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.

Minister of Transport Pablo Rodriguez (left); Vancouver Fraser Port Authority President and CEO Peter Xotta (right).

Intermodal Briefs: Port of Montreal, Port of Vancouver

Transport Canada announces funding to relieve congestion in supply chains and enhance infrastructure at the Port of Montreal. Also, strong Canadian exports support record 2023 trade volumes through the Port of Vancouver.

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)

Commentary

CPChem and BNSF: Superior Sustainability and Service

For several years, Chevron Phillips Chemical (CPChem) and BNSF have worked closely on improving successful service and sustainability practices.

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

Lithograph and canvas giclee prints of railroad artist John Winfield’s 1993 “Warbonnet Renaissance” painting of red and silver Santa Fe 93 pulling a freight train through the Flint Hills of Kansas near Matfield Green (above) are available for sale by Great Plains Transportation Museum to aid in its effort to cosmetically restore Santa Fe 93. (Photograph Courtesy of Great Plains Transportation Museum)

John Winfield Painting Benefits Santa Fe No. 93 Restoration Effort

Wichita, Kans.-based Great Plains Transportation Museum is now selling lithograph and canvas giclee prints of John Winfield’s “Warbonnet Renaissance” to aid in its effort to cosmetically restore Santa Fe Railway diesel-electric locomotive No. 93, which

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

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.

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