(The following appeared on the Register-Mail website on March 27, 2011.)
GALESBURG, Ill. — BNSF Railway is one of three of the nation’s seven Class I freight carriers that led the way with an increase of 1,198 jobs from mid-January to mid-February. A local economic development official said the picture looks bright for BNSF’s Galesburg operations.
According to the Surface Transportation Board, the nation’s largest railroads increased payrolls by 4.66 percent from February of this year compared to February 2010.
The STB report showed 154,502 persons working for the top seven railroads in February compared to 153,303 in January. BNSF accounted for 38,035 of those employees, trailing only the Union Pacific, which has 47,173 employees. Employment in January across the entire BNSF system was 37,397.
The full story is at www.galesburg.com.