BNSF joins BiTA to help set technology standards

BNSF Railway Co. recently became the first Class I to join the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA).

The alliance is composed of more than 200 freight transportation companies working to develop blockchain standards for the logistics industry and the supply chain as a whole, BNSF officials said in a press release.

BNSF and the other BiTA members will work to define the data in the freight transportation blockchain, how the data is formatted and structured, and in which cases the blockchain will be used.

"Blockchain technology has the potential to change several aspects of the transportation industry and it is important that the industry comes together to align around a set of standards," said Muru Murugappan, BNSF vice president of technology services and chief information officer. "We are excited to help drive those standards forward as a member of BiTA."

Blockchain functions as a distributed ledger in which all members of a particular blockchain have access to all data in it. Altering the information within a blockchain requires 51 percent of participants to approve the change.

BNSF's embrace of technology standards will have a "profound impact on the future of customer supply chains," said BiTA Managing Director Craig Fuller.

To learn more about BNSF's embrace of technology, read the cover story in Progressive Railroading's January issue.