Watch: BNSF Intermodal Project Update

Tom Williams, BNSF Group Vice President, Consumer Products

Following the release of BNSF’s first-quarter 2023 financial results, Group Vice President, Consumer Products Tom Williams outlined the Class I’s intermodal project plans and progress for 2023.

In a May 11 video notice (watch below), Williams told customers that the railroad doesn’t take its role in the “supply chain lightly and we’re confident that our hiring plan combined with our continued investments to support growth will continue to enhance our capacity and our service consistency and reliability.” He noted that BNSF in 2022 achieved its hiring plan of 3,000 new employees, half of which were additional train crew members. In 2023, the railroad plans to hire approximately 3,000 new employees “to keep ahead of natural attrition and be positioned to handle our customers’ volume,” he said. Additionally, BNSF’s $3.96 billion capital investment plan for this year, “will ensure that we continue to operate a safe and reliable rail network while meeting your freight shipping needs.”

Williams provided an update on five key projects that will expand the railroad’s intermodal hub network:

1. San Bernardino Intermodal Facility. BNSF has a multi-year project at its Southern California intermodal facility in San Bernardino. It includes the Ono Lead Project to extend the east lead track approximately 10,000 feet to the existing Ono support tracks, which will increase the switching capability of the facility. Additionally, BNSF has partnered in funding with local, state and federal sources to replace the nearly 90-year-old Mount Vernon Avenue Bridge that spans the facility, according to Williams. “The existing bridge has been removed and once complete, the replacement bridge will have a footprint twice as wide,” he reported. “To accommodate this new footprint, we’ll reconfigure portions of our intermodal facility including tracks and parking.”

2. Barstow International Gateway Project. “Also in Southern California, we’ll continue to acquire property the Barstow, Calif., area to support the development of our Barstow International Gateway Project,” Williams said. “This state-of-the-art master plan rail facility is strategically located in the high desert 130 miles from the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, and will offer a number of advantages, including: fully integrated rail and transloading for a streamlined supply chain; significant land for on-site warehouse development for transloading and traditional regional facilities; access to global supply chains via the fastest intermodal route on BNSF Southern Trascon; improved global supply chain fluidity by helping to improve fluidity throughout our rail network by moving containers off the ports more quickly; and a sustainable supply chain solution to support the biggest port complex in the world.”

3. Stockton Intermodal Facility. In Northern California, BNSF will begin an expansion project to increase production at its intermodal facility in Stockton. “We’ll construct one production track, two incremental support tracks, and approximately 950 parking stalls at the facility over the planned two-year project,” Williams reported.

4. Cicero Intermodal Facility: “In Chicago, we’ll continue a multi-year expansion project to increase capacity at our Cicero Intermodal Facility,” Williams said. “After completing the construction of approximately 400 additional parking stalls in 2022, we’ll begin work to add additional production tracks at the facility.”

5. Pearland Intermodal Facility. “As part of our continuing effort to serve the consumer markets in the greater Houston area, in February, we announced our expansion of our direct rail intermodal service connecting our intermodal facility in Pearland, Tex., to the Southern California and Midwest markets.” Williams reported.  

In sum, at BNSF, “we’re committed to having the capacity, the equipment and the people to allow us to say, ‘yes’ to new business opportunities,” Williams said.