BNSF to invest $125 million in state projects

By KYLE ARNOLD World Business Writer on Sep 17, 2013, at 2:27 AMUpdated on 9/17/13 at 4:32 AM

BNSF Railway Co. expansion projects will include a new bypass connection at the Cherokee rail yard in west Tulsa. MICHAEL WYKE / Tulsa World

Projects will include a new bypass connection at the Cherokee rail yard in west Tulsa and extending a siding area on the carrier's tracks near Mannford.

"BNSF's capital investments in Oklahoma will help ensure our network is prepared for growing demand for freight rail," BNSF Chairman and CEO Matthew K. Rose said in a statement. "We are focused on investing to meet our customers' expectations and on expanding capacity where growth is occurring."

The Fort Worth-based company is also planning projects on its track between Sequoyah and DeGroat, a new siding area near Camp, which is between Mannford and Pawnee, a track connection at Avard in northwestern Oklahoma for the line that connects Tulsa to the company's Los Angeles-to-Chicago Transcon Route. Plans also include replacement of a rail bridge near Ponca City.

All the projects are slated to be finished by the end of this year.

"Given the importance of a low-cost supply chain to the U.S. economy, our privately funded rail infrastructure is well positioned to help Oklahoma compete in global markets," Rose said.

Oklahoma manufacturers and agricultural producers sent nearly 140,000 rail cars of cargo out of the state last year, and about 75 percent of that was industrial equipment and products.

Coming into Oklahoma, nearly half of BNSF's loads were coal.

BNSF, formerly known as Burlington Northern-Santa Fe, has 1,236 employees in Oklahoma and rail yards in Enid, Madill, Oklahoma City and Tulsa. The company owns 1,037 miles of track in the state.

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BNSF to invest $125 million in state projects