BNSF News

BNSF begins service to new ethanol terminal in Birmingham, Ala.

2013-02-14

Earlier this year, BNSF began service to a new ethanol terminal in Birmingham, Ala., providing BlendStar, a wholly owned subsidiary of Green Plains Renewable Energy Inc., a gateway to Southeast U.S. markets.

BNSF, Green Plains Renewable Energy Inc., and BlendStar celebrated the grand opening of the facility on Feb. 14. The facility has a storage capacity of 160,000 barrels with a throughput capacity of 300 million gallons of ethanol biofuel annually with expansion capabilities.

"The terminal provides consumers with access to ethanol from Midwestern plants with the economics of shipping 96-car unit trains to Birmingham for distribution," said Mike Ray, regional manager, Economic Development. "The reduced transportation cost will help BlendStar compete for ethanol in regions further from the terminal than traditional single-car rail service. That makes BNSF more competitive as well."

Mahadevan Thantry, manager, Marketing, said the new Birmingham terminal will allow BNSF to more easily reach ethanol markets in Atlanta; Meridian, Miss.; Montgomery, Ala.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; and Southeastern and Gulf Coast locations. "This is important for BNSF because it is our gateway to the Southeast- a growing market," Thantry said.

The facility has the capacity to process, unload and distribute a 96-car unit train within a 24-hour period.

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