BNSF Railway Co. will continue making massive investments to build out rail transport for America's oil boom, Matthew K. Rose, the company's executive chairman said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
Mr. Rose said the railroad will open a new 10-mile stretch of track that will double-track—or parallel—existing track in its Bakken Shale region next month, and will build another 10 miles of track after that. The segments of track are $25 million to $40 million projects, part of the $1 billion in capital spending BNSF plans this year to expand service along its Northern Corridor that cuts through North Dakota and Montana and borders the Bakken Shale oil region.
That region is where cold weather and bigger-than-expected grain and coal shipments combined with its new crude oil business to cause massive delays and rail traffic tie-ups this past winter.These are nice stories for a number of reasons, not least of which it puts into perspective Mr Buffett's investments.
Earlier today it was reported that Mr Buffett was going to invest $15 billion in renewable energy for the tax credits. Fifteen billion dollars sounds like a lot. But here, in one little piece of the Bakken, in a little part of a sparsely-settled state, Mr Buffett is investing in at least $1 billion. And unlike investing $15 billion for tax credits which benefits a few a few BRK investors, investing in the railroad will actually improve the quality of life for hundreds, if not thousands, nay hundreds of thousands of Americans.
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