Class I Briefs: BNSF, CSX
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
“Keep an eye out for a bright new container along CSX’s rails!” the Class I reported via LinkedIn on April 5. (Screen Grab of CSX Video, Courtesy of the Class I Railroad)
BNSF reports a double-digit increase in 2024 intermodal volume and service to a new grain handling facility in Sherman County, Tex. Also, CSX debuts its City Year-branded container and another Heritage Locomotive.
BNSF
BNSF on April 6 congratulated its intermodal hub teams, whose “continuous work to keep freight containers moving is yielding results,” the Class I reported in a LinkedIn post. “So far this year, we’ve moved 14% more intermodal volume through our facilities compared to last year.”
Additionally, BNSF called out its teams in Barstow, Calif.; El Paso, Tex.; Memphis, Tenn.; and Phoenix, Ariz., “for achieving record numbers of container lifts in March. We’re proud of the work you’re doing to keep America’s supply chain moving!”
In a separate April 6 LinkedIn post, BNSF reported the groundbreaking of customer JDH’s new grain handling facility in Stratford, Tex. The facility will complement existing operations in New Mexico and Texas, and “enhance our service capabilities to the local agricultural sector, supporting local farmers, dairies, feed yards and other producers,” according to Dean McIntosh, Southwest JDH General Manager.
JDH will transport, store and process a variety of agricultural products at the site, which will feature a double looped rail track and high-speed unloading systems. Construction is expected to be completed within the next 12 months.
“We are excited for this new partnership with JDH and are looking forward to the opportunities the facility will bring so we can better serve our friends in the local agricultural community,” BNSF General Director of Agricultural Products Marketing Matthew White said.
“Our roots are deeply intertwined with rural America, Class I railroads, and grain and commodity handling,” said Jefferson Hillman, CEO and fifth-generation family leader of JDH, which is based in Omaha, Neb. “This new facility in Sherman County is a perfect fit with our core business and a proud extension of our 137-year history.”
CSX
“Keep an eye out for a bright new container along CSX’s rails!” the Class I reported via LinkedIn on April 5. “Our specially-designed container will support the vital work of @CityYear, our longtime community partner.”
City Year works with public schools in 29 communities across the U.S. and through international affiliates in the U.K. and South Africa. “Diverse teams of City Year AmeriCorps members provide support to students, classrooms and the whole school,” according to the organization, which notes that schools partnering with City Year “are up to two to three times more likely to improve in English and math assessments, and the more time students spend with AmeriCorps members, the more they improve on social, emotional and academic skills—skills that help students thrive in school and contribute to their community.”
CSX is one of City Year’s national partners, which also include AT&T, Bank of America, The Lego Foundation, NBA Foundation, NFL Inspire Change and The Starbucks Foundation. Comcast NBCUniversal, Deloitte, New York Life Foundation, Red Nose Day, Taco Bell Foundation and Truist are national strategic partners.
“Watch for updates as the City Year container moves across our network and we work in partnership to make our communities stronger, safer and more united,” CSX reported.
CSX also debuted its latest Heritage Locomotive, ES44AH No. 1852, prepared in its Waycross, Ga., shops. The livery is a “hybrid design” that features modern CSX colors on the front cab portion of the unit transitioning to the heritage colors and logos, and a number that corresponds to the predecessor’s founding. The Western Maryland Railroad was established in 1852 in Baltimore, Md., and eventually became part of the Chessie System (merger of the C&O and B&O), which became CSX following a merger with Seaboard Coast Line. “There’s a great history of coal and freight service in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia,” President and CEO Joe Hinrichs said in a LinkedIn post.
