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BNSF Railway Co. plans to spend about $26 million to upgrade lines in Montana and Wyoming.

Two maintenance-of-way (MOW) crews currently are replacing more than 150,000 ties and about 35 track miles of rail between Casper, Wyo., and Silesia, Mont. The $15 million project is expected to be completed by September.

In addition, four MOW crews will begin work next month on a mainline between Custer and Glendive, Mont. To be completed in late July, the $11 million project calls for undercutting six miles of track, replacing more than 75,000 ties and laying about 22 track miles of rail.

BNSF plans to spend about $2 billion this year to improve infrastructure by refreshing track, signal systems and structures, and upgrading freight cars and technologies.

Meanwhile, Union Pacific Railroad plans to spend more than $36 million to improve track on its Chicago-to-Villa Grove, Ill., line.

The work, which began May 8 and is scheduled to conclude in mid-August, calls for replacing more than 155,000 ties, spreading several thousand tons of rock ballast and improving road surfaces at 152 grade crossings.

The Class I invested about $240 million in capital projects in Illinois last year. In 2009, UP officials expect to spend $1.7 billion on track improvements systemwide.