BNSF completes second track at Pecos River

Written by Mischa Wanek-Libman, editor
image description
A BNSF intermodal train crosses the newly installed second mainline track spanning the Pecos River in Fort Sumner, N.M.
BNSF Railway

BNSF has completed double tracking a three-mile segment that crosses the Pecos River near Fort Sumner, N.M.

With the completion of this section of double track, only four miles of single track remain on the 2,200-mile Southern Transcontinental corridor that runs from Los Angeles to Chicago.

“This new three miles of second track moves this important Southern Transcon corridor ever closer to being completely double-tracked…connecting the West Coast to major intermodal markets such as Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth and Kansas City,” the BNSF wrote on its website.

The Pecos River segment required a new bridge to be built. The bridge was completed earlier this year and the track was finished this summer. The remaining four miles that have yet to be double tracked will require two bridges to be constructed at the Salt Fork River on Oklahoma’s Panhandle sub and at the Missouri River on the Marceline Sub in Missouri.

“Adding the second main track over the Pecos River on this high train density section of the Southern Transcon allows us to continue to provide transportation services that consistently meet our customers’ expectations while allowing us to continue to grow our franchise,” said John Wiederholt, general director line maintenance, Engineering-South.

The work to complete the double track over the Pecos River was part of BNSF’s $100-million New Mexico capital plan in 2016.

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