At certain speeds and conditions, wind can be strong enough to knock unloaded coal and grain cars off the track. Stacked, empty containers can act like a sail, literally lifting the cars. Damaging winds can also blow down power lines and trees or propel other obstructions into a train or its path. BNSF has a network…
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Snowplows are a crucial piece of BNSF’s Winter Action Plans to keep trains moving and protect employee safety. Snowplow season generally starts during November, and in some higher-altitude or more northern sections of our network, can last into April. BNSF’s Jordan Spreaders, Russell snowplows or “Fliers,” and rotary snowplows have been hard at work all winter to keep…
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The BNSF Railway Foundation invests in the communities across the 28 states through which BNSF operates and where BNSF employees live, work, and volunteer. Recent donations include: Nurturing Successful Young Adults Through Land Conservation By weaving together leadership development, teamwork, civic engagement, work skills training, and direct service to lands and communities, Montana Conservation Corps…
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Part of BNSF’s commitment to transporting freight safely involves training employees, first responders, and contractors for unlikely events that involve hazardous materials. During a recent training in Bonner County, Idaho, BNSF provided a group of 42 local first responders and contractors with practical experience and techniques to safely respond to an incident involving oil trapped…
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How is BNSF adapting to meet evolving consumer demands? What technologies is BNSF implementing to make the shipping process safer, more reliable, and cost-effective for its customers? How does BNSF rise to the challenge of supply chain congestion? Rail Talk had a conversation with Tom Williams, group vice president of Consumer Products, about what elements…
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The BNSF Railway Foundation invests in the communities across the 28 states through which BNSF operates and where BNSF employees live, work, and volunteer. Recent donations include: Helping a Community Devastated by Fire In December 2021, a fast-moving fire in Fergus County burned more than 10,000 acres, damaged at least 25 homes, and destroyed the grain elevators…
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Technology first created in the late 1800s continues to be the most practical solution to nature’s extremes. Snow sheds, which are structures with sloped roofs that deflect snow over the top of long sections of track, help keep snowfall from blocking major lines and protect trains from being toppled by avalanches without warning. BNSF has…
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Montana Rail Link (MRL) and BNSF-predecessor, Burlington Northern, created a unique lease arrangement in 1987 in which MRL leases and operates the mainline track between Huntley, Montana and Sandpoint, Idaho. BNSF has entered into an agreement with MRL to terminate the existing lease and resume operations and maintenance along this corridor. MRL’s vision was to become…
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The BNSF Railway Foundation invests in the communities across the 28 states through which BNSF operates and where BNSF employees live, work and volunteer. Recent donations include: Constructing New Public Space in Havre, MT Plans for the construction of a town square park are underway in Havre, MT. BNSF Railway Foundation’s contribution of $15,000 to…
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The BNSF Railway Foundation invests in the communities across the 28 states through which BNSF operates, and where BNSF employees live, work and volunteer. Recent donations include: Building Strong Communities Throughout the World and Close to Home United Way advances the common good in communities across the world. The organization focuses on education, income and health—the…
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BNSF operates a vast network of 32,500 miles of track in 28 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces. Moving goods safely means keeping all of those miles of track and other rail structures like bridges in working order, even in the face of wildfires. To do this, BNSF regularly conducts extensive inspections across its network.…
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We all remember the beginning of COVID shutdowns and empty store shelves last year. Cleaning and disinfecting products were some of the hardest to find. Like most Americans, team BNSF had to change course quickly to secure an adequate supply of those elusive items. Central to BNSF’s pivot was the Technical Research & Development (TR&D)…
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Thanks to a focus on education, enforcement and engineering, the number of train/motor vehicle collisions in the U.S. has fallen 84 percent – from a 1972 high of about 12,000 annual incidents to approximately 1,900 in 2020. But there are still too many incidents. In the U.S., a person or vehicle is hit by a…
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Forbes recently released their list of best employers for women, and BNSF Railway ranks in the top ten of American employers. BNSF has demonstrated support for female talent through several programs. For example, because the railroad was on the front lines of the pandemic delivering critical supplies, work demand and shift schedules created challenges for…
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Turntables aren’t just for records! In fact, they were used for locomotives long before they were spinning your favorite classics. Use of turntables to turn locomotives dates back to the 1830s, many years before the phonograph was invented in 1877. Record players may have since been replaced with media players and mobile devices, but turntables…
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