The Great Northern Corridor is an integral part of BNSF Railway’s rail network connecting the Corridor to the national rail system, North American markets and the Global marketplace.
- Links eight States and three Canadian Provinces to the global marketplace
- Serves an area where more than 38 million people live and work
- Supports regional businesses and approximately 12.5 million jobs
- Intersects or parallels 20 major cross continent Interstate and US Highways
- Connects the Northern Tier to the nation’s extensive rail network and economic centers throughout North America
- Links 37 short line railroads and their customers to the national rail network and the global marketplace
- Connects to eleven ocean, river and lake ports, and two inland ports
The Great Northern Corridor is the foundation of the supply chain for raw materials and finished goods that support major U.S. industries and consumer markets.
On the Move
- Carried 278 million tons of freight in 2014
- Supported 51 million tons of agricultural exports
- Moved 964,000 units of consumer goods from ships to logistics parks and distribution centers throughout the country
- Moved 91 million tons of construction materials, building products, manufactured goods, and energy related products to construction sites, consumers, factories, and refineries
- Removed over 10 million long-haul trucks from the nation’s highways
- Supports an area with wind energy generation potential of over two million megawatts
With the recent boom in wind energy projects along the Corridor, growing agricultural exports and consumer product demands, and Bakken Shale crude oil drilling and distribution activities in the region, transportation needs are anticipated to increase significantly over the foreseeable future.