Growing Together with our Customers
Since BNSF Railway was formed, late in 1995, with the merger of the Burlington Northern Railroad and the Santa Fe Railway, we have been committed to expanding and improving our network to meet our customers’ growing needs.
1996-2000
1997
BNSF introduces groundbreaking agriculture shuttle service, dedicated trains moving grains between high-capacity origins and destinations.
1997
BNSF Mexico established, with Mexi-Modal intermodal service launched.
2000
BNSF opens the Stockton Intermodal Facility to accommodate traffic in Southern California.
2001-2005
2002
BNSF opens Logistics Park Chicago (LPC). BNSF pioneered the logistics park concept back in 1993 with an intermodal facility in north Fort Worth at Alliance, Texas. By positioning the intermodal hub as the centerpiece, with distribution centers strategically located nearby, customers streamline their supply chain by substantially lowering transportation costs, fuel costs, and carbon emissions.
2002
BNSF opens the Commerce Intermodal Facility in Southern California.
2005
BNSF adds 14 miles of third main line track in the Powder River Basin region.
2005
BNSF opens Logistics Center Fontana, enabling increased access to California markets.
2006-2010
2006
BNSF ships a record 10M+ units for the first time.
2007
BNSF establishes itself as the leading intermodal railway by surpassing one million containers loaded at Southern California On-Dock (SCOD) facilities in a calendar year.
2008
BNSF completes major triple-tracking project through the Cajon Pass in California to speed intermodal shipments on the Southern Transcon.
2009
BNSF completes double-tracking on a key segment of the Southern Transcon through the Abo Canyon in New Mexico.
2011-2015
2011
BNSF opens its Memphis Intermodal Facility, which utilizes innovative zero emissions wide-span electric cranes.
2012
BNSF completes its Burlington Bridge project with a new 365-foot-long lift-span bridge in Burlington, Iowa.
2013
BNSF opens Logistics Park Kansas City, the only facility on our network with domestic intermodal service, international intermodal service and direct rail/carload service.
2014
BNSF adds 55 miles of double track in the Glasgow Subdivision in western North Dakota.
2014
BNSF adds 10 new sidings and 11 new siding extensions on the Northern Corridor.
2014
BNSF completes the Tower 55 project in Fort Worth, enabling it to handle more than 30% more volume at one of the busiest rail intersections in the country.
2014
BNSF opens Logistics Center Sweetwater, the first of several facilities where BNSF invests directly in developing sites in growing, yet under-served areas, enabling carload customers to save nine months of development time.
2015
BNSF launched its Site Certification project to identify optimal rail-served industrial sites for customers. Choosing a BNSF Certified Site saves customers 6-9 months of construction time and increases speed to market.
2016-2020
2016
BNSF launches new domestic intermodal service linking the Pacific Northwest and Texas.
2017
BNSF customers invest $7.7B in rail-served facilities; the 124 projects include Iowa Fertilizer Company investing $3B in a rail-served fertilizer plant.
2018
BNSF adds a fourth main line of track in Amarillo, Texas, a major crew-change point, increasing fluidity and preventing congestion.
2018
BNSF opens Logistics Center Oklahoma City.
“This was by far the fastest incubation and development of a Land and Track Agreement I have experienced in the 20 or so years I’ve been doing this.”
Tom McKellar –Plastic Express
2018
BNSF extends intermodal service options between LA and Chicago and begins new intermodal service between LA and the Ohio Valley region.
2018
Work begins to install double-track on one of the last remaining single-tracked segments of the Southern Transcon on the Emporia subdivision in Kansas.
2019
BNSF opens Logistics Center Hudson, serving shippers in the greater Denver area.
2019
BNSF expands intermodal service between Southern California and the Ohio Valley region.
2020
Customer Investment Spotlight: Base, Inc. opens new transload facility at Logistics Center Oklahoma City.
2020
BNSF launches direct intermodal service between the Pacific Northwest and the Ohio Valley Region and intermodal service options between Southern California and Georgia.
2021-2023
2021
BNSF expands direct intermodal service between Los Angeles and St. Louis and between Houston and Chicago and Southern California.
2022
BNSF completes Sandpoint Bridge project, adding a second bridge over Lake Pend Oreille in Idaho to increase fluidity on the Northern Corridor.
2022
BNSF completes a rail bypass in Willmar, Minnesota, enabling trains to move up to an hour faster through the area.
2022
BNSF customers invest $1.6B in rail-served facilities, including the Northwest Seaport Alliance and partners investing more than $.5B dollars to modernize Terminal 5 at the Port of Seattle.
2022
BNSF announces plans for the new Barstow International Gateway, a first-of-its-type $1.5B integrated rail facility that will expedite container shipments from the ports of LA and Long Beach and enhance supply chain efficiency across the network.
2022
BNSF breaks ground on Logistics Center North Houston in Cleveland, Texas.
2023
More than 34,000 acres have been added to the Economic Development Strategic Program since 2015.
2023
BNSF adds Certified Sites in Fort Madison, Iowa; Glenwood, Iowa; and De Soto, Kansas bringing the total to 34 certified sites.
2023
Quantum, a J.B. Hunt and BNSF service, launches.
Learn more about this innovative, customized intermodal solution
Looking Ahead:
The Growth Continues
2024
BNSF’s 2024 $3.92 billion capital investment plan includes expansion projects such as adding new track in key segments of the Southern Transcon in Kansas and New Mexico.
2024
BNSF launches new intermodal service to and from Mexico in collaboration with JB Hunt and GMXT.
Learn more about the new intermodal service through Eagle Pass, Texas
2024
BNSF assumes operations on the MRL Subdivision in Montana as Montana Rail Link officially becomes a part of BNSF.
2024
BNSF announces $4.1 billion invested by customers and economic development partners in 2023, the highest rate in five years.
2024
BNSF to open Logistics Center North Houston at Cleveland.
