Since the United States’ earliest days, the American West has lured artists eager to capture its beauty and vast uncharted terrain. Many of those pioneering artists were women. “As men traveled west to search for gold, their wives followed. Many recorded the journey through painting or the written word,” said Linda Osmundson, author of How…
Read More
Before commercial flights became common in the 1950s, BNSF predecessor Santa Fe Railway’s “Super Chief” was the main transportation for Hollywood’s stars. The Super Chief was the railroad’s premiere Pullman sleeping car train that ran daily from Chicago to Los Angeles. With West Coast terminals in California, top-notch service and train cars completed with air…
Read More
Investments from BNSF customers utilizing our rail network totaled approximately $1.2 billion in 2019. BNSF projects 2,000 jobs were added to local economies as a result of these investments that supported a range of commodities including consumer, agricultural and industrial products in over 100 communities on our network. It’s the ninth consecutive year BNSF customers…
Read More
Rail is the most environmentally-friendly mode of land transportation. Shipping by rail can help our customers reduce their carbon footprint by up to 82%. Removing long-haul trucks from our highways has a significant net positive impact on the environment. To improve awareness of how shipping by rail can reduce carbon emissions, BNSF created the Carbon Estimator…
Read More
The safety of BNSF Railway’s employees, contractors, customers and the communities we serve is the most important thing we do. We’re taking the necessary precautions to protect their health and safety as well as ensure our operations are not impacted from the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Freight railroads like BNSF are critical links in a national…
Read More
Since BNSF’s railroad system spans the country, there is a lot of property to oversee and patrol. That’s where our very own police department and K-9 program come into play. There are three BNSF K-9s located throughout the northwest, including 7-year veteran of the force Quinn and his partner, Officer Ian Ashley. The two handle…
Read More
BNSF Railway is always looking for ways to increase safety and capacity on our system. One way the railroad gets more capacity is through Centralized Traffic Control, or CTC. CTC consolidates train routing decisions that were previously carried out by local signal operators or the train crews themselves. CTC utilizes automation allowing dispatchers to remotely control…
Read More
Before there was BNSF Railway’s orange locomotives, one of our predecessor railroads was widely recognized by a different logo: Rocky the Goat. Rocky the Goat was the star of the logo for the Great Northern Railway (GN). For nearly a century, Rocky was closely identified with GN, which ran through Montana’s Rocky Mountain region known…
Read More
Staying safe around train tracks is paramount to BNSF. Below are important rail safety tips that can save lives: 1. Freight trains don’t travel at fixed times, and schedules for passenger trains often change. Always expect a train at each highway-rail intersection at any time. 2. All train tracks are private property. Never walk on…
Read More
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: Supporting Mental Health Services for Military Members and Families Invictus Foundation is a national nonprofit organization that offers individual and family behavioral health counseling services to military members,…
Read More
Polar vortexes. Winter storms. Bomb cyclones. Extreme winter weather is difficult to work in, especially when mother nature is at her worst. However, freight must keep moving as the holiday season is one of the busiest for BNSF Railway. Long before cold weather hits, BNSF’s 10 operating divisions create winter action plans to ensure safeguards…
Read More
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, railroads powering the country’s growth, including BNSF’s predecessors, needed to encourage customers to explore the Western United States. The rail companies enlisted commercial painters to journey west and capture its natural splendor in hopes of inspiring the imagination of the traveling public. What began as a tool…
Read More
BNSF is committed to minimizing our impact on the planet and investing in improved long-term sustainability. We’re proud to be a rail industry leader in protecting our natural resources. Railroads are the most environmentally-friendly mode of surface transportation. Rail significantly reduces highway congestion by taking freight trucks off our highways. Moving freight by rail is…
Read More
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: Remembering Mount St. Helens Forty years ago, the Mount St. Helens eruption was viewed on televisions around the world. To commemorate one of the most universal memories in…
Read More
To celebrate military families and share the holiday spirit, BNSF’s Holiday Express rolled through Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and California this month. This is the 12th year BNSF has hosted Holiday Express, inviting military personnel and their families on board for a special ride in 15 restored vintage railcars decked out for the holidays. In…
Read More
Connecting the Pacific Northwest since 1873
© 2025 BNSF Railway Company. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Contact Us
