ELWOOD – BNSF Railway Co. announced Tuesday that expansion of its Elwood facility will be part of a $339 million investment in Illinois operations this year.
At Logistics Park Chicago in Elwood, BNSF plans to expand loading and unloading tracks for rail cars, as well as support tracks. The automotive facility where passenger vehicles are loaded and unloaded for shipment also will be expanded.
"By expanding our Logistics Park Chicago automotive facility, we are positioning ourselves to meet growing market demands," BNSF spokesman Andy Williams said in an email.
The Elwood project is one of seven BNSF plans for Illinois, including additional work on the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency program, designed to increase passenger and freight rail efficiency in the Chicago area.
The Illinois plan includes 1,099 miles of track surface and undercutting work, as well as the replacement of 52 miles of rail and nearly 93,000 ties, BNSF said.
Fort Worth, Texas-based BNSF said its $6 billion capital plan for 2015 is the largest in the company's history.
Jason Jenkins, general manager for operations in the Chicago Division, said in a written statement that the "investments in Illinois are a clear reflection of how important our operations in the state are to our overall network."
The BNSF operation in Elwood is one of two intermodal yards at Center Point Properties' neighboring industrial parks. Union Pacific has an intermodal yard at CenterPoint's industrial park in Joliet.