BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) on Feb. 15 announced that its 2018 capital expenditure program in Texas will be approximately $375 million.
Nearly half of this year’s program in Texas will be for the maintenance of its rail, ties and ballast. The remainder will go toward expansion projects designed to enhance capacity and fluidity along the network.
“Texas has more miles of rail than any other state, with roughly 440 million tons of agricultural, energy, industrial and consumer products moving via the state’s rail lines each year. By performing regular maintenance and capacity projects in the state, BNSF is fulfilling its commitment to operate as safely, reliably and efficiently as possible,” said Janssen Thompson, general manager of operations, Red River Division.
Over the past five years, BNSF has invested nearly $1.8 billion to expand and maintain its network in Texas. This year, the maintenance program in Texas includes approximately 1,400 miles of track surfacing and/or undercutting work as well as the replacement of nearly 40 miles of rail and more than 450,000 ties. BNSF is also investing in several capacity expansion projects in Texas. On the Hereford Subdivision, crews will complete work this year on expansion to quadruple main line track of more than four miles through Amarillo. On the Wichita Falls Subdivision, which runs between Wichita Falls and Fort Worth, crews will complete installation of Centralized Traffic Control on the entire subdivision, install one new siding and extend another to increase capacity as well as address increased train flows. In the Houston area on the Conroe Subdivision, construction is scheduled to begin on a new connection and siding in Dobbin to help facilitate train flows between Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston.
BNSF also anticipates the completion of expansion projects started in 2016 at its Alliance Intermodal Facility. Those projects include adding parking capacity as well as acquiring lift equipment. Additionally, BNSF will begin construction to replace its existing bridge over the Trinity River near downtown Fort Worth.
Around the country, BNSF railroad is planning to invest $3.3 billion.
The Fort Worth-based railroad said it plans to match last year’s spending on maintenance projects and upgrades to its rail network, with $2.4 billion spent to maintain and repair its rail network and locomotives. That will include rehabilitating 13,000 miles of track.
The railroad’s plans also include investing about $500 million to expand capacity.
BNSF says it is nearly done with the installation of the automatic braking system federal officials required. So the railroad plans to spend only about $100 million on that system this year.
BNSF is owned by Warren Buffett’s Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate. BNSF operates 32,500 miles of track in 28 western states and three Canadian provinces.
