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Feb
27

BNSF customers' economic development projects topped $1B in 2019

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 2/27/2020 Rail News: BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway Co. announced yesterday that its customers invested $1.2 billion in developments last year.The developments supported a variety of commodities, including consumer, agricultural and industrial products in more than 100 communities across the Class I's network, BNSF officials said in a press release.Last year was the ninth consecutive year that BNSF customers and local economic development organizations spent more than $1 billion in a calendar year for new or expanded facilities, they said."BNSF strives to offer unique supply chain solutions that fit our customers’ logistical needs and help maximize their investments,” said Colby Tanner, assistant vice president of economic development. "The flexibility of our rail development program allows our customers to reach new growing markets while saving time and money.”Examples of supply chain solutions that BNSF helped its customers achieve last year included:• Ag Processing Inc., a $300 million investment a soybean processing location, the company's 10th, in Aberdeen, South Dakota. The facility is expected to process more than 50 million bushels of soybeans annually and create 60 new jobs.
• Hostess Brands LLC invested $35 million in a new distribution center in Edgerton, Kansas. The project strengthened Hostess' distribution strategy with a direct connection to the U.S. supply chain through Logistics Park Kansas City.
• SeaCa Packaging, a plastics manufacturer that invested $18 million in opening its first plant location in Surprise, Arizona. The plant creates boxes for agriculture products.

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Feb
25

BNSF posts revenue decline on lower volumes in Q4, full-year 2019

Lower volumes due to severe winter weather and other factors contributed to BNSF Railway Co.'s revenue decline during fourth-quarter and full-year 2019, the Class I announced yesterday.

BNSF posted revenue of $5.8 billion for the quarter, down 6 percent, and $23.5 billion for all of 2019, down 1 percent, compared with Q4 and full-year revenue in 2018, railroad officials said in a press release.

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Feb
14

BNSF Railway's latest logistics center to serve Houston area

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 2/14/2020 Rail News: BNSF Railway
The 1,100-acre business park is located next to Interstate 69 and State Highway 105Photo – bnsf.com

BNSF Railway Co. yesterday announced its newest logistics center — the Logistics Center North Houston at Cleveland in Texas.

Once completed, the rail-served development is designed to help businesses increase their reach and speed to the Houston market and surrounding area, BNSF officials said in a press release.

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Feb
10

BNSF awards grant to support military behavioral health

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 2/10/2020 Rail News: BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway Co. last week awarded a grant to the Invictus Foundation to support the nonprofit’s efforts to raise awareness of the psychological impact of war and provide counseling services for military members, veterans and their families.The grant amount was not disclosed in a press release.The foundation will use the grant to advance its Welcome Home Network of licensed volunteer behavioral health professionals who offer no-cost critical and confidential support for military members and their families, Invictus Foundation officials said.The grant also will allow the nonprofit to move into the planning and development phase of its planned Psychological Health Center in the Puget Sound Basin in Washington.

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Feb
04

BNSF budgets $3.4 billion for capital expenditures in 2020

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 2/4/2020 Rail News: BNSF Railway
The photo shows a BNSF siding extension project underway at Ash Fork, Arizona. The siding is being extended to 16,000 feet, allowing for longer trains to operate to and from Phoenix.Photo – bnsf.com

BNSF Railway Co. will spend $3.4 billion on capital expenditures this year, down from the $3.57 billion the Class I budgeted in 2019.

This year's plan emphasizes maintaining network infrastructure as well as expansion projects designed to meet customer demand, BNSF officials said last week in a customer notification.

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Jan
14

BNSF in solid position as silver anniversary nears

An amalgamation of 390 railroads — some of which are more than a century old — BNSF will mark its 25th anniversary on Sept. 22.Photo – BNSF Railway Co.

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

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Nov
05

BNSF posts higher Q3 operating income, lower revenue

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 11/5/2019 Rail News: BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway Co. reported third-quarter operating income rose 3 percent to $2.2 billion, while total revenue fell 2 percent to $6 billion compared with the same period a year ago.Increased rates per car were partially offset by a 3 percent decrease in unit volume caused by flooding on parts of the network, according to an income statement on BNSF's website. BNSF is owned by Berkshire Hathaway Inc.Year over year, BNSF's third-quarter results also showed:
• Consumer products volume fell 1 percent primarily due to lower intermodal volumes.
• Industrial products volume decreased 3 percent primarily due to overall softness in the industrial sector, lower sand volume and reduced car loadings. Strength in the energy sector, which drove higher demand for petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas, partially offset the decrease in other volumes.
• Agricultural products volume slumped 6 percent due to export competition from non-U.S. sources and the impact of changes in international trade policies.
• Coal volume dropped 4 percent partly due to the impact of lower natural gas prices.On the expense side of the ledger, third-quarter operating expenses fell 5 percent to $3.8 billion from $4 billion last year.The railroad's third-quarter operating ratio was 62.6 percent versus 64.5 percent a year ago.BNSF also announced that its 2019 capital expenditures plan will cost $3.67 billion, or $100 million higher than previously announced, "with a continued emphasis on maintaining and expanding its network."

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Oct
31

BNSF identifies six rail-served industrial sites ready for development

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 10/31/2019 Rail News: BNSF Railway
The map shows BNSF's Certified Sites.Photo – BNSF Railway Co.

BNSF Railway Co. yesterday announced six new industrial locations have been awarded the Class I's Certified Sites designation.

Four of the sites are the first for their state in Arizona, Minnesota, Mississippi and Missouri. Two new sites were named in Illinois, bringing that state's count to four, BNSF officials said in a press release.

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Oct
07

Willmar rail connector project is starting to take shape, MnDOT says

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 10/7/2019 Rail News: BNSF Railway
Construction has begun on a rail connector and industrial access project involving BNSF Railway Co. in Willmar, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) reported last week.Known as Willmar Wye, the project is a public-private partnership between BNSF, MnDOT, Kandiyohi County and the city of Willmar to build a new rail line bypass on the city's west side.The project includes the realignment of Highway 12 and the reconstruction of Highway 40, including two new bridges. It will create a direct connection for BNSF traffic between two existing main track subdivisions, the Morris subdivision and the Marshall subdivision, according to MnDOT's project update.Those subdivisions serve local, regional and national rail customers in northwest, Midwest and southern states.Road construction began in July and is expected to wrap up in fall 2021. Rail construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2021 and end in fall 2022.As of last week, work crews began placing storm sewer pipes in the roundabout at U.S. 12 and Country Road 5. They continued constructing bridge approach embankments on highways 12 and 40 and County Road 55. The Hawk Creek diversion channel is begin dug to facilitate the placement of a box culvert under Highway 40, MnDOT officials said.The contractor team's major participants are Hoffman Construction Co., Lunda Construction Co. and Bolton & Menck Inc.

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Sep
09

U.S. Coast Guard approves BNSF's Idaho rail bridge plan

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 9/9/2019 Rail News: BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway Co.'s proposal to build two bridges as part of a second rail line in northern Idaho meets federal environmental requirements, the U.S. Coast Guard announced last week.BNSF wants to construct railroad bridges across Lake Pend Oreille and Sand Creek at Sandpoint in Bonner County, Idaho. As structures over U.S. navigable waters, the proposed bridges required a Coast Guard permit. In releasing its final environmental assessment, the Coast Guard announced it found the bridge project would have no significant impact on the environment, according to Sept. 5 notice in the Federal Register.BNSF proposed the project because the current single-track configuration has become an operational constraint, resulting in congestion on the railroad's mainline, yards and sidings as trains wait for clearance to cross the existing single-track bridges.Moreover, trains waiting to cross often block vehicular traffic at public and private grade crossings. According to BNSF, the project will relieve the congestion and allow for a more efficient movement of trains through the Lake Pend Oreille region.

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Aug
23

Report: BNSF challenges Oklahoma grade-crossing law

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 8/23/2019 Rail News: BNSF Railway
BNSF filed a lawsuit over the Oklahoma law in federal court.Photo – BNSF Railway Co.

BNSF Railway Co. is challenging in federal court an Oklahoma law that requires railroads operating in the state to minimize blocking grade crossings for longer than 10 minutes without good reason, an Oklahoma newspaper reported today.

The suit, which the Class I filed yesterday in Oklahoma City, targets Oklahoma's elected corporation commissioners and two cities' police departments that have cited the railroad for violations so far, The Oklahoman reported.

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Aug
06

BNSF posts higher Q2 income, lower operating ratio

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 8/6/2019 Rail News: BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway Co. reported second-quarter 2019 revenue rose 0.3 percent to $5.89 billion, while operating income jumped 7 percent to $2 billion compared with the same period last year, the Class I announced yesterday.Revenue and operating income increases were attributed in part to higher revenue per car/unit. The railroad posted the increases despite a 4 percent decrease in unit volume for the quarter due to severe winter weather and flooding conditions on parts of its network, according to a financial statement posted on BNSF's website.Operating expenses for the quarter fell 3 percent to $3.89 billion, while net income climbed 2 percent to $1.34 billion. BNSF posted a Q2 operating ratio of 64.8 percent, compared to 66.8 percent a year ago.Also during Q2 compared with a year ago, BNSF reported consumer product volumes declined 6 percent; industrial product volumes were flat; agricultural product volumes fell 4 percent and coal volumes ticked up 1 percent.BNSF is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

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Jun
07

BNSF to serve Ceres Global's new hydrocarbon transloading venture

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 6/7/2019 Rail News: BNSF Railway
The joint venture's facilities will be located at Ceres' Northgate rail terminal in Saskatchewan, Canada, which is served by BNSF Railway Co.Photo – Ceres Global Ag, Youtube

Ceres Global Ag Corp. has established a yet-to-be-named joint venture with Steel Reef Infrastructure Corp. that will focus on transloading hydrocarbon products for transportation between the United States and Canada.

The joint venture's facilities will be located at Ceres' Northgate rail terminal in Saskatchewan, Canada, which is served by BNSF Railway Co. The joint venture will begin operations July 1, according to a Ceres press release.

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May
07

BNSF posts higher revenue, income in Q1; Buffett warms to PSR, report says

BNSF Railway Co. reported its first-quarter 2019 operating income rose 2 percent to $1.8 billion, total revenue climbed 2 percent to $5.76 billion and net income jumped 9 percent to $1.25 billion compared with the same period a year ago.

The Class I attributed its growth in total revenue to higher rates per car, a favorable outcome of an arbitration hearing and higher fuel surcharges, according to a quarterly financial summary posted on bnsf.com.

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Apr
25

Toyota honors BNSF for rail logistics excellence

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 4/25/2019 Rail News: BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway Co. has received the 2018 President's Award for Rail Logistics Excellence from Toyota Logistics Services for the fifth consecutive year.The award is Toyota's highest supplier honor to recognize service partners that demonstrate excellence in quality, customer service, continuous improvement and on-time performance."Our goal is always the safe and reliable transportation of freight, including finished vehicles," said Dave Fleenor, BNSF's assistant vice president of automotive marketing, in a press release. "Earning this recognition from Toyota for the fifth consecutive year shows our dedication to move our automotive customers’ products efficiently and without damage."Last year, BNSF handled more than 560,000 Toyota and Lexus vehicles throughout the United States and Canada. BNSF also received Toyota Logistics Services’ Logistics Excellence Awards for kaizen (continuous improvement) and for customer service.

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Apr
15

Inside BNSF’s advanced drone inspection operation

BNSF has used rotorcraft drones to complete a variety of tasks, from collecting images to general surveying.Photo – BNSF Railway Co.

By Vesna Brajkovic, Associate Editor 

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Apr
12

BNSF receives FAA exemption to advance drone operations

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

BNSF Railway Co. last week was granted exemptions from the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016, which will help lay the foundation for expanded drone operations, according to an FAA grant of exemption document

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Mar
07

BNSF breaks ground on logistics center near Denver

BNSF Railway Co. announced yesterday that construction is underway on its newest logistics center, located in Hudson, Colorado, near Denver.

The Logistics Center Hudson is designed to help customers more easily reach Denver and surrounding markets through rail-served sites, BNSF officials said in a press release.

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Mar
06

BNSF announces capex projects for Illinois, Oklahoma

BNSF Railway Co. on Monday announced plans for $240 million in capital expenditure projects in Illinois and Oklahoma for this year.

In Illinois, the Class I will perform $135 million-worth of maintenance projects to replace and upgrade rail, ties and ballast.

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Mar
04

Viterra acquires General Mills' stake in North Dakota grain facility

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 3/4/2019 Rail News: BNSF Railway
BNSF serves the grain facility in Northgate, North Dakota.Photo – bnsf.com

Viterra USA LLC closed last month on its acquisition of General Mills' 50 percent ownership stake in a BNSF Railway Co.-served grain facility in Northgate, North Dakota.

In addition to the grain facility, Viterra's presence in the state includes special crops facilities in Ray and Minot, as well as a grain elevator in Grand Forks.

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