Safety and Security

As a leader in railroad safety, we recognize that a safe and secure railroad network is important to our stakeholders and essential to our nation’s future. The accident rate for U.S. railroads is significantly lower than that for the trucking industry and are some of the lowest in the transportation industry overall.

Our vision is to operate free of accidents and injuries, and every day we work to make that vision a reality through safety programs, training and technology.

BNSF Safety Vision

We are industry leaders in safety. Our grade crossing incident rate has consistently been the lowest among major railroads. We are also a leader in developing new technology to improve the safety of our operations.

We believe every accident or injury is preventable. We work to achieve that vision by:

  • Fostering a culture that makes safety our highest priority and continuously examines the effectiveness of our safety process and performance.
  • Equipping our workspace with resources and tools that create an environment where all known hazards will be eliminated or safeguarded.
  • Promoting work practices and training for all employees that make safety essential to the tasks we perform.
  • Empowering our team to take responsibility for personal safety, the safety of fellow employees and the communities we serve.

Bridge Safety and Inspection

  • BNSF’s Bridge Management Program includes comprehensive inspections and an ongoing commitment to maintaining and repairing and, when necessary, replacing, rail bridges on the BNSF network.

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Hazardous Materials

Railroads carry some hazardous freight and it is of the utmost importance for our customers, the communities through which we operate and our employees that we handle these shipments safely.

Inspection and Detection

  • BNSF regularly conducts extensive track, bridge, rail and weather event inspections across our network, meeting all federal requirements.
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Joint Labor Initiatives

We put a tremendous emphasis on a collaborative approach to safety.

Police Team

The Police team is the law enforcement division of the Resource Protection team. Railroad police are provided police authority from state and local governments and are authorized interstate authority by the federal government.

Railroad Grade Crossings

Our network includes more than 25,000 grade crossings. Promoting grade-crossing safety is an essential part of our operation and culture.

Rail Safety

  • As one of the largest rail transportation companies in the U.S., we at BNSF understand that we have a responsibility to do everything we can to operate safely.

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Safety and Technical Training

BNSF has made a significant investment in safety and technical training for employees.

Safety for Authorized Visitors

Here’s what you need to know when visiting a BNSF facility.

Train Horn

The train whistle, or horn, is an important part of our safety practices.