Other Minerals
Because of our superior service and competitive rates, customers turn to BNSF for fast and reliable delivery of many mineral products. Thanks to our expansive network, our clients gain better access to markets and terminals throughout North America. BNSF can ship four truckloads worth of minerals in one railcar. This reduces the number of trucks on the highway, resulting in less traffic congestion and lower emissions.
Because rail reduces loading and unloading times, our customers enjoy significant cost savings and timely deliveries. BNSF offers great value with premier customer service and safe and economical transportation.
Browse the tabs below for more details on shipping aggregates with BNSF.
Because of our public pricing our business provides a level of transparency not available with other modes of transportation. By creating a level playing field in the marketplace, we offer a price that is commensurate with the value we provide and is often a better value proposition than alternative modes and providers of transportation.
Use our Carload Shipping Advisor tool to obtain a price for shipping minerals.
Pricing Tools and Resources
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Minerals move under various pricing authorities:
- BNSF 80002 / BNSF 90076 - Sand (renews annually in October)
- BNSF 90007 - Fly Ash (renews annually in March)
- BNSF 90008 - Clay (renews annually in August)
- BNSF 90016 - Barite (renews annually in August)
- BNSF 90019 - Lignite (renews annually in August)
- BNSF 80022 - Cement (renews annually in May)
- BNSF 90028 - Lime (renews annually in May)
- BNSF 90046 - Sodium Sulfate (renews annually in July)
- BNSF 90047 - Soda Ash (renews annually in December)
- BNSF 90071 - Clay (renews annually in August)
- BNSF 90072 - Gypsum (renews annually in March)
- BNSFQ 106688 - Coal Coke (renews annually in October)
- BNSFQ 112507 - Common Salt & Rock Salt (renews annually in July)
- A fuel surcharge is applicable on all BNSF mineral shipments:
- Prices for minerals are renewed yearly in April.
- BNSF requires a completed and approved credit application prior to a shipment order.
Key STCCs (Standard Transportation Commodity Codes)
Key STCCs for minerals (but not limited to):
| STCC | Description | STCC | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28991 | Common salt | 14715 | Rock salt |
| 28123 | Sodium sulfate | 32952 | Clay |
| 14771 | Barite | 29919 | Lignite |
| 14413 | Sand | 32752 | Gypsum |
| 32741 | Lime | 28123 | Soda ash |
BNSF provides superior customer service and support through our dedicated team of shipping experts and our well-maintained fleet that meets the weight and size needs of the industry. With access to most major minerals production and consumption areas in the Western United States and joint-line access to Eastern Markets, we have the flexibility to get your goods where they need to go.
- Review transit times for minerals shipped using our single car services.
- BNSF provides service for minerals only on designated routes. Find out where BNSF ships.
- Check to see if BNSF serves your destination using our switching guides.
- Special exceptions exist for freight moving interline. Use our routing guides for moving freight to the CSX, Canadian Pacific, and Canadian National railroads.
- Customers desiring to ship in unit train service must comply with the Unit Train Operating Guidelines. Please note, in order to take advantage of our Unit Train service, you must own or lease your equipment.
Not Rail Served?
- If you are not directly served by a railroad and need delivery by truck, consider using one of our premier transloaders or BNSF Logistics.
- You can also work with our Economic Development team to establish or expand your next site. Talk to us today!
Please select equipment from the drop down.
Open Top Hopper
| Specifications Table | Diagram |
|---|---|
| Cubic Capacity | 3420 to 4,000 |
| GWR | 263,000 lbs to 286,000 lbs |
| Outlet Gates | Bottom Dump Gravity |
| Commodities | Coke, Metallurgical coal, Clay, Slag, Pumice, Crushed stone |
| Fleet Size | 3,300 |
Covered Hoppers
| Specifications Table | Diagram (Jumbo) | Diagram (Large) | Diagram (Small) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cubic Capacity | 5161 to 5188 | 4427 to 4750 | 2700 to 3426 |
| GWR | 286,000 lbs | 263,000 lbs | 263,000 to 286,000 lbs |
| Hatch Type | Trough, Combination | Trough, Circular | Trough, Circular |
| Outlet Gates | Gravity, Pneumatic | Gravity, Pneumatic | Gravity |
| Commodities | Grain, Sugar, Malt | Grain, Sugar, Malt, Fertilizers, Potash, Sand, Clay, Alumina, Coke, Lime | Sand, Perlite, Roofing Granules |
| Fleet Size | 15,500 | 16,600 | 2,100 |
Boxcar
| Specifications Table | Diagram (50 ft) | Diagram (60 ft) |
|---|---|---|
| Inside Length | 50 ft | 60 ft |
| Inside Height | 13 ft | 13 ft |
| Inside Width | 9.6 ft | 9.6 ft |
| Door Type | Plug | Sliding and plug |
| Door Width | 10.6 ft to 16 ft | 10.6 ft to 16 ft |
| Lading Capacity | 185,000 to 215,000 lbs | 201,000 to 209,000 lbs |
| Cubic Foot Capacity | 6,100 to 6,250 | 7,500 |
| Plate | F | F, G |
| Fleet Size | 2,560 | 1,394 |
Private Equipment Policy
If you own your own equipment and plan to ship it on BNSF Railway, your equipment must be registered via the OT5 process that is administered by Railinc. To register, you will need your CIF number, proper UMLER information and the car numbers to be registered. For more information, please contact BNSF Private Equipment Management Team.
Helpful Links
Loading Origin Guarantees
Shippers have the ability to guarantee equipment supply through BNSF's Loading Origins Guarantee (LOGs) program. See more information on the LOGs program.
- Carload Reference Guide
- Carload At A Glance Guide
- Standard Carload Policies are under BNSF 6100-A
- Loading & Shipment Safety
- Extended Equipment Use and Services
- Weight Restriction Maps
- Oversized Shipments Reference Guide
- Oversized FAQs
- Approved Interchange Points for positive handoff of TIH/PIH commodities
- Hazardous Waste Manifest
Sign up for BNSF Customer Updates to receive information regarding:
- Service advisories: Temporary changes to service, including derailments, weather and holiday interruptions.
- Network overviews: Information on the overall BNSF network and regional maintenance of way projects.
- Facility updates: Information related to specific facilities.
- Marketing news: New service or product offerings or permanent changes to existing service.
- Web updates: Information about new or changes to existing Web-enabled tools at bnsf.com.
- Pricing updates: Changes to existing private or public price authorities for both intermodal and carload traffic.
- Customer letters: Customer letters are sent via U.S. Mail from various Marketing groups on a variety of marketing and service-related topics.
Become a New BNSF Customer
|
Begin shipping with BNSF quickly and easily. We will need the following information to get you started with BNSF:
|
817-867-6223 or customer.development@bnsf.com |
Pricing/Rates
| Get a rate quickly with our easy online price lookup tool | Price Lookup tool | |
| If no rate available via Price Lookup tool, contact a BNSF representative via phone or email | Karen Nelson (Industrial Sand, Borates, Talc, Cullet, Soda Ash) |
Tel: 817-867-6509 |
| Welth Elbert (Gypsum, Lime, Cement, Fly Ash) |
Tel: 817-867-6037 | |
| Katie Baker (Barite, Clays, Lignite, Salts, Sodium Sulfate) |
Tel: 817-867-6376 | |
| Bill Houston (Taconite) |
Tel: 817-867-6208 | |
Shipping Questions
| Our Customer Support team will answer questions about your shipment, including billing, service, etc - specify what kind of questions go to Customer Support |
Customer Support 888-428-2673, option 4, 3 |
| Our Equipment team will help answer your questions regarding equipment-maybe also specify some of the commonly asked questions | 888-428-2673, option 4, 4 |
Helpful Links
| Quickly find out who is served by BNSF | Switching Information |
| Easily locate a transloader on BNSF network | Premier Transloader Directory |
| Locate your new site near BNSF or have your existing site served by BNSF | Economic Development |
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