First responders from across greater Spokane were treated to a very special train ride this month. As a way to say thank you for their service, BNSF hosted about 150 first responders and their families aboard the First Responder Express. The First Responder Express, which is on BNSF’s private passenger rail cars, traveled from downtown…
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Bonner County traces its rail roots back to before Idaho statehood. The Northern Pacific Railroad first reached Bonner County in the early 1880s from Spokane. The Great Northern came later in 1892 to Sandpoint, Idaho from Bonners Ferry. According to the Bonner County History Museum, the Spokane International built east from Spokane toward Coeur d’Alene…
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BNSF’s specially designed and built fire trains are at hard at work again this summer on scene at forest and grass fires throughout the Pacific Northwest. Fire trains are rapidly deployed and can reach roadless areas – transporting both water and crews. High-powered pumps on board can shoot water up to 300 feet. The equipment…
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The Spokane, Portland and Seattle (SP&S) Railway was formed by BNSF predecessor companies Northern Pacific and Great Northern to pursue real estate and steamship ventures. Twin steamships, the Great Northern and the Northern Pacific, were the flagship vessels of the passenger service provide between Oregon and California. The two ships performed their job so well,…
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BNSF Railway has been longtime supporters of Boys & Girls Clubs throughout the Pacific Northwest and across its system. On Wednesday, June 20th, Spokane-area BNSF employees donated 25 bicycles to the Boys & Girls Club (BGC) of Spokane County. More than just bicycles, though—BNSF employees also worked with BGC kids to help them assemble the…
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BNSF customers significantly decrease their carbon footprint by converting their shipments from trucks to trains. A single double-stack intermodal train removes several hundred long-haul freight trucks from the highway. In fact, no other form of land freight transportation is by its very nature more fuel- and resource-efficient than rail. Rail also provides tremendous benefits by…
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$10,000 donation to the Seattle Parks Foundation to help with Duwamish Waterway Park. $5,000 donation to the Spokane Public Library Foundation for its 24/7 Remote Access Library program. $3,500 donation to the Coeur d’Alene, Idaho St Vincent De Paul Savage Bureau for its Life and Social Skills Programming Support program.
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BNSF continues to break ground in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) – or drones – in the rail industry. We are becoming more involved in edge machine processing through which algorithms process data collected via drones in the field and then transfer it back to headquarters. In addition, camera systems installed on UAVs…
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For more than a century, BNSF Railway Company has played a leading role in North Idaho’s economy. The tradition remains strong today as trainloads of products are shipped in or out of the state on our 32,500-mile rail network. Idaho is part of the Great Northern Corridor which spans the northern United States between the…
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In 2017, BNSF saw some positive economic trends that resulted in performance improving over 2016. Volumes increased five percent, reflecting a strengthening economy as well as success in capturing additional business in many of the commodities BNSF hauls. In fact, during the peak holiday shipping period the week after Thanksgiving, BNSF broke an all-time weekly…
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BNSF once again participated in the Junior Service League of Wenatchee’s annual Touch-a-Truck fundraiser. With signs, trucks and football giveaways, BNSF spent the afternoon exposing kits to our service trucks and teaching them about what these vehicles do to keep our rail lines safe. The “Touch a Truck” fundraising event is a community wide event…
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BNSF Railway Foundation has donated $25,000 toward the City of Vancouver’s renovation and operation of a new homeless day center. BNSF Railway Foundation is also a proud supporter of the Klamath Senior Center. The Senior Center expects to deliver 12,000 more meals in the coming year than last year bringing the total to 80,000. The…
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BNSF is always enhancing our network to deliver the goods needed to fuel the economy. That’s why we are proposing to build the Sandpoint Junction Connector project at Sandpoint, Idaho. It will help move our current freight traffic and future volumes more efficiently. The second rail bridge will be built over Lake Pend Oreille right…
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BNSF was recently honored with the 2017 Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response’s (TRANSCAER®) National Achievement Award for the company’s outreach efforts to help communities prepare for and respond to possible hazardous material incidents. This is the 18th National Achievement Award BNSF has received from TRANSCAER®. This year’s TRANSCAER® award recognized BNSF for its efforts to…
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Answering the needs of our customers, BNSF recently launched new service between Seattle/Tacoma and Portland that will expand opportunities for shippers through this growing Pacific Northwest corridor. The new service positions BNSF as an important link for cargo customers in Oregon who seek more efficient ways to ship their heavy loads to major export ports in…
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