BNSF

Commentary

New Portal Transforming BNSF Customer Experience

Everyone’s been there: you know the website information you need is at your fingertips you just can’t find it. Even using the search function, the information remains elusive. Or perhaps you have your go-to webtool, and beyond that, you spend more time searching for information than should be necessary.

Photo Courtesy of BNSF, via X (formerly Twitter)

Class I Briefs: CSX, BNSF

CSX makes a $10 million donation toward the Museum of Science & History’s (MOSH) move to the Northbank in Downtown Jacksonville, Fla. Also, BNSF’s Needles Third Mainline, Segments 1 and 2 project is recognized with the American Council of Engineering Companies’ (ACEC) Engineering Honor Award for California.

Headlining the 2024 NARS Annual Meeting in Chicago are BNSF President and CEO Katie Farmer (Railway Age’s 2023 Railroader of the Year), retired Kansas City Southern CEO Patrick Ottensmeyer (Railway Age’s 2020 Railroader of the Year and 2022 Co-Railroader of the Year), and Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena.

Farmer, Ottensmeyer, Vena Among NARS Headliners

BNSF President and CEO Katie Farmer, retired Kansas City Southern CEO Patrick Ottensmeyer, and Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena will serve as keynote speakers at the North American Rail Shippers Association (NARS)

How It Works: FLOW Data Inputs and Outputs—Members of the FLOW program (e.g., beneficial cargo owners, ocean carriers, ports, terminals, railroads) share individual logistics data (highlighted in bold in the graphic above) with the USDOT and in return receive an aggregated, anonymized, and holistic view of the relationship between incoming containers (demand), the available assets to move containers (supply), and throughput within a supply chain region. Incoming demand is shared up to 90 days in advance of arrival. (USDOT Graphic)

USDOT Marks Milestone on Second Anniversary of FLOW

The Freight Logistics Optimizations Works (FLOW) platform is now publishing data on inland freight hubs, including rail terminal and warehouse end destination data, that will provide an “enhanced view” of future container import volumes and traffic, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) reported March 20, the second anniversary of the platform’s launch to provide an integrated view of supply chain conditions in the United States and to help users forecast how current capacity and throughput will fare against future demand.

STB Denies UP’s Motion to Keep Employment Data Confidential

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) on March 14 announced that it has denied a motion for protective order filed by Union Pacific (UP) to keep certain required, temporary employment data reporting confidential. STB also directs UP to submit public versions of previously submitted data.

Commentary

BNSF Desperate for an Inflection

The Smokehouse Creek wildfire in Texas, which severed BNSF’s Transcon route on February 27, was the latest in a series of problems that have significantly slowed BNSF’s network and impacted service. After

BNSF Vice President of Industrial Products Ryan Dreier has been appointed to STB's Railroad-Shipper Transportation Advisory Council.
  • News

Dreier Appointed to STB’s RSTAC    

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) on March 12 announced that it has appointed Ryan Dreier to its Railroad-Shipper Transportation Advisory Council (RSTAC) as a large railroad representative.