CPKC
CPKC in February moved 2.232 million metric tons (MMT) of Canadian grain and grain products, beating its previous February tonnage record set in 2021, the railroad reported March 3. Last month’s 23,088 carloads also set a new February monthly record, surpassing the previous high also set in February 2021, it noted.
“This is the second straight monthly Canadian grain record and it continues a strong start to 2026 as our railroaders work safely and efficiently with our supply chain collaborators to move a record grain crop across Western Canada,” CPKC Vice President Sales and Marketing Bulk Elizabeth Hucker said. “Our investments in the grain supply chain, combined with our customers’ new and upgraded grain-handling capacity, are moving more Canadian grain for export to markets around the world.”
To begin 2026, CPKC set a new January monthly Canadian grain record moving 2.395 MMT; the previous record was set in January 2023. January 2026’s 24,688 carloads surpassed the previous high also set in January 2023.
Through the first 30 weeks of the 2025-26 crop year, CPKC reported transporting more than 17.1 MMT of Canadian grain and grain products. “These are the largest Canadian grain totals since the record-setting 2020-21 crop year,” the railroad noted. “In addition, February 2026 also set a February carload and monthly tonnage record for the most total grain moved in Canada and the United States on the CPKC network with 46,896 carloads and approximately 4.501 MMT transported last month, exceeding the prior monthly records from 2024.”
The volumes of Canadian grain and grain products moving on CPKC in multiple weeks exceeded the average supply chain capacity targets outlined in the railroad’s annual grain service plan (download below). “It is critical that all supply chain participants, including customer loading facilities and terminal operators loading grain into vessels at ports, operate at full capacity to sustain this strong momentum,” CPKC said.
Separately, CN recently reported that January 2026 was its “second-best” January on record for grain movement. It shipped more than 2.72 MMT of grain from Western Canada, down slightly from the 2.85 MMT “all-time record” set in January 2020. Despite extreme cold weather across its 20,000-mile rail network, CN said it “adjusted its operations to safely and efficiently move Canadian grain to market supporting farmers, along with supply chain and agriculture partners.” The railroad noted that it continues to execute its winter operations plan.
Further Reading:
- CPKC: ‘Exceptional Execution in Challenging Market’
- CTA Releases Annual Maximum Grain Revenue Entitlements for CN, CPKC (part of Class I Briefs)
- CN, CPKC: Ready for 2025-26 Grain Service
- CTA Sets CN, CPKC 2025-2026 VRCPIs
BNSF
“Our teams work tirelessly to ensure the highest levels of safety so that they and their teammates go home in the same condition as when they came to work,” BNSF wrote recently in the RailTalk section of its website. “This teamwork resulted in 2025 being BNSF’s best-ever in safety in the 177-year history of our railroad.”
BNSF’s injury frequency rate (IFR) in 2025 “was about a 16% improvement from 2024,” according to the railroad reported, which also saw a 13% decrease in rail equipment incidents, “surpassing our target for 2025.”
“These levels of safety success deserve recognition, which is why we have a Safety Bell Award program,” BNSF said. “The Safety Bells are brass bells preserved from steam locomotives of yesteryear that remain a symbol of our industry. They are awarded annually to operations teams with the best safety performance.”
In 2025, seven BNSF teams earned Safety Bells for “outstanding safety performance”:
- Best Transportation Team – Powder River Division, Denver
- Best Engineering Team – Powder River Division, Denver
- Best Mechanical teams – Northwest Division, Vancouver, Washington; California Division, Barstow; Topeka, Kans., Diesel Shop; Lincoln, Neb., Diesel Shop; Twin Cities Division, Minneapolis, Minn. (Northtown).
Additionally, BNSF’s Powder River Division took home the bell for Best Overall Safety, which the railroad said “considers the safety success of all three crafts (Transportation, Engineering and Mechanical) in each division.”
“I’m tremendously proud of these teams for their commitment to keeping each other safe day-in and day-out,” BNSF Vice President of Safety Chad Sundem said. “They are truly modeling the way in striving to achieve our vision of operating a railroad free of accidents and injuries.”
According to BNSF, the Safety Bell trophies are held for the year by the Safety Bell honorees in “Stanley Cup-style,” and each team is recognized with their own nameplate affixed on the trophy base. All members of the teams are honored with a commemorative Safety Bell challenge coin, it noted.
Eight BNSF teams earned Safety Bells in 2024.
NS
NS Senior Product Owner Katelyn Brammer is a third‑generation railroader. Her maternal grandfather, Billy Coyne, worked in the traffic department at Norfolk & Western. “His experience in the Merchant Marines during World War II, where he helped move critical cargo in support of the war effort, shaped his appreciation for logistics and transportation and inspired him to pursue a career working in rail after returning home,” NS reported recently in the Story Yard section of its website.
Katelyn’s father is former NS Product Manager Ken Brammer.
After her family moved several times around the East Coast with her father’s career at NS, Katelyn and her family settled in Atlanta. “At a time when Katelyn was going through a career change and considering a new industry, she started thinking about joining the railroad herself and leaned heavily on her dad’s expertise,” according to the railroad.
“I talked to him a lot before I started,” Katelyn said. “I was nervous. I felt like I needed to really understand how the railroad works before I was ready to make that change.”
According to NS, those conversations helped as she stepped into her role at NS, first in HR scaling internal platforms and tools systems, then moving to support customers and their experience. “What she brought with her wasn’t just family history, but family habits,” NS said. “That mindset came from watching her dad navigate a career that involved constant movement, change, and flexibility.” Also key: hard work, staying organized, taking responsibility, and most of all, NS said, solving problems. “When something comes up in our family, we don’t just sit there,” Katelyn said. “We go into action. We figure it out.”
Katelyn carries that same approach into her work, according to NS. “Her role may look different from the ones her grandfather and father held, but the purpose feels familiar,” the railroad noted. “Show up. Support others. Keep things moving.”
Further Reading:
- NS Extends Georgia Tech Partnership (part of Class I Briefs)
- NS Expands Thoroughbred Trading Post Mobile App (part of Class I Briefs)
