**BNSF Railway** stands as North America's largest freight railroad, operating a vast 32,500-mile network across 28 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces, hauling essential commodities like coal, grain, intermodal containers, consumer goods, and industrial products to power homes, feed populations, and fuel the economy.[1][2][6] Formed in 1996 through the merger of Burlington Northern Railroad and Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway—culminating nearly 400 predecessor lines over 175 years—BNSF became a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary in 2010, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, under CEO Kathryn Farmer.[1][2][5] This heritage traces back to pioneering transcontinental routes, including the coal-rich Powder River Basin joint line developed in the 1970s.[1] Key achievements include unmatched efficiency: BNSF moves a ton of freight nearly 500 miles per gallon of diesel, outperforming trucks, and powers one in every 10 U.S. homes with its coal trains while transporting grain for 900 million people's annual bread supply.[4][6] It leads intermodal freight with 33 hubs, handling over a million more loads yearly than rivals, plus 23 automotive facilities, integrating rail, road, and water for seamless supply chains.[1][7] Since 2000, over $50 billion in investments have modernized infrastructure, locomotives, and tech like GPS and predictive analytics, boosting safety, service, and sustainability.[3][4] Today, with ~36,000 employees and 8,000+ locomotives, BNSF runs 1,200+ daily trains, serving 40+ ports and 10,000 customers amid a technologically advanced network featuring centralized dispatching.[1][2][6] Notable for precision railroading and environmental efforts—reducing emissions while minimizing planetary impact—BNSF exemplifies rail's dominance