Marine Link
Friday, March 29, 2024
SUBSCRIBE

Bnsf Railway News

07 Sep 2021

Port of New Orleans Resumes Containership Operations After Hurricane Ida

(Photo: Port of New Orleans)

Container vessel operations resumed at the Port of New Orleans on Tuesday, nine days after Hurricane Ida made landfall in southeast Louisiana as a category 4 storm.The first two ships worked at the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal were the MSC Charleston at New Orleans Terminal and the Hapag Lloyd CSL Manhattan at Ports America. Seacor’s container on barge service will be worked tonight by Ports America.“Our wharves are busy today, handling both container and breakbulk cargo vessels, and trains are moving,” said Brandy D.

22 Jul 2021

Union Pacific to Restart Container Shipments from U.S. West Coast Seaports

Railway by the Port of Los Angeles - Credit:helivideo/AdobeStock

Union Pacific Corp container shipments from U.S. West Coast seaports to one of the railroad's major hubs in Chicago will restart early next week after a seven-day suspension, Chief Executive Lance Fritz told Reuters on Thursday.The railroad on Sunday night paused cargo shipments from the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland and Tacoma to its Global IV facility in Chicago in a bid to clear "significant congestion.""We're starting to see containers clear, so I anticipate in the seven-day period ...

30 Aug 2019

New Ethanol Terminal Inaugurated in Columbia

In Washington state, Tidewater Transportation and Terminals inaugurated a $12.5 million ethanol unloading and storage site in Pasco to serve the Columbia and Snake River regions.On Tuesday, August 27, more than 60 area notables, members of the business community, and terminal personnel gathered mid-afternoon for a ribbon cutting ceremony and celebration of the company’s state-of-the-art, onsite ethanol unloading and storage facility in Pasco.The facility consists of a 24-hour ethanol unit train railcar unloading rack with 24 new unloading stations and associated rail spurs. In addition, two 65,000-barrel steel tanks were built in order to provide reliable operating storage when an ethanol unit train arrives.

21 Mar 2019

2019 Shipping Season to Open for Duluth

USCGC Mackinaw in Duluth. Credit: port of Duluth

Last night’s arrival of United States Coast Guard Cutters Alder and Mackinaw signaled that the 2019 commercial shipping season is soon to commence for the Port of Duluth-Superior and the entire region.The Alder and Mackinaw made their way across Lake Superior from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, opening a 100-foot lane in the ice that will be widened soon by Canadian Coast Guard Ship Samuel Risley in support of breakout efforts that will also include local tugs from the Great Lakes Towing Company and Heritage Marine.

25 Jun 2018

BNSF: Crude Rail Service Could Resume Tuesday

BNSF Railway Co on Monday said it could resume service Tuesday on a stretch of northwestern Iowa track damaged when a train left the track and crude oil spilled from derailed cars. The crude oil train derailed near Doon, Iowa, on Friday sending 32 rail cars off the track and spilling an estimated 230,000 gallons of oil into flood waters and toward a nearby river. Crews are nearly finished removing oil from damaged cars and repairing tracks, BNSF said in a statement. Its crews are using booms to contain the oil and skimmers to remove it from the waters, said BNSF, a unit of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. The railroad said booms also have been…

25 Jun 2018

BNSF: Nearly Half of Iowa Crude Spill Contained

Workers have contained nearly half of the crude oil spilled near Rock River in northwest Iowa over the weekend following a freight train derailment on Friday, BNSF Railway Co said. About 100,000 gallons had been hemmed off using booms out of the estimated 230,000 gallons spilled, BNSF said in a statement on Saturday. The spill has raised concerns about drinking water downstream. The company did not respond to questions on Sunday about the progress of the cleanup. No one was hurt in the derailment, in which 32 cars came off the rails, 14 of which leaked at least some of their contents, BNSF said. The derailment happened south of Doon, a city of a few hundred people.

19 Mar 2018

Duluth-Superior Shipping Season To Open Today

The anticipated departure of six vessels this week signals a strong start to the 2018 commercial shipping season for the Port of Duluth-Superior and the entire region. All will be leaving their winter berths to load iron ore for delivery to steel mills on the Lower Great Lakes—this nation’s industrial heartland. U.S. Coast Guard cutter Alder made several passes through the ice in the shipping channels last week, and, starting today, Heritage Marine tugs will be assisting with breakout operations in the harbor. Exact departure times are difficult to pinpoint during start-up, especially with strong winds and shifting ice conditions plus final onboard inspections in progress.

21 Apr 2017

Washington Maritime Economy Grows Stronger -Study

© Bill Perry / Adobe Stock

A new report from the Washington Maritime Federation shows strong health of industry, increased average salaries and tremendous opportunity to continue to grow maritime jobs. The Washington State Maritime Sector Economic Impact Study 2017 Update, released at the April 2017 Propeller Club luncheon, updates the seminal 2013 study of the same name and provides a detailed analysis of the positive economic impact of the state’s maritime industry. “This study builds upon past efforts and clearly shows the maritime industry is a cornerstone of the State’s economy…

10 Feb 2017

Winter Weather Delays Grain Movement to US Ports

Severe winter weather has slowed rail deliveries of crops to shippers in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, sending freight rates soaring and prompting Asian buyers to seek fill-in loads as they wait for the backlog at ports to clear. Blizzards, avalanches and heavy rain in recent weeks have hit transport of corn, soy and wheat to ports where they head for the lucrative Asian market, adding to the struggles that have plagued U.S. exporters since harvest. The setbacks come at a critical time for U.S. exporters, who are trying to move as much grain as possible before buyers turn their attention to South America when corn and soybean harvests in Argentina and Brazil accelerate in the coming weeks.

14 Jul 2015

Train Lobby Pushes to Weaken Safety Rule

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett is set to be a chief beneficiary of a bid by Senate Republicans to weaken new regulations to improve train safety in the $2.8 billion crude-by-rail industry, a key cog in the development of the vast North American shale oil fields. A series of oil train accidents, including the July 2013 explosion of a train carrying crude in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, that killed 47 people, led U.S. and Canadian regulators to announce sweeping safety rules in May. Among other things, U.S. oil trains are required to install new electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes. But in late June, the Republican-controlled Senate Commerce Committee approved a measure to drop that requirement, and order years of new research to confirm the safety benefits of ECP brakes.

31 Aug 2014

Oil Train Regulation Passes in California

California lawmakers on Friday passed legislation requiring railroad companies to tell emergency officials when crude oil trains will chug through the state. The bill would require railroads to notify the state's Office of Emergency Services when trains carrying crude oil from Canada and North Dakota are headed to refineries in the most populous U.S. state. It passed its final vote in the Assembly 61-1, with strong bipartisan support within the state legislature in Sacramento. The bill now goes to Democratic Governor Jerry Brown for his signature. "We have a spotlight on this issue because of the seriousness of the risk to public safety that it presents," said the bill's author, Democratic Assembly man Roger Dickinson, whose district encompasses parts of Sacramento along the trains' route.

04 May 2014

WSDOT Applies For Six TIGER Grants To Improve Statewide Mobility

Washington’s citizens could see mobility improvements in highways, ferries and freight rail if the state’s three capital grant applications are selected to receive a portion of the $600 million available nationwide in federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant funds. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) also submitted three applications this week for planning proposals that support economic development, environmental resiliency and integrated transportation choices. Of the $600 million available in TIGER grant funds, $35 million is dedicated to transportation-facilities planning. Improve intersections adjacent to Interstate 82 in Benton County. Replace the Mukilteo Ferry Terminal in Snohomish County.

11 Apr 2014

Long Beach Dismisses Proposed Los Angeles Merger

West coast rival: Long Beach is opposed to the merger with its long-time rival. Photo: Paul Ottaviano

A proposal by the LA 2020 Commission to merge the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach – the two busiest container ports in the US – has been slated by Long Beach leaders for being “condescending and disrespectful”. The Commission made the recommendation in its A Time for Action report, along with 12 other recommendations on minimum wage and promoting regional tourism, and defended its proposal by saying it will “put the city on a path to fiscal stability and renew job creation”.

23 Sep 2013

Port of Vancouver Begins Building New Rail Entrance

On July 29 the Port of Vancouver USA began phase two construction of one of the most innovative projects in its 100-year-history, the construction of a piling-supported, watertight trench that will support a new grade separated rail entrance into the port. Considered the crown jewel of the West Vancouver Freight Access (WVFA) project, the new entrance will eliminate a chokepoint on the regional rail system and reduce congestion by as much as 40%. The $38 million project, which is being built in four phases, is expected to be complete in 2015.

18 Jun 2013

China Shippers' Summit, September 2013, Invites Speakers

The call for Mandarin and English submissions to present talks for the Intermodal China 2013 - Shippers' Summit is now open until July 12, 2013. Organized by UBM China, Intermodal China - Shippers' Summit will be held at Sheraton Hongkou Hotel, Shanghai, China from September 24 to 25, 2013. Submissions will be accepted until July 12 for papers on Intermodal Transport Solutions, Trends & Developments in Logistics, Trade Environment & Transport Regulations in International Market (South America, Russia, Central Asia, Europe and U.S.). The conference will be delivered in the forms of keynote speech, panel discussion, case study and summit dialogue.

10 Jun 2013

Metro Handles Wind Turbine Blades in Galveston

Metro Ports provides stevedore and terminal handling services for Siemens Energy Inc.’s export wind turbine blade projects through the Port of Galveston. Siemens plans to export 246 53-meter blades between May and July 2013. These wind turbine blades, manufactured by Siemens in Fort Madison, Iowa, and destined for three wind projects in Brazil, are being transported via the BNSF Railway. Inherent in the movement of these longer blades is a complex transportation and logistics process that takes team work and proper coordination across multiple organizations to assure damage free results. For example, the Port of Galveston rehabilitated and modified two existing rail track spurs and added two rail track spurs in order to accommodate oversized wind project cargo.

04 Apr 2013

Neighboring California Ports at Loggerheads

Area Map: Image credit Port of Long Beach

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners to support the city’s appeal against a proposed Port of Los Angeles rail yard project. The city’s appeal is of the Southern California International Gateway rail yard project approved recently by the Port of Los Angeles. The 153-acre facility proposed by BNSF Railway Co. sits just outside West Long Beach, alongside the Terminal Island Freeway on land owned by the Port of Los Angeles. Much of its impact would be felt by nearby Long Beach residents, businesses and schools.

08 Mar 2013

L.A. Harbor Commission Approves Railyard Project

Photo: The Port of Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Harbor Commission certified the final Environmental Impact Report for the proposed Southern California International Gateway (SCIG) intermodal railyard and approved a landmark rail infrastructure project that would increase the efficiency and competitiveness of moving containerized cargo through the nation’s busiest harbor complex to U.S. and global markets. “Modernizing our transportation infrastructure is crucial to creating jobs, strengthening our economy and improving our quality of life in Los Angeles,” said Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino.

26 Feb 2013

NASSTRAC Sets Agenda for 2013 Conference Expo

The National Shippers Strategic Transportation Council, NASSTRAC, announces agenda for 2013 Shippers Conference & Transportation Expo. This event, which is developed specifically for the education and networking needs of transportation and supply chain executives with manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers and distributors, will take place April 21-24, 2013 at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando. This year's conference will feature more than 25 educational sessions that cover relevant topics on transportation that range from economic freight indicators and perspectives of carrier challenges from CEOs in all modes to advocacy issues such as hours of service and CSA.

19 Nov 2012

Ethanol Safety Seminar Scheduled in Fort Worth, Texas

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) & Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway to co-host a free Ethanol Safety Seminar  on Nov. 29, 2012. The seminar will be held at the Fire Service Training Center on the northwest campus of Tarrant County College. This course was developed to give first responders, hazmat teams, and safety personnel an in-depth look at proper training techniques needed when responding to an ethanol-related emergency. A majority of this training is based on the Complete Training Guide to Ethanol Emergency Response, a training package created by the Ethanol Emergency Response Coalition (EERC) that has been distributed throughout the United States and to several countries worldwide.

18 Aug 2011

Washington Gov. Gregoire to Lead Contingent of Top-Tier Presenters at AAPA’s 100th Annual Convention

Sept. 11-15 conference to also spotlight Port of Seattle’s centennial anniversary. Against the backdrop of one of the USA’s busiest and most picturesque working waterfronts, the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) -representing seaports throughout the Western Hemisphere - will hold its 100th Annual Convention, Sept. 11-15, in Seattle. “We’re thrilled to be holding our 100th Annual Convention and Expo in Seattle, which last hosted it 22 years ago and, prior to that, during the Port of Seattle’s 10th anniversary in 1921,” said Kurt Nagle, AAPA’s president and CEO. “Throughout the week-long business program, attendees will hear from top government…

13 Apr 2011

Rail Access for Port of Vancouver

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that work can begin on the West Vancouver freight access project in Washington State now that an agreement has been signed between the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Port of Vancouver. The project, which received a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s TIGER II (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) program, will make safety and efficiency improvements for the entire Port by creating access and eliminating a freight chokepoint. “Building better access for the Port will help move goods in and out of Vancouver more quickly,” said Secretary LaHood.