BNSF Sets $4 Billion Expansion for Oil, Intermodal Shipments
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. plans to increase capital spending at its BNSF Railway Co. by $4.1 billion this year as it prepares to handle rising oil shipments and expands its intermodal terminal capacity, Bloomberg News reported.
BNSF, Fort Worth, Texas, is also spending about $250 million on a U.S. rail-safety mandate and $550 million for terminal, line and intermodal expansion and efficiency projects, Bloomberg reported.
Separately, CSX Corp. said it plans a $26 million project to expand its River line between northern New Jersey and the Albany, N.Y., region.
CSX will build 18 miles of second track over the next two to three years to create additional capacity on the Hudson River’s west shore, the freight railroad said in a statement.
BNSF’s plans call for spending $2.3 billion on its core rail network and about $1 billion on locomotive, freight car and equipment purchases, Bloomberg reported, citing the company.
The plans are designed in part to create more capacity for industrial product shipments related to the Bakken shale oil formation in the northwestern United States.
CEO Matt Rose said earlier this month that BNSF will spend “a couple hundred million dollars” on capital improvements to haul more petroleum to refineries from the formation and said that he expects the railroad to boost its crude-oil shipments by 40% this year.
