Buffett’s BNSF Leads Locomotive Surge to Ease Railroad Cargo Jam

BNSF Railway Co., owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., is leading an effort by U.S. railroads to add hundreds of locomotives to ease a cargo jam spurred by bad weather and surging crude shipments.

BNSF increased engines by 250 in the last two months and will have another 125 new ones on the tracks in the next two months, the company said. Union Pacific Corp., the largest U.S. railroad by total operating revenue, has deployed as many as 250 stored locomotives this year and Norfolk Southern Corp. has pulled more than 100 out of storage to help increase train speeds that have dropped about 9 percent in recent months.