BNSF

NTSB: Inadequate Response to Rough Track Conditions Led to Washington Derailment

October 30, 2006 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON – The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of an April 2005 Amtrak derailment was the BNSF Railway Company’s inadequate response to multiple reports of rough track conditions that were subsequently attributed to excessive concrete crosstie abrasion. Contributing to the accident was the Federal Railroad Administration’s failure to provide adequate track safety standards for concrete crossties. The abrasion allowed the outer rail to rotate outward and create a wide gage track condition. “This is a case where the railroad failed to respond appropriately to warnings of a track problem and where Federal requirements could have provided

BNSF, CSX Create High-Volume Intermodal Corridor

October 12, 2006 Railfanning.org News Wire

FORT WORTH, Texas – BNSF and CSX today announced plans to create a high-volume rail corridor for reliable intermodal services on the lines connecting California, Atlanta and the rest of the fast-growing Southeast Region. The planned service will initially include two intermodal trains each day between the West Coast and Southeast in each direction. Corridor volume on the line is expected to grow with the overall expansion of the West Coast to Southeast intermodal market. To support the planned service, BNSF will expand capacity on its rail lines connecting Avard, Okla., Memphis, Tenn., and Birmingham, Ala. CSX will expand its

STB Releases Fall Peak Service Plans

July 26, 2006 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has released letters from Class I railroads outlining their “peak season” service plans. In June, Chairman W. Douglas Buttrey sent letters to the chief executive officers of the seven largest railroads and to the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA), asking the railroads to inform the STB of their plans to ascertain the demand for, and to prepare for, the provision of peak-season service; their performance goals for the remainder of 2006 and their plans for achieving those goals; and their plans to communicate their service goals and plans with customers. In

BNSF Railway and New Mexico DOT Reach Agreement on Future Commuter Rail Line Between Belen and Trinidad

November 28, 2005 Railfanning.org News Wire

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – BNSF Railway Co. (BNSF) on Nov. 28 announced that an agreement has been reached with the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) to sell the nearly 300-mile BNSF main rail line between Belen, N.M. and Trinidad, Colo. The sale will be closed in segments for a total of $76 million to create a commuter rail line. Under the agreement, BNSF keeps on-going freight easement rights on the line, and NMDOT also has acquired a 13-acre portion of BNSF’s Albuquerque rail yard property. The sale and commencement of service are contingent on completion of other agreements anticipated by

Railroads Return to Service After Hurricanes Pound Gulf Coast

October 1, 2005 The Cross-Tie

Major railroads worked to return service after a pair of hurricanes pounded the Gulf Coast, left thousands homeless and destroyed much of the region’s infrastructure.

BNSF Railway Makes $1 Million Contribution, Offers Transportation Help to Hurricane Victims

September 2, 2005 Railfanning.org News Wire

FORT WORTH, Texas – A contribution of $1 million to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina was announced Sept. 2 by BNSF Railway Company, along with an offer to the governors of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama to provide railroad transportation in support of hurricane relief and recovery efforts. The contribution by the railway, a subsidiary of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation, will be made to the American Red Cross via the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Foundation. “All of America grieves at the unfolding tragedy and our Company and employees are anxious to help. We understand there are matters more immediate than

BNSF to Expand Use of Environmentally Friendly ‘Green Goat’ Switch Engines in Los Angeles Area and Texas

May 23, 2005 Railfanning.org News Wire

FORT WORTH, Texas – BNSF Railway Company and RailPower Technologies Corp. have announced that BNSF will keep its Green Goat, an environmentally friendly hybrid switch engine, in service for five years in the Los Angeles area and that it is acquiring four cabless Green Goat units for use in Texas. In Los Angeles, the Green Goat(R) joins BNSF’s four Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) locomotives in service elsewhere in the area; the four are the only LNG locomotives in the country. The Green Goat uses a relatively small, clean, efficient, diesel genset in conjunction with over 300 batteries to improve fuel