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On June 3, BNSF Railway Co. marked the first train to traverse new double track through New Mexico’s Abo Canyon. A recently completed project addressed one of the last remaining segments of single-line track on BNSF's busy Southern Transcon line between Los Angeles and Chicago.

The more than two-year project was completed ahead of schedule without a reportable or non-reportable injury, according to BNSF. Since work began in October 2008, crews laid five miles of new track, blasted about 3.6 million tons of rock and built nine bridges totaling about 3,000 feet in length.

The new double track, located about 25 miles east of Belen, N.M., “will help improve velocity through the canyon, eliminate bottlenecks and accommodate rail traffic growth on this section of BNSF's transcontinental line,” said Vice President of Engineering Sam Sexhus in an item posted on the “BNSF News” web page. “About 80 trains were traveling this portion of the track every day and now we can handle about 130 trains per day.”