(BNSF issued the following on January 12.)
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway Company dispatched four maintenance crews last week to replace rail and ties between Galveston and Temple, and Alvord and Rhome, Tex.
“This project is part of our ongoing effort to maintain a strong railroad to meet our customers’ needs for reliable service,” said Dave Freeman, BNSF’s vice president, Engineering. “Our continuing maintenance program is an example of BNSF’s commitment to its customers and the communities it serves.”
Approximately 130 BNSF employees will work until mid-February replacing more than 50,000 ties and almost 22 track miles of rail. The total cost of these projects is about $10 million. Crews will utilize equipment such as cranes, welders and ballast tampers to replace rail at a rate of almost one mile a day. Materials replaced on the rail line will be reused or recycled in keeping with BNSF’s environmental stewardship policies.
To allow the BNSF crew time to replace the rail, sections of track will be closed periodically until the work is complete.
About BNSF
A subsidiary of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (NYSE: BNI), BNSF Railway Company operates one of the largest North American rail networks, with about 32,000 route miles in 28 states and two Canadian provinces. BNSF is among the world’s top transporters of intermodal traffic, moves more grain than any other American railroad, carries the components of many of the products we depend on daily, and hauls enough low-sulfur coal to generate about ten percent of the electricity produced in the United States. BNSF is an industry leader in Web-enabling a variety of customer transactions at www.bnsf.com.