Thursday, March 10, 2016

BNSF Plans $180 Million in California Maintenance

By Mark Edward Nero

BNSF Railway said March 3 that its 2016 capital expenditure program in California will be about $180 million, and is primarily focused on maintenance projects.

The largest component of this year’s capital plan in the state will be for replacing and upgrading rail, rail ties and ballast, which are the main components for the tracks on which BNSF trains operate.

BNSF’s California maintenance program includes about 1,100 miles of track surfacing and/or undercutting work, the replacement of about 35 miles of rail and more than 70,000 ties, as well as signal upgrades for federally mandated positive train control.

This year’s program follows more than $600 million invested by BNSF in its network in California over the past three years.

There are five intermodal railyards at the Port of Los Angeles, and the company also has a facility at the adjoining Port of Long Beach.

“California plays an important part in the success of our overall network and the broader economy,” BNSF’s California Division General Operations Manager, Mark Kirschinger, said. “At BNSF we will always remain focused on operating a safe and reliable network while helping connect products made in California and imported from across the world with key consumer markets.”

Other capital projects in California this year include beginning a several-year project at the Stockton Intermodal Facility to build more track for loading and unloading containers and creating more parking.

The 2016 planned capital investments in the state are part of BNSF’s $4.3 billion network-wide capital expenditure program that was announced last month. The investments include $220 million in Washington state for replacing and upgrading rail, rail ties and ballast, the main components for the tracks on which BNSF trains operate.