BNSF Railway is one of North America’s leading freight transportation companies and a critical part of the supply chain that moves goods throughout the country. In 2020, BNSF shipped 9.4 million carloads of agricultural, consumer, and industrial goods. Have you ever wondered how BNSF sorts and groups those millions of freight cars? BNSF operates eight…
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Thank you to all who attended the virtual Gorge Rail Summit on October 12! This year’s event featured a keynote address from Washington State Representative Andrew Barkis and presentations from industry experts such as Brett Porter on renewable diesel, Michael Cleveland on battery electric locomotives and yard equipment, Paul Cristina on infrastructure and public projects,…
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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: Providing grief support in southeast Washington Chaplaincy Health Care is a resource for hospice services, chaplain services and grief support in the mid-Columbia region of southeast Washington. The nonprofit…
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The Sandpoint Junction Connector bridge project is chugging along right on – or ahead of – schedule. To meet the growing needs of the communities BNSF serves, BNSF is building a second rail bridge over Lake Pend Oreille adjacent to the existing rail bridge. BNSF is also building new bridges over Sand Creek and Bridge…
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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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The Sandpoint Junction Connector bridge project (SJC) has been a boon to the regional economy around Sandpoint, Idaho. When complete, the SJC bridge project will double the track on BNSF’s existing line by constructing a second rail bridge over Lake Pend Oreille and adding new bridges over busy Sandpoint streets. These upgrades will reduce congestion…
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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 Places for Safe and Fun Play Valley View Elementary School in Bonners Ferry, ID values academic and behavioral excellence and play! Increased physical activity during the school…
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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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Construction of the new BNSF railroad bridge across Lake Pend Oreille is proceeding on schedule. Pile driving has been substantially completed over the lake, and construction crews are starting to install pier caps and bridge girders. During these last summer days, BNSF reminds boaters and recreationists to avoid the construction area and provide a wide…
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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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A new emergency response vehicle for the American Red Cross Greater Inland Northwest Chapter was recently unveiled thanks to a $50,000 donation from the BNSF Railway Foundation. The donation was made in 2019 but production of the emergency response vehicle was delayed due to COVID-19 and related supply chain issues. Its August arrival in Spokane…
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Did you know the term “beans” on the railroad means it’s time to eat? Ever heard of a gandy dancer? What’s a mother and slug? Did you know that a shoo-fly is a railroad term for a by-pass track? The rail industry has its own unique vernacular that has developed over nearly 200 years and…
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One way BNSF works to ensure the right solution is offered to each customer is by scouting out potential sites for development in advance of customer inquiries. BNSF’s Site Certification Program identifies optimal rail-served sites and conducts in-depth reviews of ten economic development criteria to determine if the site meets BNSF’s stringent readiness standards.…
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