cberkas Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 BNSF doesn't have enough manpower either, so they have to hire and train. GE is building a new locomotive factory in Fort Worth, with other locomotives coming from Erie. So new locomotives are coming on line. The whole train infrastructure is booming, as builders of railcars are seeing massive orders which were unthinkable before the oil boom. The new standards for Bakken oil railcars will only increase the orders, since most oil railcars will have to be replaced. BNSF is also doubling tracks everywhere where there is a choke point. BNSF is building a second parallel bridge over Lake Pend O'reille in Idaho. That's a huge and very expensive undertaking, but just one choke point. http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/burlington-northern-wants-to-build-nd-bridge-over-lake-pend/article_dd92ebda-3e9f-11e4-bd54-c338e3079947.html It is almost as if the massive railroad building the spurred the economy in the 1880s is reappearing. BNSF needs to expand the rail yard at Helena, mainly between Helena and East Helena where there is room. Need to also have derailment equipment in Helena and not just in Billings, evident of the derailment of the fuselages this year on the Clark Fork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiouxVolley Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 Earlier this year, BNSF said it would hire 5,000 workers and add 500 locomotives to expand its network and ease congestion. The company, owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, has already added more than 4,700 workers and now plans to hire up to 6,000, spokesman Michael Trevino said. It has taken possession of 339 new locomotives this year, including some being made at a General Electric plant in far north Fort Worth. In all, BNSF said it’s spending $390 million on expansion and maintenance projects in North Dakota this year, in part to handle record grain volumes. Since 2009, traffic in and out of North Dakota has increased by 144 percent on BNSF. Many complaints and questions were directed at Canadian Pacific, which officials said had done a poor job communicating with its customers. Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/09/04/6093067/officials-in-north-dakota-press.html#storylink=cpy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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