Economic Development

Freight rail is critical to commerce and the health of local, national, and global markets. No other form of ground transportation can move the sheer volume of goods and products to the global marketplace like freight rail does. Rail fuels economic growth safely, efficiently, and in a more environmentally responsible way.

As the economy grows, so will demand for freight transportation. The U.S. Department of Transportation forecasts demand will rise 88% by 2035 from 2002 levels. This will inevitably create a strain on the nation’s rail corridors which can only be addressed through strategic investments.

Improvements to the BNSF Corridors of Commerce will relieve chokepoints on the national rail system and allow it to respond to the nation’s call to increase economic output.

Investments in the Corridors of Commerce create:

• Economic Stimulus – Every $1 invested in rail systems (track, locomotives, bridges, etc.) returns $3 to the American economy, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. That’s a 200% return on investment.
• New Jobs – Collectively, the rail activity in the Corridors support over 162,000 jobs. One direct freight rail job supports another 4.5 jobs in factories, power plants, distribution centers and other businesses served by rail. The ripple effect of job creation continues throughout the economy.
• Business Expansion Opportunities – Rail transportation is an economic engine. For example, the BNSF Alliance Intermodal Facility north of Fort Worth, Texas (on the TransCon and MidCon Corridors) is instrumental to the Alliance Global Logistics Hub which encompasses more than 200 separate companies with over 28,000 employees.
• Partnering with the State of Kansas, a similar logistics hub is planned south of Kansas City on the TransCon and is expected to generate, along with the separate independently-developed logistics park, over 13,000 jobs.
• Reduced Costs for Companies – Rail transportation is one of the most cost-effective modes to move freight. Supply chain costs rose for the first time in two decades, up 21% from 2003-2007 as percent of GDP (1.4 trillion in 2007). Leveraging America’s freight railroads, the most affordable in the world, can mantain a competitive advantage for American businesses in the global marketplace.
  • The Tower 55 project alone is forecasted to reduce shipper supply chain costs by over $100 million by 2022.