©2011 Galesburg Broadcasting Co.
| BNSF CEO Matt Rose Speaks In Galesburg |
FIRST REPORTED 3:00pm 1/8/13 The Best Western in Galesburg played host to BNSF CEO Matt Rose Tuesday.
The luncheon, hosted by GREDA, saw questions entertained on the future of BNSF and any lingering plans they might have in store for the City.
Rose said Galesburg would always remain a large classification yard when asked a direct question about becoming the largest yard by First Ward Alderman Ken Goad. Rose went on to say that Galesburg was the correct choice for the national railroad hall of fame.
A question carried over from GREDA's annual meeting at the end of 2012 was expanded about the future of infrastructure investment.
"People have a hard time saying why they believe in [infrastructure]," says Rose. "It's really self serving, the American worker will be more competitive in terms of producing goods to market all over the world."
Rose said a few of the challenges were whether the country was willing to pay for infrastructure and getting passenger rail into down towns.
"If we can plan trucking company and railroad together in what we call a freight collector to be able to move in concert, we reduce the ware and tear on the highway we open that additional space for more commuters and that's what really works," says Rose. "Up until now, I would have to tell you that we just haven't had a very good planning model between us, the state, and the federal government."
Rose predicted about a 2 percent increase in demand for rail usage over the next year.
He also said they plan to carry between 500-thousand and 700-thousand barrels of oil from the North Dakota region in the next year.
Rose spoke briefly about working with Warren Buffett and the long-term outlook that is expected when managing one of his companies.
BNSF was purchased by Berkshire-Hathaway in 2009 for $26 billion in the largest deal in Berkshire's history.
Rose concluded by discussing the imperative of community colleges in properly training a workforce, briefly mentioning the appearance of having jobs available but a workforce unable to perform them. |
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| 01 08 13 by Newsroom |
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