(BNSF Railway issued the following on October 29.)
FORT WORTH, Texas — Beginning tomorrow, BNSF Railway Company will replace more than 5.6 track miles of rail between Vaughn and Yeso, N.M. The project is expected to use almost 60,000 feet of steel rail, cost $2.5 million and take 15 days.
Two rail replacement crews of 35 employees each will utilize equipment such as cranes, welders and ballast tampers to replace rail at an estimated rate of one mile a day. To allow the BNSF crews time to replace the rail, sections of track will be closed six hours a day during rail replacement until the work is complete. Materials replaced on the rail line will be reused or recycled in keeping with BNSF’s environmental stewardship policies.
As part of a $2.85 billion capital commitment, BNSF currently expects to spend more than $1.8 billion this year across the 28-state system to keep the railway’s infrastructure strong by refreshing track, signal systems, structures, freight cars, and upgrading technologies. Unlike other modes of transportation, BNSF must build and maintain its own tracks, signals and other infrastructure.