(Metra Photograph)

Metra Outlines 2024 Construction Plan

Metra on April 3 detailed its construction program for 2024, covering station, track, road crossing, bridge, and signal/communications improvement projects along the Chicagoland commuter railroad’s 11 lines totaling nearly 500 route-miles. In

Navajo Nation’s Plight Leads to Water-By-Rail Solution

In the arid high desert of New Mexico, water is an increasingly rare commodity, especially in the eastern Navajo Nation, where many homes on the reservation have no running water. A pipeline

Investments from BNSF customers and supply chain partners totaled more than $4.1 billion in 2023—the largest made in new or expanded facilities in the past five years, the Class I railroad reported April 1. (BNSF Photograph)

Class I Briefs: BNSF, CN, NS, UP

BNSF releases 2023 economic development results. Also, CN earns a UPS service award; Norfolk Southern (NS) acquires a Chicago transload and warehouse facility and receives an $8.4 million Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) grant for its McDonough passing track improvement project; and Union Pacific (UP) Executive Vice President, Marketing and Sales Kenny Rocker provides a railroad status report.

Pictured: A BNSF student using virtual reality to learn how to adjust the gear lash on a high-pressure fuel pump. (Screen Grab from BNSF video)

Watch: BNSF Implementing Virtual Reality Training

BNSF is including immersive technology in its mechanical training programs to help keep workers safe and improve role readiness, the Class I reported March 29.

Commentary

New Portal Transforming BNSF Customer Experience

Everyone’s been there: you know the website information you need is at your fingertips you just can’t find it. Even using the search function, the information remains elusive. Or perhaps you have your go-to webtool, and beyond that, you spend more time searching for information than should be necessary.

Photo Courtesy of BNSF, via X (formerly Twitter)

Class I Briefs: CSX, BNSF

CSX makes a $10 million donation toward the Museum of Science & History’s (MOSH) move to the Northbank in Downtown Jacksonville, Fla. Also, BNSF’s Needles Third Mainline, Segments 1 and 2 project is recognized with the American Council of Engineering Companies’ (ACEC) Engineering Honor Award for California.

Minister of Transport Pablo Rodriguez (left); Vancouver Fraser Port Authority President and CEO Peter Xotta (right).

Intermodal Briefs: Port of Montreal, Port of Vancouver

Transport Canada announces funding to relieve congestion in supply chains and enhance infrastructure at the Port of Montreal. Also, strong Canadian exports support record 2023 trade volumes through the Port of Vancouver.

Headlining the 2024 NARS Annual Meeting in Chicago are BNSF President and CEO Katie Farmer (Railway Age’s 2023 Railroader of the Year), retired Kansas City Southern CEO Patrick Ottensmeyer (Railway Age’s 2020 Railroader of the Year and 2022 Co-Railroader of the Year), and Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena.

Farmer, Ottensmeyer, Vena Among NARS Headliners

BNSF President and CEO Katie Farmer, retired Kansas City Southern CEO Patrick Ottensmeyer, and Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena will serve as keynote speakers at the North American Rail Shippers Association (NARS)

Commentary

CPChem and BNSF: Superior Sustainability and Service

For several years, Chevron Phillips Chemical (CPChem) and BNSF have worked closely on improving successful service and sustainability practices.

How It Works: FLOW Data Inputs and Outputs—Members of the FLOW program (e.g., beneficial cargo owners, ocean carriers, ports, terminals, railroads) share individual logistics data (highlighted in bold in the graphic above) with the USDOT and in return receive an aggregated, anonymized, and holistic view of the relationship between incoming containers (demand), the available assets to move containers (supply), and throughput within a supply chain region. Incoming demand is shared up to 90 days in advance of arrival. (USDOT Graphic)

USDOT Marks Milestone on Second Anniversary of FLOW

The Freight Logistics Optimizations Works (FLOW) platform is now publishing data on inland freight hubs, including rail terminal and warehouse end destination data, that will provide an “enhanced view” of future container import volumes and traffic, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) reported March 20, the second anniversary of the platform’s launch to provide an integrated view of supply chain conditions in the United States and to help users forecast how current capacity and throughput will fare against future demand.

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