FARGO, N.D. - BNSF Railway recently announced details of a
$6 billion capital spending plan for 2015, the biggest in the company’s history.
That amount includes $325 million in North Dakota and $326 million in Minnesota. Corresponding figures were not immediately available for South Dakota or Montana.
The investment is “substantial” in both states, said Amy McBeth, a spokesperson for the railroad.
In Minnesota, BNSF planned $120 million in spending last year and ended up at $138 million. The $326 million planned for 2015 include:
• Constructing double track segments from Big Lake to Becker and from Little Falls to Darling.
• Installing CTC signaling projects along the Monticello, Staples and St. Croix subdivisions.
• Constructing a 2-mile double track segment from Minneapolis Junction to St. Anthony.
• Converting a section of track in the Dayton’s Bluff area of St. Paul to a third mainline track.
• Building a new train siding along the Noyes subdivision to enable trains on the same line to pass, resulting in better train flows.
BNSF in North Dakota projected $400 million in spending in 2014, but spent $506 million, McBeth says. North Dakota projects for 2015 include:
• Continued construction of 37 miles of double track between Minot and Williston.
• Centralized traffic control signaling projects to manage and improve rail traffic and flow.
• Upgraded track between Hillsboro and Devils Lake subdivisions.
• Extended siding between Mandan and Glendive, Mont., to allow trains on the same line to pass.
• Expanding the capacity and classification of the Dickinson Yard.
