FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway has sharply increased the insurance coverage requirements for shippers of certain hazardous materials, which has prompted chemical producers to express “grave concerns” in a letter to CEO Katie Farmer. The move comes in the wake of the February 2023 hazardous materials derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which has cost […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway has launched a Shortline Select program designed to improve interchanges and service while deepening the commercial ties between the Class I and its short line connections. The first participating short line is Genesee & Wyoming’s 339-mile Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway (AGR), which interchanges with BNSF at Armory, Miss. […]
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — CSX Transportation is on pace to have the second largest coal franchise by revenue and volume among its Class I peers by the end of 2024, surpassing Union Pacific, and trailing only BNSF Railway. CSX moved 367,000 carloads through the second quarter compared to UP’s 335,000 carloads, as the Omaha-based railroad’s coal […]
Photographer Kyle Yunker “Getting the shot” is a new series of Trains.com articles highlighting the travels of individuals who go above and beyond to capture great railroad images, like hiking several miles for the perfect photo, or driving hours out of the way in search of something special. These articles describe those stories directly […]
With their Powder River Basin coal volumes down by more than 22% this year — and 58% below the peak of 2008 — is it time for BNSF Railway and Union Pacific to consider rationalizing capacity on their primary coal-hauling routes? Not yet, the railroads say. In the heart of the Wyoming coal fields, BNSF […]
Norfolk Southern and BNSF Railway have reached tentative five-year contract agreements with additional unions four months before the opening round of national collective bargaining. The Norfolk Southern agreements with five unions, coming on the heels of four tentative agreements announced last week, cover approximately 55% of the railroad’s unionized workforce. The most recent agreements announced […]
BARSTOW, Calif. — The federal government is seeking comment on a proposed sale of land to BNSF Railway as part of the railroad’s planned Barstow International Gateway project. The Victorville Daily Press reports the Bureau of Land Management published a Notice of Realty Action in the Federal Register on Wednesday, Aug. 28, on the proposed […]
WITTMANN, Ariz. — Residents of the unincorporated communities of Wittmann and Circle City say they oppose BNSF Railway’s efforts to build a new intermodal and carload logistics hub northwest of Phoenix. BNSF said earlier this year it would build the project on more than 4,300 acres in northwest Maricopa County, 36 rail miles from downtown […]
STEELE, N.D. — More than 40 cars of a stopped BNSF Railway train were derailed when struck by a tornado near Steele, N.D., on Wednesday night. A BNSF spokeswoman told KFYR-TV that 43 cars empty coal gondolas were derailed at approximately 8:19 p.m. The train had been stopped because of reported tornado activity in the […]
WASHINGTON — BNSF Railway’s safety practices are improving and the company has a commitment to safety, according to a Federal Railroad Administration review. But FRA recommended that BNSF take steps to foster trust between management and labor, better respond to safety concerns fairly and consistently, and to improve training for new employees and maintenance of […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has received thousands of pages of documents as part of its investigation into the substandard on-time performance of Amtrak’s Sunset Limited. And yet regulators still have a mystery on their hands. The key question they want answered: Which railroads officially host the easternmost 15.5 miles of the Sunset Limited’s […]
SILVIS, Ill. — BNSF Railway will donate the turntable from its Cicero, Ill., yard to Railroading Heritage of Midwest America for use at the group’s Silvis, Ill., shop complex, RRHMA has announced. The 135-foot former Chicago, Burlington & Quincy turntable will become the largest preserved U.S. turntable in the U.S., and is needed to handle […]
