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BNSF Railway Co. continues to whittle away single-track sections from its 2,239-mile transcontinental or “Transcon” route between southern California and Chicago. By year’s end, only 51 miles of the route will be single tracked while 2,188 miles will be double or triple tracked.

Last week, the Class I opened an 8.5-mile double-track segment between Mulvane and Cicero, Kan. — a project completed one month ahead of schedule. Earlier this year, BNSF completed a nine-mile section between Roland and Milan, Kan. In fall, the railroad expects to finish a 14.5-mile section between Attica and Hazelton, Kan.

The Mulvane-to-Cicero section will help expedite container traffic just in time for the fall peak, BNSF said.

“There should be a noticeable improvement in velocity with this cutover as it will help alleviate some of the bottlenecks that occur on this portion of the Transcon,” said BNSF Director of Engineering Services Tom Schmidt in a prepared statement.

By mid-2008, BNSF officials expect to double-track the Transcon’s remaining single-track sections.