The BNSF Police Department is the law enforcement arm of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF). Its headquarters is situated in Fort Worth, Texas. The BNSF Railway (AAR reporting marks BNSF), headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is one of the four remaining transcontinental railroads and one of the largest railroad networks in North America (only one competitor, the Union Pacific Railroad, is larger in size). ... Nickname: Motto: Where the West Begins Location in the state of Texas Coordinates: , Country United States State Texas Counties Tarrant and Denton Government  - Mayor Michael J. Moncrief Area  - City  298. ...

Jurisdiction

BNSF maintains a functioning police department staffed with officers given the title of Special Agent with jurisdiction over crimes against the railroad. Like most railroad police, its primary jurisdiction is unconventional, consisting of 34,000 miles of track in 25 western U.S. States. Railroad police are often certified state law enforcement officers, authorized under federal law, to operate as such in any state that allows railroad police authority under state law. BNSF police are NOT federal law enforcement officers and have a very limited authority to enforce railroad related federal laws. As with any company police, they serve the company first and the public second. Transit Police, or Transport Police, are a specialized type of police employed by a common carrier, usually a railroad (but may also include a bus line or other transportation carrier) that are tasked to prevent and investigate crimes committed against the carrier or by or against passengers or other customers... A mile is a unit of length, usually used to measure distance, in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, United States customary units and Norwegian/Swedish mil. ... Rail tracks. ...

BNSF Special Agents do investigative and have arrest powers both on and off railroad property, if authorized by the state in which they work. While some states do allow full peace officer authority, several, such as Washington State, limit that authority to railroad property and only while on duty.

Special Agents typically investigate major incidents such as derailments, sabotage, grade crossing accidents and hazardous material accidents and minor issues such as trespassing on the railroad right of way, vandalism/graffiti, and theft of company property or customer product. The only derailment of a Shinkansen in normal operations occurred as a result of the 2004 Chūetsu earthquake; no injuries were reported from this accident. ... The term level crossing (also called a railroad crossing, railway crossing, train crossing or grade crossing) is a crossing on one level (at-grade intersection) — without recourse to a bridge or tunnel — of a railway line by a road, path, or another railroad. ... A right-of-way (plural: rights-of-way) is an easement or strip of land granted to a railroad company upon which to build a railroad. ...

Special Agents often coordinate and liaise with local, state, and federal law enforcement on issues concerning the railroad and are dispatched nationally through BNSF Headquarters in Fort Worth, TX.

Railroad emergencies

The BNSF Department can be contacted for railroad emergencies on BNSF tracks or right of way at 1-800-832-5452 (option 1).

External links

• BNSF Police Homepage