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Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad


The BNSF Railway (AAR reporting marks BNSF), headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is one of the four remaining transcontinental railroads and one of the largest railroad networks in North America (only one competitor, the Union Pacific Railroad, is larger in size). With globalization, the transcontinental railroads are a key component in the containerization of the Pacific Rim with the BNSF Railway moving more intermodal traffic than any other rail system in the world. It was formed December 31, 1996 as the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway when the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway was merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad. In 1999 the BNSF Railway and the Canadian National Railway announced their intention to merge and form a new corporation entitled the North American Railways to be headquartered in Montreal, Canada. However the United States' Surface Transportation Board (STB) placed a 15 month moratorium on all rail mergers ending the merger. On January 24, 2005, the railroad's name was officially changed to BNSF Railway.

The BNSF Railway is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation, the holding company formed by the September 22, 1995 merger of Burlington Northern, Incorporated and the Santa Fe Pacific Corporation. According to corporate press releases, the BNSF Railway is among the top transporters of intermodal traffic in North America, and moves more grain than any other American railroad. It also hauls enough coal to generate roughly 10% of the electricity produced in the United States. The company's northern route completes the high speed link from Asia to the eastern United States. This was the route of the Great Northern Railway's Silk Extras in the 1920s. They had priority over all other trains stopping only for refueling and crew changes. These trains transported silk to the east from ships arriving from Japan to Seattle ports.


Routes:
  • The Northern BNSF Route runs from Seattle, Washington to Chicago, Illinois. It is the most northerly route of any railroad in the continental United States.
  • The Transcon BNSF Route runs from Los Angeles, California to Chicago, Illinois. The 2006 BNSF Annual Report states: "We also added about 33 miles of second main track on our main line between Chicago and Los Angeles. All but 51 miles of this high-volume 2,200-mile route were double track, as of the end of 2006. Last year, we ran 100 trains per day on this expanded main line, compared with 60 per day in 2000." Technically, it is not double tracked in mid Kansas where two routes are used: Mulvane to Wichita to Newton to Emporia for primarily eastbound traffic; Emporia to El Dorado to Augusta to Mulvane for primarily westbound traffic.


BNSF Railroad Safety System:

As one of the leading supporters of the Operation Lifesaver program to promote safety at railway crossings and right-of-ways, the BNSF Railway, in 2000, established a grade-crossing closure program. This program, wherein BNSF works with communities and landowners to identify crossings that are unnecessary or redundant, has helped close over 2,900 of BNSF's railway crossings throughout the United States. Largely thanks to this program, BNSF has been the industry leader in lowering the amount of grade-crossing collisions.

On June 7, 2006, BNSF became the first Class I railroad to actively recruit railfans to help ensure the company's rail network remains safe. Called the Citizens United for Rail Security (CRS), BNSF designed a program that encourages railfans to enter a small amount of personal information on an official company website. After doing so, the website generates an identification card that can be printed off and carried in the same manner as a driver's license or credit card. Along with the user's personal information, the card contains a list of general guidelines for a railfan to follow while near tracks or moving equipment as well as a toll-free telephone number that can be used to alert a BNSF representative of any suspicious activities or potential security breaches.

BNSF has had a similar program called BNSF ON GUARD for employees since 2003. The program has been highly successful with over 200 employees reporting suspicious activities since its inception.

BNSF also contracts with News Link, a small business in Lincoln, Nebraska, to publish employee newsletters focused on safety for each of the railroad's 14 operating divisions and nearly all of its system shops. These newsletters vary in length from 4 to 28 pages, published ranging from monthly to quarterly.


BNSF Facts and Figures:

According to BNSF's 2005 Annual Report to Investors, at the end of 2005, the railway had more than 40,000 employees, 5,790 locomotives, and 81,881 freight cars.

  • Broken down by specific kind of car, the BNSF owned:
    • 34,631 covered hoppers
    • 12,579 gondolas
    • 8,658 boxcars
    • 10,973 open hoppers
    • 8,537 flatcars
    • 4,983 refrigerated "reefer" cars
    • 748 automobile cars
    • 422 tank cars
    • 27 general purpose boxcars
    • 323 "other" types of cars
  • In addition, the railway also owned:
    • 10,412 domestic containers
    • 12,649 domestic chassis
    • 4,091 company service vehicles
    • 1,916 trailers
    • 179 commuter passenger cars

The average age from date of manufacture for the BNSF's locomotive and freight car fleet was 15 years at the end of 2005.

It may also be noted that on any given day BNSF is the single largest consumer of petroleum-based fuels in the world. The only larger consumer is the US Navy during a full force wartime deployment.

On January 24, 2006, BNSF announced a $2.4 billion program of infrastructure upgrades for 2006. The upgrade program includes: double- and triple-tracking 40 miles (64.4 km) of track and a second mainline track through New Mexico's Abo Canyon on the former Santa Fe Railroad transcontinental line; expanding the Lincoln, Nebraska, classification yard and double- and triple-tracking 50 miles (80.5 km) of track in Wyoming's Powder River Basin region; expansions at eight of the railroad's larger intermodal facilities, and extending many sidings and expanding and improving refueling facilities. In making the announcement, BNSF chairman Matthew K. Rose cited improvements in the company's return on invested capital, and expressed hope for continued improvement.

BNSF Photos




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