BNSF Railway on Feb. 1 announced it plans to spend about $3.9 billion on capital improvement measures in 2012, including railway acquisitions and terminal, line and intermodal expansion.
“Investment in BNSF’s rail freight infrastructure… will ensure our infrastructure remains strong and improve the efficiency of our operations,” BNSF chairman and chief executive officer Matthew K. Rose said in a statement announcing the move.
The largest portion of the money, $2.1 billion, is slated to go toward BNSF’s core network and related assets. The railway says it also plans to spend about $1.1 billion on locomotive, freight car and other equipment acquisitions.
The program also includes about $300 million for federally mandated positive train control and $400 million for terminal, line and intermodal expansion and efficiency projects.
The company says its expansion and efficiency projects are primarily focused on coal routes to improve velocity and throughput capacity, and a new intermodal facility at Kansas City.
“BNSF remains committed to making the necessary investments to maintain and grow the value of our franchise's capacity to meet customers’ needs and to provide the nation's supply chain with more efficient freight transportation,” Rose said.
BNSF, which is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, operates in 28 US states and two Canadian provinces, including British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and California.
