Sidings are a critical part of rail infrastructure. They help trains safely pass each other and increase rail line capacity. Each of these sidings have a name and it is an honor to have one of them named after you. Recently, BNSF opened the new Melonas siding in the Columbia River Gorge, which is named after…
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Imagine a community that is 32,500 miles long and only 100 feet wide. That is the BNSF community crisscrossing hundreds of local and state jurisdictions throughout the Western part of the country. Helping to patrol our community is the nearly 200 commissioned police officers and some K-9 friends who make up the BNSF Police Team, which is…
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BNSF has long been known as a quick adopter of new technologies. In 1995, BNSF created a Network Operations Center at their headquarters. Home to over 150 dispatches and other support staff, operations center recently completed a total renovation. With an operating floor the size of a football field, this facility handles 500 train starts…
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Locomotive train history has always been an important part of the history of the Pacific Northwest. Out of the nearly 2,800 Shay steam locomotives built between 1878 and 1945, only 116 still exist and less than 15% are operational. The Oregon Historical Society has been operating excursions on Shay steam locomotives since 1994. This year, BNSF…
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The BNSF Railway Foundation gave a grant of $10,000 to the Suquamish Tribal Council for their Tribal Child Welfare department. These funds will be used to purchase tablets and laptops for children in the program. Tribal Child Welfare supports families with native children living on the Port Madison Indian Reservation by providing child welfare family support…
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Even in the harshest winter conditions, BNSF is hard at work ensuring our customers don’t experience delays. Click above to learn of all the ways BNSF is working to beat extreme weather.
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There has been an ongoing conversation about Positive Train Control (PTC) in Washington state and elsewhere around the country. At BNSF Railway, we have been a leader in implementing PTC and the company began developing PTC well before Congress mandated it. We are fully committed to implementing PTC as nothing is more important to us…
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The rugged terrain of northern Idaho can provide some challenges for first responders. With help from the BNSF Railway Foundation, the Bonner County EMS was able to purchase an ASAP off-road ambulance. This ambulance is already helping save lives. In October, it was put to the test twice in one day with the vehicle performing beyond first…
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Titlow Lagoon restoration project moving forward thanks to BNSF Railway Foundation BNSF Railway Foundation has awarded the South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group (SPSSEG) a $25,000 grant for the Titlow Lagoon Restoration Project near Tacoma, Washington. These funds will be used to investigate lagoon hydrology, fill removal, salt marsh potential, design riparian buffers, and restore…
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By converting more of their shipping from trucks to trains, BNSF customers are significantly decreasing their carbon footprint. A single double-stack intermodal train removes more than 280 long-haul freight trucks from the highway. Shipping with BNSF intermodal instead of using entirely over-the-road solutions enabled BNSF customers to reduce their total carbon emissions by 34 million…
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BNSF and its contractors hosted north Idaho first responders in September to conduct drills on local waterways, demonstrating how to position containment booms and deploy other spill countermeasures. Attendees practiced setting up boom at Dover Bay, off Lake Pend Oreille, and on the Clark Fork River. Thousands of feet of spill deflection boom was towed…
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According to the Association of American Railroads nearly 3,000 events celebrated Manufacturing Day across the country during the first week of October. Freight rail moves the raw and finished products that directly support the critical manufacturing industry. In fact, rail moved 43.6 million tons of basic steel products in 2015 alone. To learn more, go…
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The train whistle, or horn, is an important part of our safety practices. The horn alerts people that a train is approaching a railroad crossing. It can also be used to warn animals or trespassers in our right-of-way along a section of track. Many people don’t realize that federal and state regulations require us to…
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BNSF replaced its Washougal River Railroad Bridge in Camas, WA, using an innovative technique to replace the bridge spans. Rather than lifting new spans into place, they built spans right next to the bridge, slid the old spans to the side across beams, and then slid the new ones into place. The project was part…
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The American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) recently awarded the prestigious 2017 Dr. William W. Hay Award for Excellence to a BNSF Engineering team for the BNSF/WSDOT ARRA Program in Washington State. This project, recently completed after 20 years of planning, permitting, design, development and construction, involved the expertise and hard work of hundreds of…
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