BNSF completes siding projects to expand capacity near Phoenix

BNSF Railway recently added a 10,000-foot siding and extended another to 10,000 feet to increase capacity on its rail line into Phoenix, the Class I announced yesterday.

Combined with another siding that was extended to 16,000 feet in 2022, BNSF has increased train fluidity along its line, linking Phoenix with the railroad's Southern Transcon corridor and connecting at Williams Junction west of Flagstaff, Arizona, according to a social media post. 

Previously, BNSF had only one significantly longer siding along the mainline between Phoenix and Williams Junction, according to a BNSF Rail Talk online article about the project. The Congress siding is on the south end of the subdivision and the Tucker siding is near the midpoint.

The siding projects are part of BNSF's overall capital expenditure plan to expand capacity. In 2025, the Class I has budgeted $3.8 billion for capital expenditures.

In addition to the Phoenix siding work, the railroad recently finished a multiyear, double-track project in the Fort Worth Subdivision along an 8-mile stretch between downtown Fort Worth and the Alliance Intermodal Facility. That project resulted in double-track capacity from south of Fort Worth about 25 miles north to south of Justin, Texas. Crews also removed a crossing diamond and interlocker in Saginaw, Texas.