Railroad News

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

By Vesna Brajkovic, Associate Editor 

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. 

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.

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.

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.

BNSF Railway Co. has budgeted $95 million for capital expenditure projects in Minnesota this year, the Class I announced earlier this week.

Most of the railroad's capex plan in the state will focus on replacing and upgrading rail, ties and ballast, BNSF officials said in a press release.

BNSF Railway Co. yesterday rolled out more of its state-by-state capital expenditure plans for 2019, announcing $445 million worth of projects slated for Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

In Kansas, the Class I will invest $165 million to replace and upgrade rail, ties and ballast. The maintenance program will include 560 miles of track surfacing and/or undercutting work, as well as the replacement of 30 miles of rail and 120,000 ties. In addition, BNSF plans to begin a multiyear project to install double track on portions of the Emporia Subdivision, which operates between Wellington and Kansas City.

BNSF Railway Co. yesterday announced it will invest $105 million this year on capital expenditures in Montana.

Consisting mostly of planned maintenance, the plan calls for more than 840 miles of track surfacing and/or undercutting work, as well as the replacement of 55 miles of rail and close to 110,000 ties. 

BNSF Railway Co. posted fourth-quarter operating income of $2.1 billion, up 3 percent over the same quarter's results in 2017.

A subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., BNSF logged quarterly revenue of $6.2 billion, up 10 percent, and a net income of $1.4 billion, up 30 percent, compared with 2017's results, according to a BNSF financial performance summary.