Reflections on BNSF, rail growth and the future of North American railroads

Investors and analysts focus on the publicly traded stocks and tend to see BNSF Railway "only through the eyes of its major competitor," the Union Pacific, writes independent transportation analyst Tony Hatch. "The only finance types who seem to care about BNSF are Berkshire Hathaway superfans who flock each year, pre-Pandemic anyway, to Omaha (irony!) for “Buffettpalooza”/the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting," he adds. But how can you ignore the largest railroad on the continent, and the one with the largest — and best — intermodal franchise on the planet? You simply cannot, Hatch writes.