Digest: Fire extinguished at site of BNSF derailment in Texas

Wednesday midday rail news: Fire out at site of BNSF derailment; line expected to reopen tonight The fire at the site of Tuesday’s BNSF Railway derailment in Cameron, Texas, has now been extinguished, the National Post reports, citing information from the railroad. In a customer advisory, the railroad said it anticipates reopening the section of […]

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Digest: BNSF, UP update recoveries from winter weather

BNSF, UP update recovery efforts from winter weather The most recent updates from BNSF Railway and Union Pacific as they recover from last week’s severe weather: — BNSF notified customers in a Friday update that it would take some time to clear traffic backlogs, particularly on the southern portion of the railroad, while all four […]

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BNSF receives patent for moving block system

WASHINGTON — BNSF Railway has received a patent for a virtual track block system that has the potential to significantly boost existing mainline capacity, raise average train speeds, and improve the detection of broken rails. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office approved the patent application last month, and credits the invention to BNSF employees Mitchell […]

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Digest: BNSF train derails in Arizona, prompting lengthy ‘Southwest Chief’ delay

More Monday morning rail news: BNSF intermodal train derails in Arizona, stopping Southwest Chief No injuries were reported when a BNSF intermodal train derailed Sunday afternoon near Joseph City, Ariz., KPHO-TV reports. Photos show several double-stack well cars off the tracks, with containers overturned. The Navajo County Sheriff’s Office says the accident was reported about 1 […]

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BNSF plans $2.99 billion in capital spending

FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway says it will spend $2.99 billion on capital improvements in 2021, nearly equaling its $3.08 billion capital plan of 2020. The vast majority of funding — $2.41 billion — will go to maintenance. The railroad plans to replace 428 miles of rail, approximately 2.6 million ties, and will undertake […]

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BNSF’s Needles Division

This video was originally published by Trains as part of the Locomotive 2017 DVD. BNSF Needles Subdivision stretches from the Arizona/California state line at Needles west to Barstow, California across almost 170 miles of desert that tests man and machine every day in the struggle to keep the railroad moving. For the majority of its […]

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BNSF’s Needles Division

This video was originally published by Trains as part of the Locomotive 2017 DVD. BNSF Needles Subdivision stretches from the Arizona/California state line at Needles west to Barstow, California across almost 170 miles of desert that tests man and machine every day in the struggle to keep the railroad moving. For the majority of its […]

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BNSF/Florida East Coast and natural gas testing

This video was originally published by Trains as part of the Locomotive 2017 DVD. Natural gas as a locomotive fuel has been around for decades. Testing in the 1980s and 1990s on several railroads failed to yield the interest and scope of testing the fuel has enjoyed in the past several years. Six of the […]

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