BNSF completes flood restoration work in Pacific Northwest

BNSF Railway last month completed flood restoration work in the Pacific Northwest, restoring washed out track to service during peak holiday delivery season. 

In early December 2025, flooding hit four BNSF subdivisions in Washington state, leaving them in varying states of disarray. Engineering crews restored all four subdivisions by Dec. 19, 2025, BNSF officials said in company "Rail Talk" post by Mike Pagel. 

The Cascade Range in western Washington logged more than 17 inches of rainfall. Only slightly less rainfall was recorded in the Puget Sound region and between the mountains, BNSF officials said. As a result, rivers overflowed and washed out portions of BNSF's track and ballast shoulders. In some areas, hundreds of feet of track were damaged. 

Strong wind knocked out power in the region — BNSF's signal teams used generators to power signals until it was restored. Crews restored the washed out lines in time for the Class I to deliver more than 80 million packages ahead of the holidays, BNSF officials said.

"What an impressive display of teamwork and resiliency by our team members to safely restore our lines on these subdivisions," said General Manager, Northwest Division Edmundo Rodriguez. "This truly was a historic weather event that presented a significant number of challenges to the BNSF crews in the field."