(Source: BNSF Railway press release, August 15, 2013)
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) plans to invest an estimated $220 million to improve and expand rail capacity in North Dakota this year.
BNSF’s 2013 capacity enhancement projects in North Dakota include constructing three new sidings west of Minot near Manitou, Tioga, and Palermo; extending the sidings near Glen Ullin and Hillsboro; improvements to six sidings between Minot and Grand Forks; raising10 miles of track over Devils Lake by 1 to 5 feet to keep the track above rising water; upgrading the line between Berthold and Northgate on the Canadian border; installing Centralized Traffic Control signal systems on three sidings near Devils Lake, Hillsboro and Towner; constructing a new double crossover track east of Williston; and lengthening existing tracks or adding new tracks at BNSF rail yards in Mandan, Minot and Williston.
BNSF will also continue its robust track maintenance program in North Dakota, which will include nearly 1,900 miles of track surfacing and undercutting work, the replacement of about 315 miles of rail and 415,000 ties, as well as significant signal upgrades for federally mandated positive train control (PTC).