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BNSF seeks to speed up to 60 mph through Miles City
Note that while 60 mph might be the limit for freights in general, oil trains are subject to separate speed limits.
4 hours ago • By Tom Lutey
A Burlington Northern Santa Fe train carrying Bakken crude oil rolls past Billings.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe has a green light to speed through Miles City at up to 60 mph, and the town isn’t happy.
{Miles City mayor Butch Grenz} said he got a notice in the mail from BNSF several weeks ago that the track was classified by the Federal Railroad Administration for speeds up to 60 miles per hour. ... The mayor said he believes trains are speeding up because Berkshire Hathaway, which bought BNSF several years ago, is getting its money from the trains. Berkshire is the diversified holding company of Nebraska billionaire Warren Buffett. ... “What you’re seeing is Mr. Buffett is a better businessman than the last owners of the railroad were,” Grenz said.
In the past few years, BNSF has invested more than $100 million in its southern line across Montana, which stretches from Glendive to Laurel, where the loads are transferred to Montana Rail Link to be hauled into the Idaho Panhandle.
BNSF has installed sidings long enough for a mile-long train to leave the mainline and keep rolling while another train passes by. This year, the railroad is relocating workers from Glendive and Forsyth to Laurel as it transitions to longer runs. ... But timing is everything on a single rail line with trains traveling in both directions. Speed is part of the BNSF equation, concurred Matt Jones, BNSF spokesman for Montana.
A Burlington Northern Santa Fe train carrying Bakken crude oil rolls past Billings.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe has a green light to speed through Miles City at up to 60 mph, and the town isn’t happy.
{Miles City mayor Butch Grenz} said he got a notice in the mail from BNSF several weeks ago that the track was classified by the Federal Railroad Administration for speeds up to 60 miles per hour. ... The mayor said he believes trains are speeding up because Berkshire Hathaway, which bought BNSF several years ago, is getting its money from the trains. Berkshire is the diversified holding company of Nebraska billionaire Warren Buffett. ... “What you’re seeing is Mr. Buffett is a better businessman than the last owners of the railroad were,” Grenz said.
In the past few years, BNSF has invested more than $100 million in its southern line across Montana, which stretches from Glendive to Laurel, where the loads are transferred to Montana Rail Link to be hauled into the Idaho Panhandle.
BNSF has installed sidings long enough for a mile-long train to leave the mainline and keep rolling while another train passes by. This year, the railroad is relocating workers from Glendive and Forsyth to Laurel as it transitions to longer runs. ... But timing is everything on a single rail line with trains traveling in both directions. Speed is part of the BNSF equation, concurred Matt Jones, BNSF spokesman for Montana.
Note that while 60 mph might be the limit for freights in general, oil trains are subject to separate speed limits.
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