Railroad News

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

BNSF Railway Co. is moving strong volumes throughout its network during the late portion of the peak season, according to a customer letter issued by the Class I Dec. 21.

Volume in the week ending Dec. 15 increased slightly over the prior week and represented a new year-to-date high at nearly 216,500 units, BNSF officials wrote in the letter. Year-to-date volume through that week totaling 10.3 million carloads and intermodal units exceeded the full-year volume in each of the past 11 years, they said.

The City Council of Willmar, Minnesota, this week unanimously approved master agreements for the Willmar Wye rail project.

The project is a public-private partnership between BNSF Railway Co., the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), Kandiyohi County and the city of Willmar to build a new rail line bypass on the city's west side.

American Honda Motor Co. recently honored BNSF Railway Co. with the auto manufacturer's Premier Partner Award for excellence in transportation.

The Class I was among 15 of Honda's suppliers to receive the award. BNSF was recognized for "efficient and reliable railway transport of finished vehicles," according to a BNSF press release.

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 Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) yesterday marked the completion of seven grade separation projects along a BNSF Railway Co. line running through Fullerton, Anaheim and Placentia, California.

The $663 million effort involved building vehicular bridges and underpasses to separate motorists and pedestrians from the rail line, which is used by at least 70 trains daily.

BNSF Railway Co.'s net income fell 20 percent to $772 million and total revenue declined 15 percent to $4.6 billion in the second quarter compared with year-ago results, according to Berkshire Hathaway, the Class I's parent company.

BNSF's operating income in the quarter dropped 16 percent to nearly $1.5 billion, while operating expenses declined 14 percent to about $3 billion compared with second-quarter 2015 results.

BNSF Railway Co. is appealing a judge's ruling against the Class I's proposal to build the Southern California International Gateway (SCIG) rail yard near the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.

In March, a California judge determined that an environmental review of the SCIG was insufficient, and ordered the city of Los Angeles and the Board of Harbor Commissioners to set aside their approvals of the project.

Two BNSF Railway Co. trains collided head-on in Panhandle, Texas, last month after one of the trains missed a stop signal, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced yesterday in a preliminary report.

Three crew members died when the eastbound and westbound trains collided at 8:21 a.m. June 28 in BNSF's Panhandle Subdivision. The collision caused the derailment of the locomotives and several cars from both trains, and resulted in a significant fire.

The remains of two BNSF Railway Co. crew members involved in a train collision on Tuesday have been recovered, the railroad announced yesterday.

A third crew member is still unaccounted for, while a fourth crew member is in "stable" condition at a local hospital, BNSF officials said in a post on the company's website.

Two BNSF Railway Co. trains were traveling on the same track when they collided head-on yesterday morning near Panhandle, Texas.

Three crew members are missing, and one crew member was injured after he jumped from the train before the collision, according to local news reports. Each train had a conductor and an engineer on board.

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

Iron Horse Permian Basin LLC recently took delivery of the largest frac sand unit train in North American history by length and weight at 151 rail cars and 17,469 tons. The train arrived June 2 at the company's Delaware Basin rail terminal in Artesia, N.M.

BNSF Railway Co. eliminated 62 management jobs last week and realigned its operations organization from three regions to two as of June 1.

Two major factors drove the changes: a reduction in coal traffic as well as "significant capital investments" made to increase efficiency and safety, according to a company statement.

A Wisconsin judge has determined that state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) officials followed state law when they issued permits to BNSF Railway Co. to build a second track through a marsh in LaCrosse, according to a report in The LaCrosse Tribune.

In a petition filed last year, the Midwest Environmental Advocates filed a petition arguing that the DNR did not conduct a full environmental impact statement under Wisconsin law when it reviewed BNSF's application, the newspaper reported.

The Orange County Transit Authority (OCTA) and local government officials recently marked the completion or near completion of two rail bridge projects as part of a broader effort by Orange, County, Calif., to separate car and pedestrian traffic from a freight-rail line, the authority announced earlier this week.

A ceremony was held Tuesday on top of the new Orangethorpe Avenue overpass near Miller Street at the border of Placentia and Anaheim, Calif. Construction has been underway for the past three years on the Orangethorpe overpass and the Tustin Avenue/Rose Road overpass.

BNSF Railway Co. announced late last week that Greg Fox, executive vice president of operations, will retire in August after more than 30 years with the railroad.

Fox, who has served in his current post since November 2010, will be succeeded by Dave Freeman effective June 1. Freeman will oversee the entire operations organization, including engineering, environmental, mechanical, operations support, transportation, safety and training, service design and resource protection.

At nearly 37 mph, BNSF's intermodal train velocity of late is about 17 percent higher than the U.S. Class I average.

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., Senior Associate Editor

BNSF Railway Co.'s first-quarter 2016 net income plummeted 25 percent to $784 million and revenue fell 15 percent to $4.8 billion compared with a year ago, as the Class I faced a continued decline in demand for coal and certain industrial products categories, according to a government filing by BNSF parent company Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

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

Curwin Piper typically brings his rig to BNSF Railway Co.’s Dallas-area intermodal terminal four or five times a day. A truck driver for WB Container Services Inc., Piper got used to spending five minutes or more providing shipment information and waiting at an in-gate kiosk each time he delivered a trailer to the facility in Alliance, Texas, then another five-plus minutes doing likewise when he departed.