Burlington Northern Santa Fe News

Bryan Day, executive director of the Little Rock Port Authority, weighs in on President Donald Trump’s proposed infrastructure plan, calling for U.S. policymakers to consider inland waterways and ports in America’s infrastructure plan. President Donald Trump and members of Congress continue to discuss plans for a major infrastructure spending plan for our country. With calls from leaders from across the country, members of the federal government are coming together to embrace the importance of maintaining America’s infrastructure.

U.S. coal-burning power utilities are being forced to turn to barges and more expensive trucks to move coal, desperate to shore up stockpiles left dangerously low by the widespread bottlenecks on rail networks. The shift in how coal is being delivered to some power plants from mining regions such as Illinois Basin and comes amid persistent railroad delays that began during last year's severe North American winter. The delays have been perpetuated also by a surge in rail deliveries of crude oil and grain…

Port Metro Vancouver, Canada's largest port, said on Thursday it has approved a new facility to transfer coal from trains onto barges at Fraser Surrey Docks, a decision that followed lengthy public scrutiny over the project's environmental and health impact. After a permitting process lasting more than two years and including environmental impact, air quality and other human health assessments, the port said it found no "unacceptable risks" in allowing the $15 million project to move forward. The Fraser Surrey Docks terminal would handle up to 4 million metric tonnes of coal from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co (BNSF) each year, loading it on barges bound for Texada Island, north of Vancouver, where it would be transferred to large vessels for export.

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.

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.

Offshore Inland Marine and Oilfield Services (OIMOS) today announced plans to expand operations at the Port of Pensacola thanks to shore-side improvements at the Port allowing more vessel service calls at Offshore Inland’s growing subsea support business base there. These plans include the installation of a 1200-amp shore power terminal, and a pier-side sewage discharge station to allow for additional service and support for Port of Pensacola customers. Seven warehouses with 265,000 square feet of available indoor storage area. Covered railcar loading and unloading.

Rick Calhoun, president of Cargill Marine and Terminal, Inc., has been elected chairman of the Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI), the national public policy organization advocating a modern and well-maintained national system of ports and inland waterways. “We are at a critical juncture in the U.S. waterways,” Calhoun said. “The waterways infrastructure is aging, with more than half of our nation’s 240 lock chambers operated by the U.S. WCI is supported by more than 200 waterways carriers…

Marc D. Bumgarner has joined Matson Intermodal System in Oakbrook Terrace as vice president, International. In this position, Bumgarner will be responsible for Matson Intermodals’ entire international business sector, including current customers and strategic growth opportunities. Bumgarner comes to Matson Intermodal with over a decade of intermodal marketing experience. He has held director posts at Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, with an emphasis on sales, marketing and pricing. Most recently, he was vice president, pricing and schedules, for Webmodal, a business-to-buisness web-based platform for the purchase of freight transportation. Bumgarner was one of the seven founding members of the ocmpany’s management team.

Three Vericor Power Systems' TF50 marine aeroderivative gas turbines have been selected to power the 118 Wallypower high-speed yacht being built by Intermarine Shipyard, Sarzana, Italy for Wally Yacht. This is Wally Yacht's first foray into high-speed power yachts, and the company's initial application of gas turbines. Wally Yacht, based in Monte Carlo, Monaco, is a world-renowned designer of high-speed sailing and power yachts. The 118-ft. yacht will feature three TF50 gas turbines in a Combined Diesel Or Gas (CODOG) turbine configuration. Two TF50s will be used as side or "wing" engines, with one small auxiliary diesel engine connected to each wing engine. The diesels will provide for very slow maneuvering only.

Strategically located along the Louisiana Gulf Coast at the junction of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and the Atchafalaya river, the Morgan City Harbor and Terminal District has just completed construction of a medium draft vessel port. This major Louisiana inter-modal transportation facility features an 800-ft. concrete wharf; a 20,000-sq. ft. fire protected transit shed, two-paved cargo marshalling yards covering 117,000 sq. ft., two-rail sidings connecting directly to the cross country Burlington-Northern/Santa Fe main railroad line, a large crane and forklifts to handle containerized cargo and ready highway access to the US Highway 90 (Interstate 49) freeway.