Our Commitment to Safety

Recently, Crosscut ran the article “At Mariners games, it’s baseballs and bomb trains.” Our response to the article, also published on Crosscut, is below: BNSF Railway welcomes serious public discussion of rail safety issues. Unfortunately, Nick Abraham’s piece published April 11 (“At Mariners games, it’s baseballs and bomb trains”) fell short of making a contribution. As a railroad,

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Setting the Record Straight on Coal Dust

It is highly disappointing that the University of Washington is associated with a study that is clearly being funded for and driven by groups opposed to fossil fuels. Opponents of coal exports are using bad science to create a concern over coal dust and advance their cause about coal exports, not because there is any

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Watch How BNSF Employees Are Making Connections in the Pacific Northwest

How much do you know about the thousands of people BNSF employs in the region? This month, BNSF launches Making Connections, a behind-the-scenes look at BNSF employees who contribute to safe, efficient, and technologically advanced rail transportation. Filmed across Washington and Oregon, the new series showcases BNSF employees who stabilize slopes in Puget Sound, volunteer

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Painted Journeys: The Art of John Mix Stanley

Painted Journeys is a nationally touring exhibition organized by the Buffalo Bill Center of the West on view at Tacoma Art Museum through May 1, 2016. John Mix Stanley traveled thousands of miles crisscrossing the western territories in the mid-1800s, venturing as far as the kingdom of Hawaii. The prolific artist is best known for his portraits of American Indians

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Largest Cargo Vessel Points to Freight Future

Last month, the Benjamin Franklin – a vessel the length of two Space Needles — arrived in Seattle, offering a glimpse of Washington’s international trade future. Ships arriving in Seattle typically hold about 10,000 20-foot shipping containers. The Benjamin Franklin holds 18,000 containers that, when laid end-to-end, would stretch from Tacoma to Everett. Mega container ships like this one are the

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Mobile Training Classroom for Emergency Responders

BNSF’s new mobile classroom is making its way around the state for the first time this year. The converted boxcar seats up to 37 people and is expected to host more than 100 emergency response classes in 2016. Thousands of local emergency responders have been trained by BNSF’s Hazardous Materials Safety team. However, some locations – especially more

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New Capital Investments for Washington

BNSF plans to invest nearly $220 million in Washington as part of its 2016 capital expenditure program. These investments will help increase reliability and safety, while also keeping pace with growing demand for rail transport. Over the past three years, BNSF has invested more than $550 million in Washington. Improving rail networks in Washington not

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BNSF Railway Foundation Helps Support Stevenson Park Plaza Project

To help fill a void in downtown Stevenson, Wash., city leaders have partnered with the Stevenson Business Association to create the Stevenson Park Plaza project. The Stevenson Park Plaza, which would be located in front of the Skamania County Courthouse, is envisioned as a new focal point in downtown Stevenson that would promote tourism and

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Supporting STEM education

BNSF granted $5,000 to KidsQuest Children’s Museum in Bellevue, Washington, an interactive museum promoting science, technology, art, and math for children and families. With the help of BNSF’s grant, hundreds of students and families participated in STEM events such as learning about nanotechnology, taking apart machines, and building toy railways.

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Economic Growth Through Rail Investments

BNSF customers and local economic development organizations invested $1.2 billion in new or expanded facilities network-wide in 2015. Agricultural facilities have seen significant investments in Washington state. BNSF partnered with Preferred Freezer Service in Richland, owners of the largest new temperature controlled warehouse in North America, to help distribute frozen potato products. The new warehouse

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A Stronger Economy Through Rail

Grain is a Major Commodity Moved by Train Approximately 50% of the agricultural commodities that BNSF hauls goes to export points in the Pacific Northwest, Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, and the Great Lakes. The Pacific Northwest economy relies on freight rail. BNSF’s rail network moves freight with significantly less environmental impact than other means of

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Protecting Our People

Railroads have lowered employee injury rates by 84% since 1980, according to the Association of American Railroads. U.S. Railroads have lower employee injury rates than most major industries because of rigorous safety training, technological advancements, special operating procedures, employee partnerships, and government safety regulations. BNSF trains thousands of employees through its safety initiatives each year.

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Newest, cleanest-burning fleet in the industry

BNSF leads the industry in having the newest and cleanest-burning locomotive fleet. Over the last 10 years 40% of our fleet has been replaced to more energy efficient locomotives. Rail is already the most fuel and resource efficient means for moving large volumes of freight. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, of all the greenhouse

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2016 Crude-By-Rail and Emergency Response Training

BNSF Railway is offering Crude-by-Rail and Emergency Response Training to municipal first responders again in 2016. The program takes place over three days and covers basic knowledge, skills for responding to crude-by-rail incidents, with over 60% of training spent on field exercises. This is a no-cost training program.

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