FORT WORTH, Texas – BNSF Railway has opened two new sections of main line trackage on the Southern Transcon: A third main track on the Needles Subdivision in California and a second main track on the Emporia Subdivision in Kansas.
Last week BNSF opened an additional 8-mile segment of the third main between Homer and Ibis, Calif. The first 10-mile section of the triple-track project was placed in service last year before peak intermodal season began.
The 30-mile capacity expansion project on the Needles Sub – which will allow slower freights to stay out of the way of priority traffic on the westbound 1.4% grade between Needles and Goffs – should be wrapped up this year between West Needles and West Ibis, BNSF says.
In Kansas, BNSF last month completed a 6-mile segment of second mainline track in south-central Kansas on the Emporia Sub, which runs from Kansas City to Wellington. This work is part of a multi-year effort to add several segments of double track to support growth, BNSF says.
This is what happens when you eschew PSR.
You run your trains promptly and deliver the shipments timely. All this does is attract more traffic, leading to this situation where you have to increase capacity, spending money to improve the property rather than buy back stock.