Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company announced more details about the major capital projects it plans to complete in 2015 to maintain and grow its rail network. The full news release is linked here. Below you’ll find improvements scheduled for our area.
BNSF plans to invest approximately $700 million in the North Region to expand rail capacity and continue the implementation of PTC technology. The North Region includes: Illinois, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin.
Expansion projects include:
- Continue to install double track on the Glasgow subdivision between Minot, ND, and Snowden, MT, located in the far western part of the state.
- Extend the siding on the Dickinson subdivision located between Mandan, ND, and Glendive, MT, and expand the terminal at the Dickinson yard to accommodate expected growth in single car volumes.
- Convert the entire Devils Lake subdivision, located between Minot, ND, and Grand Forks, ND, to centralized train control, which will improve capacity for freight operation while improving on-time performance of passenger trains.
- Complete implementation of centralized train control on the Hillsboro subdivision, located in eastern North Dakota. Upgrade connection track between the Hillsboro subdivision and the Devils Lake subdivision to permit faster train speeds.
