Railroad News

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 6/24/2022 Rail News: BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway Co. announced yesterday that in response to ongoing service challenges, it will issue a temporary permit embargo on certain westbound shipments heading for California.In a customer service notice posted on its website, BNSF said the embargo will impact automotive shipments as well as specific agricultural and industrial commodities. Intermodal shipments being managed through alternate means are not part of the embargo, the advisory states."We have experienced a sharp increase in congestion throughout Southern California during the past few weeks due to several high-wind events concurrent with the high levels of traffic seeking to move through the region," BNSF officials explained. In addition, flash flooding on the main tracks of BNSF's Southern Transcon line caused a service outage this week near Laguna, New Mexico, the Class I reported. The outage resulted in temporary speed restrictions."The resulting impacts have affected our ability to effectively align resources with freight volumes, particularly the efficient utilization of train crews in the region," the advisory states. "While this embargo action will lead to some additional disruption to our affected customers in the short term, we are confident that this aggressive measure will provide the additional capacity needed to recover velocity and improve cycle times more quickly, as well as assist with resource availability."The embargo will begin June 27 for waybills with a shipping date of June 29, and is scheduled to expire on July 31. For the first week (June 29 to July 5), BNSF will consider issuing permits to embargoed destinations for certain commodities.To read BNSF's full advisory, click here.

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 5/3/2022 Rail News: BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway Co. late last week reported double-digit increases in first-quarter 2022 revenue, net income and operating expenses compared with the same period a year ago.Total revenue in Q1 2022 climbed 10% to nearly $6 billion; operating income rose 8% to $2 billion; net income increased 10% to $1.4 billion; and operating expenses jumped 12% to $3.9 billion compared with the same quarter last year, according to a statement posted on BNSF's website.The Class I posted an operating ratio of 64.6% for the quarter, up from 63.7% a year ago.BNSF attributed the revenue increase primarily to a 14% increase in average revenue per car/unit resulting from higher fuel surcharge revenue driven by higher fuel prices along with increased rates per car. Revenue was partially offset by a 3% decrease in unit volume.In addition, BNSF reported revenue changes resulted from the following:
• Consumer products volumes decreased 8% due to lower international intermodal volumes caused by supply-chain challenges and lower automotive shipments;
• Agricultural products volumes fell 4% primarily because of lower grain exports, which were partially offset by higher volumes of ethanol and related commodities;
• Industrial products volumes rose 1% primarily due to growth in the U.S. industrial economy; and
• Coal volumes climbed 14% due to increased electricity generation, higher natural gas prices and improved export demand.BNSF attributed the increase in operating expenses to higher compensation and benefits, higher fuel costs and inflation.

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 9/8/2021 Rail News: BNSF Railway
Katie Farmer Photo – bnsf.com

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 8/19/2021 Rail News: BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway Co. has reopened its Harvard Intermodal Facility in Marion, Arkansas, to meet increased intermodal demand in the Memphis, Tennessee, region.All International intermodal shipments originating at the Port of Long Beach's Pier T Terminal in California will now terminate at BNSF's Harvard Intermodal Facility, the Class I announced this week.The facility is located 27 miles northwest of BNSF's Memphis Intermodal Hub.

Rail News Home BNSF Railway 7/1/2021 Rail News: BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway Co. has given two new locations in Montana and Texas its Certified Sites designation.The Class I now has four certified sites in Montana and three in Texas.To earn the designation, sites must undergo a thorough analysis that includes an evaluation of environmental and geotechnical standards, available utilities, site availability, and existing and projected infrastructure, BNSF officials said in a news release.The goal of the Certified Sites program is to provide an inventory of rail-served sites that are available for immediate development, they said. So far, BNSF offers 29 of the sites, all of which provide direct rail service.The two newly-designated Certified Sites, which feature acreage ready for industrial development, are:• Somerville Industrial in Somerville, Texas, which offers 103 acres without zoning requirements or restrictions and is located east of State Highway 36, about 20 miles outside of Bryan-College Station; and• Fort Peck Tribal Industrial Park in Poplar, Montana, which is zoned for heavy industrial. The site encompasses 45 acres located north of U.S. Highway 2 on the Fort Peck Reservation outside city limits.Certified Sites are a part of the Class I's Premier Parks, Sites and Transload program, which addresses increasing demand for customer site locations by developing various types of facilities across the railroad's network, BNSF officials said.