BNSF and Union Pacific at odds over Tehachapi trackage rights rates

WASHINGTON — Every day Union Pacific and BNSF Railway trains battle gravity and curvature as they wind their way up and down the former Southern Pacific main line through the rugged Tehachapi Mountains of Southern California. Now UP and BNSF are engaged in a different sort of fight: The railroads have been unable to come […]

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BNSF CEO Farmer nominated for American Airlines board

Blonde woman in dark clothing speaking

FORT WORTH, Texas — American Airlines has nominated BNSF Railway CEO Katie Farmer for election to the airline’s board of directors. The board will be elected at the annual meeting of stockholders on June 11. If elected, she will serve on the board’s finance and safety committees. “We are very pleased to nominate Katie to […]

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J.B. Hunt sees strong quarterly intermodal growth but faces tariff-driven uncertainty

LOWELL, Ark. – J.B. Hunt executives say their intermodal crystal ball is cloudy amid the uncertainty created by U.S. trade policy. Executives from the largest domestic intermodal operator, speaking on the company’s Tuesday evening earnings call, said customers are focused on the potential impacts of U.S. tariffs and the direction of the overall economy. “We […]

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WalthersMainline HO EMD SD60

Screen capture from product review video showing HO scale diesel in blue and white paint on layout with title bar in lower left corner.

The WalthersMainline HO EMD SD60 is back, this time with new features. Model Railroader Senior Editor Cody Grivno uses this six-axle road unit to switch cars on our Winston-Salem Southbound Tar Branch project layout. In addition, he shares a condensed history of the Electro-Motive Division road unit and Oakway Leasing No. 9009; highlights the detail […]

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WalthersMainline HO EMD SD60

Screen capture from product review video showing HO scale diesel in blue and white paint on layout with title bar in lower left corner.

The WalthersMainline HO EMD SD60 is back, this time with new features. Model Railroader Senior Editor Cody Grivno uses this six-axle road unit to switch cars on our Winston-Salem Southbound Tar Branch project layout. In addition, he shares a condensed history of the Electro-Motive Division road unit and Oakway Leasing No. 9009; highlights the detail […]

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BNSF and SMART Yardmasters reach tentative contract agreement

FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway and the SMART-TD Yardmasters have reached a tentative, five-year collective bargaining agreement. The agreement, announced on Friday, covers more than 320 yardmasters and gives covered employees certainty about enhancements to their pay, health care, and vacation. “We are pleased to reach this tentative agreement that continues to reward our […]

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BNSF completes replacement of washed-out Arkansas bridge, reopens lines

Train on bridge approaching new track

MAMMOTH SPRING, Ark. — BNSF has reopened its Thayer South Subdivision through Arkansas, just five days after a bridge washed out under a stopped train. A new bridge over the Warm Fork Spring River in Mammoth Spring State Park was completed on Thursday morning, April 10, after around-the-clock work. The opening came some 24 hours […]

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Stockton Diamond project gains $14 million in funding

Map of crossing of BNSF, Union Pacifi mainlines in Stockton, Calif.

STOCKTON, Calif. — The Stockton Diamond Grade Separation project, which seeks to eliminate an at-grade crossing of BNSF and Union Pacific main lines, has received $14 million in federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality funding. The funding has been approved by the San Joaquin Council of Governments, or SJCOG “The last thing our farmers and […]

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Amtrak, BNSF settle suit with family of truck driver in fatal Southwest Chief derailment

View of back of dump truck on railroad track

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Amtrak and BNSF Railway have settled a lawsuit with survivors of the truck driver whose dump truck was struck by the Southwest Chief in June 2022, derailing the train and killing the driver and three passengers. WDAF-TV reports Erin Barton, widow of driver Billy Dean Barton II, and the couple’s five […]

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CSX updates storm issues in Southeast

Yellow CSX letters with web address on side of locomotive

New issues continue to develop while other problem areas are improving, CSX Transportation said in an update today (April 7, 2025) on storm recovery efforts. Also, BNSF has provided an update on one of two weather-related derailments that closed the Thayer South Subdivision in Arkansas. CSX had highlighted three areas as especially problematic in a […]

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BNSF pressing ahead with trade-related intermodal projects in California and Arizona

FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway is not hitting the pause button on a pair of trade-dependent intermodal projects in California and Arizona despite the broad tariffs that the Trump administration unveiled on April 2. BNSF is planning to build a $1.5 billion terminal and transload center in Barstow, Calif., to handle international containers. The […]

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Stationary BNSF train derailed by bridge washout in Arkansas (additional update)

Derailed train at washed-out bridge in Mammoth Spring, Ark. Use only as "featured photo," not in story

#BREAKING NEWS: Heavy floodwaters wash out railroad bridge in Mammoth Spring, Ark. DETAILS: https://t.co/GgGQgCbem5 pic.twitter.com/ngckFQeuxR — KY3 News (@kytv) April 5, 2025 MAMMOTH SPRING STATE PARK, Ark. — A stationary BNSF train was derailed early today (April 5, 2025) when floodwaters washed out a bridge underneath part of the train, KYTV/KSPR-TV reports. Elsewhere in the […]

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