Officials at BNSF, one of the nation’s largest freight lines, remember last winter’s heavy snow, sub-zero temperatures and harsh winter conditions. They also recall how last winter’s bad weather slowed operations, resulting in in delays and other costly setbacks.
This year, they’re going to be ready, said Steve Bobb, the freight line’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer.
“While we always prepare the operations for winter, the extreme cold experienced last year provided us some additional insight that we have incorporated into our future preparations and operating procedures,” Bobb said in a company news release. “We know that customers depend on BNSF for reliable freight transportation. While unplanned events can always happen, we will go into this winter season with more resources and more preparation than ever before so that our people stay safe amid the harshest of weather conditions and our customers’ freight gets to its destination as promised.”
Getting Ready for Heavy Winter Snow and Ice
The company announced plans to improve its ability to respond to harsh winter weather faster and more effectively, including increasing the number of mechanical rapid responders by 25% this year. This includes nine new four-person rapid response teams positioned across the railroad’s busiest and most congested norther regions — from western North Dakota to Chicago.
BNSF — which is owned by billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway firm — also has assigned after-hours rapid response teams to assist with snow removal along the northern part of its network.
The expansion of the railroad’s winter response capabilities comes on the heels of news that the company plans to spend a record $6 billion this year to help ease rail gridlock caused by a record grain crop and a higher demand for cheaper oil.
Other System Improvements
BNSF plans to spend about $500 million on its northern regional operations, which have been strained due to increased shipments of oil from North Dakota’s Bakken shale formation and a bumper crop of grain.
Last year, the freight line experienced delays that left coal shippers and grain farmers without a way to transport their products, which drew the criticism of government regulators. The US Surface Transportation Board convened hearings on rail service and ordered BNSF to report delays weekly.
“If you have service problems, you need to throw capital at the problem to make it go away,” said David Vernon, an analyst at C. Bernstein & Co. “You’ve probably got another build season before you can address some of those remaining capacity bottlenecks.”
Streamlining Chicago Area Yards
This winter, BNSF is focusing on keeping its freight lines clear of ice and snow. It also is seeking new ways to speed up operations.
One of the solutions it has come up with is expanding container and trailer parking capacity by 800 spots at its Chicago area intermodal facilities in Willow Springs, Cicero and Corwith. The expanded parking is designed to allow more containers to be staged when heavy snow causes pickup and delivery delays for trucks bound for those facilities. Additional snow removal equipment also has been purchased for the yards.
It also has installed an additional 150 switch heaters at locations that previously did not have protection from freezing temperatures, bringing the total number of switch heaters along BNSF freight lines to nearly 3,000.
And it has installed air dryers on all of its new locomotives to help reduce moisture accumulation on their braking systems. When brake lines freeze, trains legally cannot operate until the ice has been removed.