BNSF Railway - Communities Matter eNewsletter

BNSF employees and local church volunteers gathered in front of Isabel Gonzales' home.

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY

Throughout the last week of October, BNSF supported the Habitat for Humanity Jimmy Carter Work Project, along with dozens of other companies and organizations. As part of the project, 30 town homes were built and 70 homes rehabilitated in the San Pedro and South Los Angeles areas. Twenty-four BNSF employees and 6 affiliated volunteers worked from Sunday to Friday to renovate the home of 83-year-old San Pedro resident Isabel Gonzales. She has lived in her home for 35 years and would like to stay as long as possible, but the upkeep had become too much for her.

"This is a miracle. I’ve wanted to do these types of repairs for years and couldn’t have done it otherwise." – Isabel Gonzales

The hard-working team, led by Dick Ebel, General Manager of BNSF’s Los Angeles Division, helped give Isabel’s house a facelift, repainting the exterior and making landscape improvements. Rich Dennison also used his carpentry skills to design a new porch roof, which was built, painted and roofed by the BNSF volunteers, who were organized by James Johansson, Director of Port Operations.

Isabel Gonzales truly appreciated the help, saying, "This is a miracle. I've wanted to do these types of repairs for years and couldn’t have done it otherwise." But it was clear that the BNSF volunteers got as much out of it as they’d put in. "It’s been great to give back to the community we work in," said Nelson Vargas, who painted and roofed at the home.

Mike Young added, "it's nice to have opportunity to help an existing homeowner and beautify the neighborhood."

To learn more about Habitat for Humanity, visit www.habitat.org/jcwp/2007.

Green Fest visitors aboard the miniature train.

THIRD ANNUAL GREEN PORT FEST

On October 13th, BNSF participated in the third annual Green Port Fest at the Port of Long Beach. This year, the event attracted a record 7,000 visitors, who were interested in learning more about the Port’s environmental initiatives. In addition to the SCIG booth, BNSF brought its Train Simulator to give visitors a chance to test their skills operating a locomotive. And despite heavy morning mist, approximately 650 people took a ride aboard BNSF’s miniature train, making it one of the most popular Green Port Fest attractions!

LNG HOSTLER UPDATE

Since their introduction a few months ago, natural gas hostlers have become an important part of the equipment portfolio at BNSF’s Hobart Yard facility in Commerce. The 10 hostlers utilize the latest green technology to move containers and were purchased with funding from Parsec and the Carl Moyer program administered by the SCAQMD.

Sound Energy Solutions provided important technical assistance, including consulting with Parsec and BNSF to review how the equipment could be used, performing the emissions calculations, working with Parsec and SCAQMD on the funding, coordinating with the equipment supplier and developing fuel options.

BNSF is testing this equipment for future use at some other intermodal facilities, including the proposed Southern California International Gateway (SCIG) facility. The change to natural gas hostlers could reduce nitrous oxide and particulate matter emissions by as much as 95 percent compared to standard off-road diesel tractors.

BNSF RAILWAY NAMED TOP
MILITARY-FRIENDLY EMPLOYER BY G.I. JOBS

BNSF was recently ranked No. 1 in G.I. Jobs magazine’s annual listing of the Top 50 Military-Friendly Employers, moving up from fourth place on last year’s list. BNSF has an aggressive hiring program aimed at people transitioning from the military to civilian life. Almost 30 percent of BNSF new-hires this year are veterans, up from 20 percent in 2006.

In addition, BNSF has been a strong supporter of the more than 175 BNSF employees who are currently serving on active duty and nearly 600 BNSF employees who have been called to active duty since Sept. 11, 2001. BNSF offers enhanced and extended benefits for those employees called to active duty in the armed services, including make-whole pay and continued health-care benefits. In addition, the railway offers 15 days of make-whole pay for annual training and drill duty.