March 6, 2024 - TRA Newswire - With Update March 16 -

BNSF was able to restore service to both of its main lines in the Panhandle Subdivision in the Texas Panhandle on March 16th.

BNSF Railway operating teams are confronting significant challenges associated with wildfires, which are impacting the velocity and fluidity across the Southern Transcon, through the Texas Panhandle.

On Tuesday, a wildfire was reported in the Texas Panhandle near Canadian, Texas, approximately 100 miles northeast of Amarillo, Texas. The wildfire impacted both of their main lines on the Panhandle Subdivision, which runs between Amarillo and Wellington, Kansas.

BNSF Said "Our bridge across the Canadian River, north of Canadian, sustained significant damage from the fire. BNSF Engineering teams responded quickly by deploying generators to operate signals and detectors impacted by commercial power outages and completing repairs. Thanks to their hard work, BNSF was able to restore service to one mainline in about 36 hours."

The statement from BNSF went on to say "The other mainline span of the bridge is expected to return to service tomorrow morning. While some trains were rerouted during the outage, it will take several days for traffic to normalize on this busy section of our Southern Transcon."

The Smokehouse Creek Fire, now the largest in Texas history, has burned more than 1 million acres across the Texas Panhandle and into western Oklahoma and is only 15% contained as of this morning.

"Our thoughts are with those whom the wildfires have impacted. BNSF and emergency personnel remain on site. As coordinated through our Command Center, the efforts by our various response teams in the area remain focused on protecting infrastructure and restoring service safety as soon as possible," according to the statement.

Regarding overall service performance, average car velocity increased versus the prior week and month, reflecting improved performance across the Northern Transcon in the wake of January’s widespread winter weather event. Terminal dwell increased slightly from last week, and the average is nearly 4% lower than last month. Local service compliance measure continues to trend upwards and is slightly above 92%.

Photo credit: BNSF near Canadian, Texas on the Panhandle Subdivision