Friday, June 22, 2012

BNSF To Invest Almost $200 Million In Railway in Minnesota, North Dakota

Earlier this year I suggested that the railroads would likely increase CAPEX for maintenance and more rail. Not everyone agreed, suggesting that coal and grain shipments greatly exceeded anything coming out of the oil patch. So, it was with interest to see this story today:
BNSF Railway (BNSF) is planning to invest $100m in Minnesota and $86m in North Dakota for railway maintenance, capacity improvements and expansion projects in 2012.
This is what I wrote May 25, 2012:
a) the industry can't build tank cars fast enough
b) the rails were not meant to handle this much traffic; there will be need for more tracks and lot more maintenance
The BNSF story (second link above):
Under the project, BNSF will upgrade rail sidings to increase speed, as well as improve a US government-mandated positive train control (PTC) system.

The investment will also be used for a track maintenance programme in Minnesota, which will include 1,817 miles of surfacing and undercutting work, as well as the replacement of 42 miles of rail and 325,000 ties.
Anyway, go to the link. It's absolutely incredible all that BNSF will be doing to improve the system. 

I found it interesting the amount that will be spent in Minnesota.

Williston Wireline has the story and that's where I found it.
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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 22, 2012 at 9:03 PM

    1. Coal trains are way down. Natural gas for power is the reason.

    2. Old but interesting: http://www.platts.com/IM.Platts.Content/InsightAnalysis/IndustrySolutionPapers/NewCrudesNewMarkets.pdf Good map on p. 7.

    3. When will Eagle Ford pass Bakken? Early 2013, I predict.

    4. Where would the economy be without oil and gas? Disaster.

    5. Boom. From the godfather. http://www.torontosun.com/2012/06/22/green-drivel

    anon 1

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bruce OksolJune 22, 2012 at 9:22 PM

      As usual, a great post.

      It seems I've seen that story about the "grandfather" before, his concerns that the movement had become a "religion." Nice to see that he is willing to speak his mind.

      He is not the only one who has said wind cannot possibly scale up to come anywhere near to meeting global energy demands.

      I could ramble for quite some time. I will just let the story (and your comment) stand "as is." Thank you for taking time to post/comment.

      Oh, I agree with you about the Eagle Ford. It will be interesting to see if south Texas can ramp up that fast; the infrastructure is not there (as it was in North Dakota) and the Williston Basin was much better understood. The enormity of the Eagle Ford will outweigh those "negatives."

      Delete
    2. cragerJune 23, 2012 at 12:10 PM

      And then there is that pesky issue of availability of water for fracking.

      Crager

      Delete
    3. Bruce OksolJune 23, 2012 at 12:28 PM

      In Texas, not North Dakota.

      Delete

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