflecting pipeline displacement of U.S. crude rail traffic and lower U.S. oil production. In addition, there was lower demand for steel and taconite. The full year volume decrease was partially offset by increased plastics products volume.
• Higher corn, soybean and wheat exports helped lift agricultural products volumes, which rose 5 percent and 6 percent for Q4 and full year, respectively, compared with 2015's volumes.
• Coal volumes were down 4 percent for Q4 and 21 percent for the full year compared with 2015 levels. The Q4 decline was primarily due to coal retirement and high coal stockpiles, while the full year decline was due to those factors as well as lower demand driven by reduced energy consumption and low natural gas prices during the first half of 2016.BNSF's operating expenses rose 2 percent in Q4 2016, but fell 8 percent for the full year compared with expenses in the previous year.The railroad spent $3.9 billion on capital expenditures in 2016, the largest component of which supported maintenance and replacement of BNSF's core network and related assets.BNSF has committed $3.4 billion for its 2017 capital expenditures. The capex program will continue to focus on maintenance and replacement of the network and related assets to ensure a safe and reliable network. In 2017, that component is expected to cost $2.4 billion. Those funds will primarily go toward replacing and upgrading rail, rail ties and ballast, as well as maintaining rolling stock.The company plans to spend $400 million on expansion projects, $100 million for continued implementation of positive train control and $400 million for locomotives, freight cars and other equipment acquisitions. Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff. More News from 2/28/2017

2/28/2017    

Rail News: BNSF Railway

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 2/22/2017 Rail News: BNSF Railway
One major project includes United Sugars' storage dome, which can hold 60,000 metric tons of sugar.Photo – American Crystal Sugar Co.

2/22/2017    

Rail News: BNSF Railway

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 2/17/2017 Rail News: BNSF Railway
The Illinois attorney general announced a settlement with BNSF over a 2015 crude-oil train derailment in Galena, Ill.Photo – BNSF.com

2/17/2017    

Rail News: BNSF Railway

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 1/26/2017 Rail News: BNSF Railway
BNSF announced six new rail-servedPhoto – bsnf.com

1/26/2017    

Rail News: BNSF Railway

Rail News Home BNSF Railway January 2017 Rail News: BNSF Railway

The storage dome can hold 60,000 metric tons of sugar.Photo – American Crystal Sugar Co. By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Associate EditorUnited Sugars Corp. and American Crystal Sugar Co. in November 2016 unveiled a $44 million bulk sugar storage and transfer facility on BNSF Railway Co.'s network in Montgomery, Ill. Located 45 miles west of Chicago, the facility is in an ideal spot for reaching United Sugars' large customer base in the Chicagoland and Great Lakes areas, said BNSF Director of Ethanol and Bulk Foods Keeley Motley at the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers (MARS) winter conference earlier this month.In addition, the site is well situated for sugar shipments arriving from the Red River Valley at the Minnesota-North Dakota border."If you're loading the rail cars in Minnesota and North Dakota, you're already west of Chicago, … so you're not having to go further than necessary," Motley told attendees at the conference, which ran Jan. 11-12 in Oak Brook, Ill. The 20-acre site includes a 26,000-square-foot storage dome, which can hold 60,000 metric tons of sugar. The shipper expects to move almost twice as much sugar to customers each year.BNSF officials anticipate that the facility will lead to a 10 percent reduction in the cycle time for shipping sugar, Motley said.BNSF trains operate the long-haul leg of the journey, while Burlington Junction Railway provides direct service into the facility.Photo – American Crystal Sugar Co.

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 1/20/2017 Rail News: BNSF Railway
BNSF has slated $3.4 billion in capital projects for 2017.Photo – BNSF's Twitter account

1/20/2017    

Rail News: BNSF Railway

Rail News Home BNSF Railway January 2017 Rail News: BNSF Railway

Logistics Park Kansas City is anchored by a busy BNSF intermodal terminal.Photo – BNSF Railway Co. By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Managing EditorFor Class Is, industrial development (id) is key to generating traffic. They continually work with shippers to explore a plant expansion or evaluate transportation options that might involve transloading, all with the intent of increasing volume.The large roads also constantly seek to add new customers and traffic sources by promoting sites along their mainlines for new facilities. The typical selling points: viable rail access, close proximity to interstates, and large tracts of land that can be quickly acquired and developed.BNSF Railway Co. has tried to accelerate ID efforts in recent years to gain as big a business boost as possible, especially of the intermodal variety. From 2011 through 2015, the Class I each year landed more than $1 billion worth of new or expanded facilities along its lines, including $1.2 billion in 2015 and nearly $1.5 billion in 2014. And as of late last month, BNSF was on pace to surpass the $1 billion mark for the sixth-straight year, with about 100 ID projects on the 2016 docket, including several at a fast-growing, footprint-swelling logistics park in Kansas.What by all counts appeared to be another successful year is a testament to the company’s ID approach in the face of 2016’s sluggish economy and murky political climate, says BNSF Assistant Vice President of Economic Development Colby Tanner.“We try to engage with customers and communities. It’s important to see [ID] as a partnership,” he says.By proactively partnering with customers, the railroad can develop transportation solutions that enhance and improve their supply chain, says BNSF Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Steve Bobb.“We need to play the role of a trusted adviser that can help guide our customers from the initial identification of a potential development site to its design and its ultimate construction,” he says. “Customer investments — which are key to connecting all types of business supply chains to our rail network — are driven by the confidence our customers have in the transportation services we provide them.”BNSF aims to abide by three tenets to drive ID: collaboration, transparency and responsiveness, says Tanner. That calls for such efforts as assisting states and communities with infrastructure needs, providing detailed information on routing a domestic or international shipment, or quickly compiling a cost estimate on a new industrial siding.The railroad also strives to help potential customers identify optimal rail-served sites for a new facility — an effort boosted in March 2016 by the introduction of a site certification program — and resolve any zoning, permitting or other arising issues.“We want to have an openness with customers, and not dictate to them,” says Tanner. “We try to work through issues collaboratively.”A logistical approachAnother vital component of BNSF’s ID strategy: developing logistics centers and parks. Logistics centers offer direct rail service via manifest or unit trains in multi-customer, multi-commodity business parks that primarily target under-served and end-user markets. For example, BNSF in 2014 opened a $45 million logistics center in Sweetwater, Texas, that provides rail, truck and transload services for agricultural products, sand, pipe and aggregates transported in the crude-oil-rich Permian Basin.A map shows the location of the Class I's three logistics parks and three logistics centers. Source: BNSF Railway Co.

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 1/5/2017 Rail News: BNSF Railway
The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) is proposing the construction of a multi-span bridge to improve the safety of what is now a BNSF Railway Co. grade crossing on Highway 47 in the city of Anoka.The department's recommendation is included in a feasibility study released Tuesday. The crossing averages about 18,300 vehicles each day with up to 80 train crossings a day for an average of one train every 24 minutes, MnDOT officials said in a press release.In addition to public safety concerns, the crossing contributes to delays and backups for motorists while trains are crossing, they said. The study was the result of MnDOT meetings with local officials, businesses and the public to gather input on ways to improve safety for motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists and trains.Two alternatives were evaluated: build the bridge over the railroad or lower the road beneath the railroad alignment.Currently unfunded, the proposed bridge would include two travel lanes with a multi-use rail on the east side. It would be designed to allow for construction of an additional two lanes if Highway 47 is expanded in the future, MnDOT officials said. Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff. More News from 1/5/2017

1/5/2017    

Rail News: BNSF Railway

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 1/4/2017 Rail News: BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway Co. and J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. announced yesterday they both have exercised their right to arbitrate a revenue division in a joint service agreement.The service agreement provides that the revenue division will be a negotiated provision determined by the companies and reviewed quarterly, according to a J.B. Hunt press release.The arbitration involves the division of revenue collected under the agreement as of May 1, 2016, J.B. Hunt officials said."The fairness of the revenue division has not been reviewed by a third party in more than 10 years, and the intermodal network built by the parties over that time has seen tremendous growth and increased operating complexities," stated J.B. Hunt's press release.Although the arbitration proceeding is infrequent and may be "lengthy and time consuming," the company considers it a normal part of business, J.B. Hunt officials added.Because the agreement's terms and the arbitration proceedings are confidential, BNSF declined to comment on the matter."BNSF continues to be focused on providing excellent service to our customers, which will not be affected by this review," BNSF officials said in a press release. Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff. More News from 1/4/2017

1/4/2017    

Rail News: BNSF Railway

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 12/29/2016 Rail News: BNSF Railway
A rail spur between a BNSF line and the park will be built in 2017.Photo – BNSF.com

12/29/2016    

Rail News: BNSF Railway