BNSF Railway

Attempted merger with CN

On December 20, 1999, BNSF and the recently privatized Canadian National Railway announced plans to combine as subsidiaries of a new holding company, North American Railways, which would control about 50,000 miles (80,000 km) of railroad. With CN's lines primarily in Canada and, through subsidiary Illinois Central Railroad, on a north–south corridor near BNSF's eastern edge, the two systems had little overlap. The combination would have benefited both companies by expanding available cash for capacity improvements and allowing for longer single-system movements. Shippers and the Surface Transportation Board expressed concern and surprise about the timing, since the merger that produced BNSF had been the only one in the 1990s that did not cause severe deterioration in service. On March 17, 2000, the STB imposed a 15-month moratorium on mergers involving any two Class I railroads, citing widespread opposition not only to the merger but its effects, likely starting the final round of mergers into two big systems. BNSF and CN immediately turned to the U.S. Court of Appeals, which on July 14 ruled that the STB's right to regulate mergers allowed a moratorium, and the two railroads called off the merger. The STB released its final rules on June 11, 2001, requiring any new application to merge two Class I railroads, with the exception of smaller Kansas City Southern Railway, to demonstrate that competition would be preserved and address effects of defensive moves by other carriers. No further Class I mergers would take place until the merger between Kansas City Southern and Canadian Pacific on April 14, 2023, creating the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway.

Acquisition by Berkshire Hathaway

The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation was incorporated in 1993 to facilitate the merger of Burlington Northern, Incorporated, parent of the Burlington Northern Railroad, and Santa Fe Pacific Corporation, which owned the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (Santa Fe). The corporate merger was consummated on September 22, 1995, at which point shareholders of the previous companies became shareholders of BNSF and the two companies became wholly owned subsidiaries of BNSF. In December 1996, the two holding companies and two railroads were formally merged, and in January 1998 the remaining intermediate holding company was folded into the railroad.

Robert Krebs of Santa Fe Pacific was president of BNSF from the merger until 1999, chief executive from the merger until 2000, and chairman from 1997 until 2002. He was succeeded in all three positions by Matthew K. Rose.

On November 3, 2009, Berkshire Hathaway made a $26 billion offer to buy the remaining 77.4% of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation it did not already own, valuing the purchase at $34 billion. The deal, including Berkshire's previous investment and the assumption of $10 billion in Burlington Northern debt, brings the total value to $44 billion. Consummated February 12, 2010, it is the largest acquisition in Berkshire Hathaway's history.

The deal was structured so that the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation would merge with and into R Acquisition Company, LLC, an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. The deal closed on February 12, 2010, and at the same time, the now merged company changed its name to Burlington Northern Santa Fe, LLC. It remains an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.

Acquisition of Montana Rail Link

In January 2022, BNSF agreed to purchase Montana Rail Link, a private company, for $2 billion, through an "early lease termination". The return to BNSF control required the approval of the Surface Transportation Board, which was approved on March 8, 2023. The railroad had over 900 miles (1,400 km) of track, and served 100 stations. The main classification yard was in Laurel, Montana, with smaller yards in Missoula, Billings, Bozeman and Helena.

BNSF took over MRL operations on January 1, 2024. This absorbed the MRL into BNSF, integrating MRL operations, technology and personnel. All 1,200 employees were offered employment with BNSF.

Proposed merger with CSX Transportation

In August 2025, investor group Ancora Holdings, which recently became CSX's majority shareholder, urged the company to begin exploring a merger agreement with BNSF, the largest class I railroad in the West, in response to the announced proposed mega-merger project between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern.

Warren Buffett, CEO and president of Berkshire Hathaway, BNSF's parent company, has denied that his railroad is seeking a merger with CSX or to submit a better offer for NS. Company executives also denied rumors of an eventual merger with one of the Eastern Class I rail companies. But the company reported that discussions are underway with CSX to launch new joint intermodal services from Jacksonville, Charlotte, Atlanta, and the ports of New York and Newark to BNSF's intermodal terminals in Phoenix, Kansas City, Barstow, Stockton, and San Bernardino.

BNSF transports Boeing 737 fuselages from the Wichita, Kansas plant to Renton, Washington.

Trackage

BNSF Railway directly owns and operates track in 28 U.S. states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. The railway also operates a small amount of track in Canada, including an approximate 30-mile (48 km) section that runs from the U.S.–Canada border to Vancouver, British Columbia, some tracks and a yard in Winnipeg, Manitoba, approximately 70 miles (110 km) of joint track with the Canadian National Railway, which runs south to the U.S. border at Emerson, Manitoba, and less than a kilometer of trackage at the border in Northgate, Saskatchewan.

For administrative purposes, BNSF is divided into two regions and ten operating divisions. The North Region includes the Montana, Northwest, Twin Cities, Heartland and Powder River divisions. The South Region includes the Red River, California, Chicago, Kansas and Southwest divisions. Each division is further divided into subdivisions, which represent segments of track ranging from 300-mile (480 km) mainlines to 10-mile (16 km) branch-lines. The former Texas and Gulf divisions were combined into the Red River Division, and the former Springfield and Nebraska divisions were combined into the Heartland Division, in the spring of 2016.

Not including second, third and fourth main-line trackage, yard trackage, and siding trackage, BNSF directly owns and operates over 24,000 miles (39,000 km) of track. When these additional tracks are counted, the length of track which the railway directly controls rises to more than 50,000 miles (80,000 km).

Additionally, BNSF Railway has gained trackage rights on more than 8,000 miles (13,000 km) of track throughout the United States and Canada. These rights allow the BNSF to operate its own trains with its own crews on competing railroads' main tracks. BNSF locomotives also occasionally show up on competitors' tracks throughout the United States and Canada by way of leases, mileage equalizations, and other contractual arrangements.

Yards and facilities

BNSF operates various facilities all over the United States, plus a yard in Winnipeg, to support its transportation system. Facilities operated by the railway include yards and terminals throughout its rail network, system locomotive shops to perform locomotive service and maintenance, a centralized operations center for train dispatching and network operations monitoring in Fort Worth, and regional dispatching centers.

BNSF Railway also operates numerous transfer facilities throughout the western United States to facilitate the transfer of intermodal containers, trailers, and other freight traffic. BNSF Railway has direct control over a total of 33 intermodal hubs and 23 automotive distribution facilities.

The BNSF mechanical division operates 13 locomotive maintenance facilities that perform preventive maintenance, repairs and servicing of equipment. The largest of these facilities are located in Alliance, Nebraska and Argentine Yard in Kansas City, Kansas. The mechanical division also controls 46 additional facilities responsible for car maintenance and daily running repairs.

The BNSF system mechanical division, a subset of the mechanical division, operates two maintenance-of-way work equipment shops, responsible for performing repairs and preventive maintenance to BNSF's track and equipment, in Brainerd, Minnesota and Galesburg, Illinois. The system mechanical division also operates the Western Fruit Express Company's refrigerated car repair shop in Spokane, Washington.

On October 1, 2022, BNSF Railway announced plans to construct a $1.5 billion state of the art master planned rail facility in Southern California, the first such facility developed by a Class I railroad. The Barstow International Gateway, encompassing approximately 4,500 acres (1,800 ha, 7.0 sq mi), an integrated rail facility, will be located on the west side of Barstow, California. This new facility, when built, will enable more efficient rail operations from the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach to trains for transport through the Alameda Corridor onto the BNSF mainline to the new facility, and then move across the nation on the eastbound BNSF route network.

In June 2024, BNSF Railway announced plans to develop the Surprise Intermodal/Logistics Center, a regional rail-served facility near Phoenix, Arizona. The planned site is located in northwest Maricopa County and will cover 4,321 acres (1,749 ha) of land. The facility consists of three distinct, interrelated components:

An intermodal facility on 1,770 acres (716 ha), which will provide a transfer hub for rail shipments by containers and trailers.

A logistics park on 1,420 acres (575 ha), which will provide sites for warehouse and distribution facilities.

A logistics center on 1,131 acres (458 ha), providing direct-rail-serviced sites for local industry.

Hump yards

Large freight car hump yards are located throughout the BNSF system.

Barstow, California – Barstow Yard

Galesburg, Illinois – Galesburg Yard

Kansas City, Kansas – Argentine Yard

Lincoln, Nebraska – Hobson Yard

Memphis, Tennessee – Tennessee Yard

Minneapolis, Minnesota – Northtown Yard

Pasco, Washington – Pasco Yard

Tulsa, Oklahoma – Cherokee Yard

Intermodal yards

Location of some intermodal yards:

Cicero, Illinois – Chicago Cicero

Chicago, Illinois – Corwith Intermodal Facility

Commerce, California

Edgerton, Kansas – Logistics Park Kansas City

Elwood, Illinois – Logistics Park Chicago

Hodgkins, Illinois – Willow Springs Intermodal Facility

Haslet, Texas – Alliance Yard

Los Angeles, California – Hobart Yard

Memphis, Tennessee

Oakland, California – Oakland International Gateway

Omaha, Nebraska - Gibson Yard

Seattle, Washington – Seattle International Gateway (SIG) Intermodal Facility

Routes

The Northern Transcon runs between Seattle and Chicago. The route is a combination of parts of the old Great Northern, the Northern Pacific, and the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway.

The Southern Transcon runs between Los Angeles and Chicago. The 2006 BNSF Annual Report states: "We also added about 33 miles (53 km) of second main track on our main line between Chicago and Los Angeles. All but 51 miles (82 km) of this high-volume 2,200-mile (3,500 km) route were double track, as of the end of 2006. Last year, we ran 100 trains per day on this expanded main line, compared with 60 per day in 2000." Technically, it is not double tracked in mid-Kansas where two routes are used: Mulvane to Wichita to Newton to Emporia for primarily eastbound traffic; Emporia to El Dorado to Augusta to Mulvane for primarily westbound traffic. In 2008, BNSF completed nearly sixteen miles (26 km) of a third main track through Cajon Pass in Southern California, increasing capacity on the transcontinental main route between Chicago and Los Angeles from 100 to 150 trains per day. BNSF started adding a second main track in Abo Canyon (east of Belen, New Mexico) the largest bottleneck on the Transcon with grading in 2008–2009, bridges in 2010 and signal work in late 2010 or early 2011. Approximately 1.7 million cubic yards (1.3 million cubic metres) of rock need to be excavated, mostly by blasting. The 2008 BNSF Annual Report states: "Following completion of the Abo Canyon project scheduled in 2011, our 2,200 miles (3,500 km) Transcontinental Corridor between Southern California and Chicago will have only about 30 miles (48 km) of single track."

The Powder River Basin supplies forty percent of the coal in the United States. The 2008 BNSF Annual Report states that the quadruple track project was completed.

Operating divisions

The BNSF system is divided into 13 divisions grouped into three regions. Each division includes numerous subdivisions, normally comprising a single main line and branches. A fourteenth division, Colorado, has been consolidated with the Powder River Division, except for the Casper and Cody Subdivisions, which were transferred to the Montana Division.

Passenger train service

BNSF directly operates the BNSF Line for Metra in Chicago and the Sounder in the Puget Sound Region using BNSF-supplied crews in addition to running over its rails. Metra's fleet includes cars originally purchased by BNSF predecessor Chicago Burlington & Quincy with letterboards above the doors; some have the restored "BURLINGTON" lettering, while others read "BNSF Railway". Other Metra cars assigned to BNSF have the BNSF "swoosh" logo next to the door.

The company's network also hosts other commuter trains, including Metrolink in Southern California and, previously, the Northstar Line in Minneapolis. The line used by New Mexico Rail Runner Express was sold in 2005 to the state of New Mexico, but BNSF retained all freight rights on the line and operates freight trains as needed. Amtrak routes that use BNSF rails include the Amtrak Cascades, California Zephyr, Carl Sandburg, Coast Starlight, Empire Builder, Gold Runner, Heartland Flyer, Illinois Zephyr, Lincoln Service, Pacific Surfliner, Southwest Chief, Sunset Limited, and Texas Eagle.

After the 2015 Oxnard train derailment, BNSF loaned 40 of their AC4400CWs to Metrolink while their Rotem cab cars received upgrades. These 40 units were converted to PTC. The locomotives have since been returned after the cab cars went back into service.

Although it does not have a steam program like the Union Pacific, the BNSF has allowed for the Southern Pacific 4449, St. Louis–San Francisco 1522, Santa Fe 3751, Santa Fe 2926, Spokane, Portland and Seattle 700 and Milwaukee Road 261 steam locomotives to operate excursions over their rails.

Safety

BNSF has received E.H. Harriman Award for safety multiple times. But a number of accidents and incidents have occurred on the railway since its inception.

As one of the leading supporters of the Operation Lifesaver program to promote safety at railway crossings and rights-of-way, BNSF Railway established a grade-crossing closure program in 2000. This program, in which BNSF works with communities and landowners to identify unnecessary or redundant crossings, has helped close more than 2,900 of BNSF's railway crossings throughout the United States. BNSF has been the industry leader in lowering the number of grade-crossing collisions.

BNSF contracts with News Link, a small business in Lincoln, Nebraska, to publish employee newsletters focused on safety for some of the railroad's divisions and shops. These newsletters vary in length from four to 28 pages, published ranging from monthly to quarterly.

In 2014, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration ordered BNSF to pay over $526,000 to workers who had been terminated in 2010 and 2011 in contravention of provisions of the Federal Railroad Safety Act protecting whistleblowers after they revealed workplace injuries at the terminal in Havre, Montana.

In August 2016, a "huge number" of used hypodermic drug needles were found along a BNSF railroad bridge between the University Park and St. Johns neighborhoods of Portland, Oregon, that had become an encampment for the homeless. According to a conductor: "Pretty much see people down there at all hours of the night. We report them, but nobody does anything."

In March 2024, BNSF furloughed 360 mechanical workers, a small fraction of the railroad's 37,000 employees, but enough to elicit a condemning letter from the Transportation Trades Department labor coalition calling on the Federal Railroad Administrator to increase inspections. The unions maintain that these cuts will make it difficult for BNSF to finish needed repairs and inspections of its rolling stock. In a letter dated March 2024 sent to the FRA, the Shop Craft Unions at BNSF urged the Administration look at "safety and maintenance issues" in the railroad industry, presenting evidence of a 41% decrease in repair and maintenance departments since 2015. BNSF shippers complain that shipments to the northwestern U.S. have seen delays, most citing lack of enough crew as the reason. They also complained of high rates for secondary shuttle freight.

Safety culture assessment

In 2023, the FRA issued a safety culture report on BNSF. Regulators looked at ten areas of safety, including leadership, continuous learning, and how well safety is prioritized over other demands. The report said that BNSF is working toward a better safety culture but that it still needs to improve, particularly in communication and trust between management and employees.

One of the report's findings concerned the difference between what BNSF leadership says about safety and how employees experience it. Some employees felt that safety sometimes takes a back seat to getting the job done, especially with mid-level managers. The report said that safety issues are not always handled the same way across the company, and that some employees felt that safety concerns were not addressed fairly. It also noted positive steps, like BNSF's investment in safety training and efforts to promote ongoing learning.

The report gave several recommendations to help BNSF improve its safety culture, including better communication, building more trust between workers and management, and making sure safety is always the top priority. The FRA plans to monitor how BNSF responds to these recommendations.

Equipment

According to the 2007 BNSF Annual Report, at the end of 2007 the railway had more than 40,000 employees; 6,400 locomotives (8,359 as of 2018); and 85,338 freight cars (72,369 as of 2018).

Broken down by specific kind of car, the BNSF owned:

36,439 covered hoppers

13,690 gondolas

11,428 open hoppers

10,470 flatcars

7,948 boxcars

4,196 refrigerated "reefer" cars

427 tank cars

416 automobile carriers

81 private/business cars

324 "other" types of cars

In addition, the railroad also owned:

3,253 domestic containers

11,714 domestic chassis (Swap body) (?)

4,070 company service vehicles

1,200 trailers

163 commuter passenger cars

At the end of 2007, the average age (from date of manufacture) was 15 years for the BNSF's locomotive fleet and 14 years for the freight car fleet.

On January 24, 2006, BNSF announced a US$2.4 billion program of infrastructure upgrades for 2006. The upgrade program includes: double- and triple-tracking 40 miles (64 km) of track and a second mainline track through New Mexico's Abo Canyon on the former ATSF transcontinental line; expanding the Lincoln, Nebraska, classification yard and double- and triple-tracking 50 miles (80 km) of track in Wyoming's Powder River Basin region; expansions at eight of the railroad's larger intermodal facilities, and extending many sidings and expanding and improving refueling facilities. In making the announcement, BNSF chairman Matthew K. Rose cited improvements in the company's return on invested capital and expressed hope for continued improvement. In March 2008, the railroad was completing the triple-tracking of Cajon Pass in California, creating four tracks through the pass—three BNSF (former Santa Fe and newly installed) and one Union Pacific (former Southern Pacific).