BNSF News

BNSF hosts student tours for USDOT program

2013-08-20

BNSF hosted a tour of its Kansas City Argentine Yard and Overland Park Technical Training Center for 20 Kansas City area high school students enrolled in the National Summer Transportation Institute (STI) program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

The students, all interested in careers within the transportation industry, were able to hear directly from BNSF representatives about rail safety, operations and other transportation functions at a rail yard. At the Technical Training Center, BNSF employees discussed employment opportunities and let the students visit the simulators in the learning labs.

"We appreciated BNSF's hospitality to enrich the STI program with an opportunity for the students to visit a modern railroad yard and training facility," said Dr. Wayne Jones, Rose State College's coordinator for the program. "They really learned about programs that support our program motto: careers in transportation - a universe of opportunity."

To educate high-achieving teens, the USDOT and FHWA sponsor the STI program in coordination with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and Rose State College in Midwest City, Okla. These college-bound students participate in a two-week program that includes both classroom and field trips to familiarize them with various transportation modes.

The visit to a BNSF facility has been an annual highlight of the program for the past 15 years. Previous trips have included tours of the Alliance Yard and Intermodal Facility near Fort Worth, the BNSF campus and Network Operations Center in Fort Worth, and Tulsa's Cherokee Yard.

Ed Chapman, director, Hazardous Materials, serves as BNSF's liaison to USDOT. He noted that many students in the program were impressed to see the advanced technology at the railroad.

"Perhaps it will only be a few years before one of these students joins BNSF and hosts a future STI program tour," Chapman said.

Photo: Summer Transportation Institute students and sponsors pose after their tour of BNSF's Technical Training Center at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kan.

BNSF Headquarters

BNSF Railway Company
2650 Lou Menk Dr. 2nd Floor
P.O. Box 961057
Fort Worth, TX 76161-0057
Phone: (817) 352-1000

For more information on the company and its transportation solutions, visit the BNSF Web site at www.bnsf.com