BNSF: Employment, shipping increase

Things have picked up for the railroad freight company that runs trains through Havre, although a spokesman says the level of shipments is still below pre-recession numbers.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway spokesman Gus Melonas said last week that the number of employees working in Montana has increased in the last two years and is expected to continue to move upward.

Melonas said the company added 50 active workers in Montana in 2009 and another 70 in 2010.

The company furloughs employees when demand for work decreases due to reduced shipping. Numerous Hill County and other Hi-Line employees were furloughed after the recession hit in 2008.

BNSF does not release employee numbers specific to a location such as Havre or Hill County.

The increased demand in the last two years also brought back into use a number of stored cars, sitting idle on unused railroad tracks in Montana.

BNSF brought cars stored on 13 miles of track between Havre and Big Sandy, as well as at least some of the cars stored on 32 miles of track between Great Falls and Helena, back into use starting in early 2010.

BNSF first started storing the cars on the Havre-Big Sandy track in 2005.

Melonas said the number of trains running in 2010 had increased over the levels in the previous two years, although it still had not reached the number running in 2006.

He said the company expects traffic volume and the number of active employees to continue to increase in 2011.