Rising Above How BNSF Overcame the 2011 Floods

摘要

Water is essential for life. But sometimes there can be too much of a good thing. In the spring of 2011, water from record snowmelt and rains across the Northern Plains caused tributaries and rivers to rise to record levels. With track paralleling much of the affected Missouri, Mississippi and Souris rivers, BNSF has dealt with flooding many times before, including catastrophic floods on parts of the network in 1984, 1993 and 2008. But the 2011 flood has been described as the most severe in BNSF's recent history because of the length of time that river water levels remained at abnormal highs and the length of time significant portions of the network were out of service.