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A message from Carl Ice, CEO of BNSF Railway
As we move forward in 2017, we must remain strong, resilient and agile while driving continued improvements in safety, service, efficiency and reliability for our customers.
Safety will always be the most important thing we do, and we will not be successful until we achieve our safety vision.
Change is constant and the pace of change is accelerating.
We moved record volumes of Agricultural Products, increased frac sand shipments in Industrial Products and our Consumer Products business continued to serve as our overall volume leader representing more than half of our 2016 volumes, reflecting our ability to capture increased automotive and domestic intermodal business. Actions like identifying new ways to leverage our existing network to gain market share, developing new markets or offering new services that we couldn’t have previously offered will be important to our future.
Our service to customers was solid through most of 2016 thanks to the hard work of employees and our significant capital investments over the past several years. We did experience some challenges along our Northern Corridor and faced severe winter weather that impacted service in the final months of the year.
As we move through 2017, I remain as confident in our future as I’ve ever been because we continue to be relevant to our customers and the communities that we serve. We are proud to be railroaders because what we do is important – safely moving the goods that are vital to our nation and our economy every day.
The full 2016 annual report can be read by clicking
HERE.
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Oregon and BNSF honor Bend, Oregon WWII hero
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Andrew Johnsen, BNSF’s Assistant Vice President of Community Affairs, honors Bob Maxwell, the oldest Medal of Honor recipient. |
The Oregon Legislature recently honored Bend resident Bob Maxwell who at 96-year-old is the oldest living recipient of the Medal of Honor and the only recipient living in Oregon. Separately, as a way to say thank you for his service, BNSF also honored Maxwell and the Bend Heroes Foundation during a special train ride aboard BNSF’s vintage passenger rail cars.
Maxwell, originally from Idaho, was serving in France in September of 1944 when Germans attacked and threw a grenade into the midst of his unit. Maxwell grabbed a blanket and fell on the grenade absorbing the blast. He nearly died but was credited with saving the lives of his fellow soldiers.
Later in his life, Maxwell served as director of the Bend Heroes Foundation, helped efforts to build veterans memorials in Oregon and even has a bridge named after him in Bend. The BNSF Railway Foundation has long been a supporter of the Bend Heroes Foundation, which helps organize Honor Flights to Washington, D.C.
Read more about Bob Maxwell
HERE
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BNSF adds double track in North Idaho
Starting this summer, BNSF will be adding 10 miles of double track in North Idaho. The second set of tracks will help ease congestion between Athol and Rathdrum.
Double track increases the network’s capacity by giving train dispatchers more options when directing traffic and by allowing planned maintenance to happen on one track while the other track is still in operation.
Completion of this project is expected to finish later this year. Learn more about the importance of double-track work
HERE
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Salish Sea Expedition
Courtney Wallace, BNSF Regional Director of Public Affairs, and Seth Muir, Salish Sea Expeditions Executive Director, on the bridge of Elettra III in Ballard, which is used for hands-on teaching of marine science and technology. The BNSF Railway Foundation is a proud sponsor of the program, which has provided learning experiences to more than 15,000 middle and high school students from the Puget Sound region.
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BNSF donates to scholarship for Redmond, Oregon youth programs
The BNSF Railway Foundation gave a grant toward scholarships for youth recreation, education, and enrichment programs in Central Oregon. These scholarships and the other Redmond Area Park and Recreation District programs are vital to the community.
A large portion of scholarship funding goes to kids in the Adventure Quest before and after school program, which keeps kids physically active, offers homework help, and provides opportunities for arts, crafts, games, and fun learning. The Adventure Quest leads were so excited to hear about BNSF’s support that their annual summer box car races will be box train races this year!
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BNSF begins major bridge replacement project in southwest Washington
BNSF
recently completed the first of two phases to replace the Camas Bridge in southwest Washington. “The team replaced the bridge’s 100-year-old truss with a new concrete approach span and 1.3 million pound truss,” said Mike Herzog, director of bridge construction.
The Camas Bridge spans the Washougal River on BNSF’s Fallbridge Subdivision in southwest Washington.
Approximately 15 miles east of Portland, Ore., the bridge supports a significant amount of traffic in and out of BNSF’s yard at Vancouver, Wash.
The bridge is part of BNSF’s Heavy Bridge program, where BNSF’s Engineering Structures team maintains infrastructure integrity, safety and reliability by making investments in major bridges to extend the lives of these essential assets.
“This project is a testament to hard work by dozens of Engineering and Transportation employees who worked diligently to accommodate this large-scale, 32-hour window and several smaller pre-construction preparation windows,” said Chris VanDeven, project engineer.
The remaining three spans will be installed and track work will be completed in early June.
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BNSF supports Treehouse Graduation Success for foster kids
BNSF Railway Foundation gave $5,000 to the
Treehouse Graduation Success
program. Treehouse envisions – and strives to create – a world where every child that has experienced foster care has the opportunities and support they need to pursue their dreams and become productive members of our community.
Their goal is that every foster youth in King County graduates from high school at the same rate as their peers with a plan for their future by 2017.
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Did you know?
Rail stats from the Association of American Railroads
- U.S. rail carloads were up 8.4% (78,949 carloads) in April 2017 over April 2016. It’s the sixth straight year-over-year carload increase.
- Other commodities with substantial carload gains in April 2017 included crushed stone, sand, gravel and grain (up 18.7%, or 14,612 carloads – it was the best April for grain since 2011).
- For the first four months of 2017, total carloads were up 6.4% (259,614 carloads)
- U.S. rail intermodal traffic in April 2017 was 1,052,001 containers and trailers, up 2.3% (23,448 units) over April 2016 – but only the third highest April on record (slightly below 2014 and 2015).
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Emergencies – Call 800-832-5452
To report a vehicle stalled on a crossing, suspicious circumstances, malfunctioning crossing gates and lights or any other emergency, call 800-832-5452 immediately.
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Have a Question for Us?
Do you have a question about BNSF or rail in the Pacific Northwest that you would like addressed in future issues of Inside Track? Send them to
[email protected].
We welcome your feedback and ideas!
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