Burlington Northern Santa Fe Merger

The merger created BNSF, one of the two railroads that now dominate freight rail in the western United States and a leading carrier of import containers from Southern California to Chicago and Texas. The Santa Fe brought its fast Los Angeles to Chicago main line, and Burlington Northern brought a vast network across the northern plains and the Pacific Northwest. The two operating railroads were merged at the end of 1996. Union Pacific answered by buying Southern Pacific in 1996, leaving the West with two main railroads. Importers routing containers inland from West Coast ports usually choose between BNSF and Union Pacific intermodal service.

• Intermodal FreightFreight moved by rail and truck in one box
• DrayageTrucking containers from port to warehouse
• TransloadingMoving goods from a container to a trailer

• James J. Hill1838–1916 · Builder of the Great Northern Railway

• Double-Stack Container Trains1984 · Trains carry containers stacked two high
• First Transcontinental Railroad1869 · Rails from east and west meet at Promontory Summit
• Union Pacific-Southern Pacific Merger1996 · A rail merger sets off a western service crisis

1. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation annual report filing, 1996 (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) sec.gov
2. Railroads of the 1990s (American-Rails.com) american-rails.com