BNSF’s Katie Farmer Named Railway Age’s 2023 Railroader of the Year

Railway Age’s 2023 Railroader of the Year Award, the 60th annual, goes to a groundbreaking North American rail industry leader: BNSF President and Chief Executive Officer Katie M. Farmer. “Katie Farmer permanently

BNSF’s New Sandpoint Bridge Opens for Business

Fifty years after Burlington Northern consolidated the traffic of two predecessor routes onto a single line featuring a nearly mile-long bridge near Sandpoint, Idaho, successor BNSF has opened its long-anticipated second bridge. The first train to officially cross the new structure was an empty coal train at 9:00 p.m. on Nov. 20, 2022.

Watch: BNSF Completes Willmar Bypass

“And now I can retire,” Randy Anderson, a BNSF locomotive engineer based in Sioux City, Iowa, said recently. “For years I have said that as soon as the bypass is complete, I’m hanging up my boots. The new bypass allows train crews to keep on moving through this area. It’s a really good thing and will continue to benefit the railroad and community for years to come.”

Second BNSF Bridge Over Lake in Idaho Almost Complete

BNSF has been working for the past few years on the construction of a second railroad bridge called the Sandpoint Junction Connector, and the installation is running ahead of schedule.

BNSF Bismark-Mandan Bridge Likely to be Torn Down

RT&S has reported often on the ongoing debate/battle between BNSF and the Friends of the Rail Bridge, a local preservation group trying to save the old BNSF bridge in the Bismark-Mandin area.

BNSF completes double track installation on Emporia Subdivision

BNSF recently announced that its engineering team and other partners have successfully completed the new second main line track, now in service, across the Emporia Subdivision, which runs from Kansas City to Wellington, Kansas. This is part of the railroad’s multi-year work on its Southern Transcon.

Rail Group On Air: 2022 RT&S Engineer of the Year John Cech

RT&S Managing Editor David Lester talks with the 2022 RT&S Engineer of the Year John Cech from BNSF about challenging projects, the technological movement, what it takes to work in the rail industry, and what it will take to recruit the younger generation.

BNSF production gang boosts network efficiency in Minnesota

In BNSF’s latest edition of Rail Talk, the focus is on the accomplishments of a production gang in Minnesota that completed important track work just before the beginning of harvest season traffic.

September issue of RT&S is now online

The September issue of RT&S features our 2022 Engineer of the Year John Cech from BNSF.

rail bridges

BNSF, county refuse to take ownership of troubled railroad bridge

The Osage Avenue railroad bridge in Adams County, Neb., is going unclaimed.

BNSF’s John Cech named 2022 Engineer of the Year by Railway Track & Structures

John Cech, vice president, Engineering at BNSF, is the recipient of the 2022 Engineer of the Year Award from Railway Track & Structures Media.

BNSF Sandpoint Bridge enters home stretch

Contractors working for BNSF Railway installed the final deck girder segment on the nearly one-mile-long bridge across Lake Pend Oreille near Sandpoint, Idaho, during the first half of August.

BNSF opens Tacoma domestic intermodal facility

BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) has partnered with the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) to develop a new rail hub at the Port of Tacoma to meet increased intermodal demand in the greater Seattle region and unlock capacity.

BNSF suffers coal train derailment

A BNSF coal train derailed last week.

BNSF places limited embargo on some shipments headed for California

In response to significant ongoing service challenges, BNSF plans to issue a temporary permit embargo affecting some westbound traffic moving to destinations in California.

rail bridges

BNSF’s permit to build bridge in Washington is denied

It’s back to the Ecology board for BNSF in the state of Washington.

BNSF Railway advances track efficiency improvements in San Bernardino

Traffic will flow more smoothly through BNSF’s San Bernardino intermodal facility.

Railroad line, salmon need to live in harmony in state of Washington

Rail lines and water lines are both important in Bellingham, Wash.

rail bridges

Watch: Wildfire takes out railroad bridge in Texas

The Little Highline Fire in Potter County, Texas, destroyed a railroad bridge over the weekend.

Friday fun: BNSF paints former Santa Fe locomotive 5704 in bicentennial colors

America celebrated the 1976 bicentennial in many ways. The railroad industry celebrated in a big way by painting locomotives in bicentennial schemes.