The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company is planning to spend big money this year in New Mexico.
The Fort Worth-based freight transportation company has announced that it will put $80 million into basic maintenance efforts, including upgrading and replacing rails, rail ties, and track ballasts.
Crucial to the company’s operations in New Mexico is the famous Southern Transcon route, of which 10 miles of a third mainline will be constructed between Belen and Dalies, 11 miles to the northwest.
In a statement, Kerry Walls, general manager of operations for BNSF’s Southwest Division, called the Southern Transcon the “rail equivalent of a superhighway, making it an idea route for high-priority containerized traffic.”
The Southern Transcon connects Chicago to southern California and is primarily a double-track intermodal corridor. It runs through central Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas, before slicing through northern Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.
Updating work will also include about 1,600 miles of undercutting work, or track surfacing. In addition, BNSF expects to replace nearly 15 miles of rail in New Mexico, along with 110,000 rail ties.
Altogether, BNSF nationally is planning to spend some $3.3 billion updating its infrastructure this year, with $500 million of that figure going to expansion projects.
By Garry Boulard
