CBRW and NLR to join BNSF Railway’s Shortline Select™ program

FORT WORTH, Texas, ST. CLOUD, Minn. & YAKIMA, Wash., Nov. 4, 2025 - BNSF Railway, one of North America's leading transportation companies, announced this week that two new shortlines, Northern Lines Railway (NLR) and Columbia Basin Railroad (CBRW) have been added to its Shortline Select™ program.

Shortline Select™, announced by BNSF in the fall of 2024, allows shortline railroads to share BNSF's enduring commitment to growth and superior service by providing expanded opportunities for customers to reach an even broader consumer base. The program combines the benefit of shortline customized service with BNSF's vast network reach, which spans 32,500 miles, 28 states and three Canadian provinces.

"We're proud to welcome two strong shortline partners to our Shortline Select program," said BNSF General Director of Marketing Mark Ganaway. "Both NLR and CBRW exemplify BNSF's dedication to dependable, integrated service and share our focus on supporting customer success through collaborative growth."

"We're honored to join the BNSF Shortline Select program," said NLR Senior Director of Sales and Marketing Katie Sackett. "Our two-decade relationship with BNSF has always been focused on supporting safe, efficient, and green supply chain options for our customers, and this new initiative is a welcome next step. We look forward to growing our partnership for many years to come."

"This collaboration with BNSF enables greater efficiency through data sharing and integrated solutions that drive safer, more reliable, and more efficient service for our customers across the CBRW network," said Senior Vice President of Commercial Development for CBRW Tim Enayati. "By focusing on improving key operational metrics with BNSF, we can deliver meaningful improvements for our customers moving time-sensitive commodities, including agriculture and food products. Since Jaguar acquired the CBRW in August of 2025, we've already worked to make significant progress in the reduction of dwell time and interchange efficiency at Connell. By working directly with the BNSF team on these key metrics, we will further enhance our efficiency which will strengthen service offerings for our customers and support their continued growth."

In the program's first year, Shortline Select™ has shown proven results in service performance by reducing car dwell, improving interchange fluidity and growing traffic volume across the participating shortline railroads.

As a participant of the program, shortline railroads collaborate with BNSF on economic development and growth initiatives through:

• Premier Transloads - Transload providers on Shortline Select railroads may be included in BNSF's Premier Transload Program, a network of more than 400 transloaders across the BNSF system.
  
  
• Certified Sites - Select locations on Shortline Select railroads may be eligible for BNSF's Certified Site designation, which is an inventory of available, rail-ready industrial sites that are pre-approved for development, increasing speed to market.

Shortline Select shortlines partner with BNSF on a suite of operational process improvements and have pre-defined economic arrangements with BNSF that enable expedited responsiveness to customer rate requests.

Learn more here: BNSF Shortline Select™ Railroad

###

About BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway is one of North America's leading freight transportation companies. BNSF operates approximately 32,500 route miles of track in 28 states and also operates in three Canadian provinces. BNSF is one of the top transporters of consumer goods, grain and agricultural products, low-sulfur coal, and industrial goods such as petroleum, chemicals, housing materials, food and beverages. BNSF's shipments help feed, clothe, supply, and power American homes and businesses every day. BNSF and its employees have developed one of the most technologically advanced, and efficient railroads in the industry. We work continuously to improve the value of the safety, service, energy, and environmental benefits we provide to our customers and the communities we serve. You can learn more about BNSF at www.BNSF.com.

About NLR
Northern Lines Railway (NLR) connects Minnesota's lumber, granite, cement, agricultural, building product, and manufacturing businesses with North America via efficient, environmentally friendly freight rail service. NLR operates and maintains 25 miles of BNSF-owned track from St. Cloud, Minnesota, interchanging 10,000 annual carloads with BNSF for points throughout North America. NLR is a subsidiary of Anacostia Rail Holdings, which operates six local and regional freight railroads in seven states.

About CBRW
The Columbia Basin Railroad is a subsidiary of Jaguar Transport Holdings, a transportation and logistics company headquartered in Joplin, MO. The CBRW's 106-mile system connects agricultural producers, industrial shippers, and local businesses in central Washington to the national rail system via BNSF. Jaguar currently operates 13 short line railroads in 11 states as well as multiple rail-served warehouses and transload facilities. Since 2018, Jaguar has been committed to safety, integrity, innovation, and fostering a strong team culture, with the goal of building long-term value for its customers, communities, and strategic partners. For more information, please visit www.jag-transport.com.