Re: Berkshire-Hathaway buys BNSF Railway
Author: BOB2
Date: 11-03-2009 - 12:40
BNSF has been working closely with the public agencies and with the FRA, on PTC, and on shared ROW use, grade separations, and quality of service and safety issues. Rose is talking shared ROW with utilitiies in the updating of the national electrical grid, which could help offset the cost the railroad electrification, making this already efficient railroad independent of costly and fluctuating fuel sources, and more competitive yet, into the future. Management is one of the reasons Buffet has always like BNSF, and my experience with them has been the same.
UP has been absent at the table, balking at dual use, slow on PTC, now complaining about the time table. UP has recovered from the worst of it's post SP merger management competency issues, it's stock is somewhat stable, but it is a candle to the BNSF flame, in terms of management and capitalization. UP is still a poster child in bad service, especially to captive customers, helping to make the case for both the need and the demand for some aspects of railroad re-regulation, to curb anti competitive-monopolistic hubris.
I'm thank you Mr. Buffet, for the thousands of dollars you just gave me.