BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) on Jan. 26, 2016 announced a $4.3 billion 2016 capital expenditure plan that “will focus on helping to ensure the company continues to operate a safe and reliable network this year and beyond. This year’s capital program reflects BNSF’s success in adding capacity to support customer demand while bringing investment more in line with current volumes,” the railroad said.
BNSF’s President and CEO leads a railroad that continuously sets high standards for investment, service quality, profitability and safety. Following is the complete interview, as published in the January issue of Railway Age. Click HERE to access a video of the interview. Railway Age Contributing Editor Larry Kaufman’s interview with BNSF Executive Chairman Matt Rose follows the main story.
January 7, 2016: Carl R. Ice, President and Chief Executive Officer of BNSF Railway, has been named 2016 Railroader of the Year by railroad industry trade journal Railway Age. Ice is Railway Age’s 53rd Railroader of the Year.
Top executives from three Class I railroads will be speaking at the 246th meeting of the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers (MARS) on Jan. 13–14, 2016, which will be held at Westin Lombard Yorktown Center in Lombard, Ill.
In a Dec. 10, 2015 interview with Bloomberg TV Canada, BNSF Executive Chairman Matt Rose stated that his company has spoken to both eastern Class I railroads about potential merger activity. “We have long believed BNSF would be involved in the industry potentially consolidating from seven carriers to four,” says Cowen & Company Managing Director and Railway Age Wall Street Contributing Editor Jason Seidl. “We continue to believe Norfolk Southern shares will outperform and that investors will start to look at eastern rival CSX.”
BNSF Railway’s annual Holiday Express, which pays tribute to members of the U.S. military and their families, made its final stop in Nebraska earlier this week. During the five-day long train trip, approximately 2,000 active duty military men and women and their families climbed aboard the Holiday Express at various stops in Kansas, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska. Each year BNSF’s Holiday Express visits different parts of its rail network using BNSF’s specially configured passenger train, which includes special dining and viewing cars that give visitors a unique way to enjoy a ride on the rails.
BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) on Dec. 2, 2015 released its 2014 Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report, highlighting its environmental, economic and social performance. The report provides updates on the progress the railroad is making to reduce carbon emissions, protect the environment and participate in the communities where it operates.
BNSF has tested a UAS (unmanned aerial system, better-known as a drone) supplied by Boeing Co. subsidiary Insitu Inc. in east-central New Mexico, on approximately 132 miles of main line track.
Air brake technology is improving. Do FRA brake test rules need updating?
BNSF and Union Pacific have each moved two of the longest and heaviest unit frac sand trains ever seen in North America. BNSF and short line Southwestern Railroad recently delivered a 150-car train to Rangeland Energy’s RIO Hub near Loving, N.Mex. UP operated a 233-car, DP (distributed power) train out of Mason City, Iowa in late September 2012.
