The BNSF Honors Three Shortline Railroads For Partnership Excellence

Source: BNSF (Press Release)

BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) recognized three shortline railroads for their tremendous success and partnership over the past year with a BNSF Shortline Achievement Award at this year's 14th Annual Shortline Conference on Oct. 19, 2009 in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Plainsman Switching Company (PSC), Yellowstone Valley Railroad (YSVR), and Burlington Junction Railway (BJRY) were chosen because of their ability to increase the volume and development of new customers and for being good stewards in their communities.

"BNSF is proud to recognize these three shortline railroads," said Pete Rickershauser, BNSF vice president, Network Development. "Each shortline has greatly exceeded the standards in customer focus, resourcefulness, operational flexibilities, and a local presence in their communities. The end result has been growth business benefitting all involved supply chain stakeholders. BNSF hopes their roles will continue to expand and our relationship will continue to grow."

The relationship BNSF has with these shortline railroads and the growth of both businesses are significant components to receiving a BNSF Shortline Achievement Award. PSC restored confidence in rail service to Lubbock, Texas by attracting new rail-served businesses to the area. PSC handles major commodities such as cottonseed, cotton oil, grain, aggregates and machinery. In 2008, PSC handled more than 8,500 cars.

YSVR has been successful in developing new customers in the natural gas, crude oil, and frac sand markets, while operating in the sometimes extreme weather conditions of Eastern Montana. These new endeavors combined with YSVR's long-standing relationships with agriculture industry customers, help create the outstanding performance YSVR and its dedicated employees have recently achieved.

BJRY, based in the Quad Cities of Iowa and Illinois, has enjoyed 12-percent volume increases year over year. Started as a single rail operation in 1985, BJRY now has six locations, having recently acquired eight new customers through transloading. BJRY is proud of their 24-year streak of no lost-time injuries among their employees.

Operating on about 19,000 miles of track across the United States, nearly 200 BNSF shortline partners keep hundreds of communities and businesses connected to its mainline.

A subsidiary of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (NYSE:BNI), BNSF Railway operates one of the largest railroad networks in North America, with about 32,000 route miles in 28 states and two Canadian provinces. The railway is among the world's top transporters of intermodal traffic, moves more grain than any other American railroad, transports the components of many of the products we depend on daily, and hauls enough low-sulfur coal to generate about ten percent of the electricity produced in the United States. BNSF Railway is an industry leader in Web-enabling a variety of customer transactions at www.bnsf.com.