“Our rail network is in excellent shape and its condition is a direct result of our continued capital investments,” says Carl Ice, president and CEO. “We work tirelessly to provide the level of service our customers expect and to position ourselves well for future growth opportunities.”
BNSF has invested nearly $65 billion in its network since 2000 while remaining focused on its commitment to safety, maximizing efficiency and continuing to meet customers’ expectations. The largest component of this year’s capital plan will be to replace and maintain BNSF’s core network and related assets, much like last year’s $3.4 billion capital program.
Keeping the railroad well-maintained limits the need for unscheduled service outages that can slow down the rail network and reduce capacity. The maintenance component of this year’s plan totals roughly $2.47 billion. The projects included in this part of the plan largely consist of replacing and upgrading rail as well as track infrastructure such as ballast and rail ties and maintaining its rolling stock. It will include approximately 12,000 miles of track surfacing and-or undercutting work and the replacement of 535 miles of rail and nearly 2.3 million rail ties.
Approximately $760 million of this year’s capital plan has been allocated for expansion and efficiency projects. A majority of the expansion projects are planned on the Northern and Southern Transcon routes, connecting Southern California with Chicago and the Pacific Northwest to the upper Midwest respectively. About $340 million of this year’s capital plan is for freight cars, locomotives, and other equipment acquisitions.
— A BNSF Railway news release. Feb. 13, 2019
Jim Norton, frustrating isn’t it. The subscription dept doesn’t seem to be aware zinio subscribers exist. I was told my sub ran out in 2017, even though ihave been on ZInio since, and only recently been unable to log in.
Interesting that the adoption of PSR everywhere else is causing layoffs, yard closings and shipper angst. Yet BNSF motors right along unfazed, and spends yet more capex on capacity improvements.
Why is there a systematic un-logging of me from News Wire with little possibility in ever getting logged back on?
Ah; the freedom that allows a CEO to actually run a railroad free from the harassment from lemmings on Wall Street.
I wonder if Squires, Fritz and Ottensmeyer go to bed each night secretly hoping they’ll wake the next morning and be in Carl Ice’s shoes.