Northern BNSF Route

The Northern BNSF Route, operated by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, traverses the most northerly route of any railroad in the western United States. This route was originally part of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, Northern Pacific Railway and Great Northern Railway systems, merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad system in 1970. The route starts at Chicago and runs west across northern Illinois to the Mississippi River; it follows the eastern shore of the river through La Crosse and Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin before turning west again in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota to Dilworth, Minnesota. From Dilworth the route runs northwest to Minot, North Dakota, then west through Montana and Idaho to Spokane, Washington. In Montana, the line passes both the east and west gates of Glacier National Park. It also passes through Whitefish, Montana. Located in Whitefish is a restored passenger depot/museum (also serving Amtrak). The line then continues west, passing through the Sand Point, Idaho area, finally reaching Spokane. At Spokane the route splits into two routes, one going to Seattle and the other to Portland. This route required construction of the Flathead Tunnel through the Rocky Mountains in Montana and the new Cascade Tunnel through the Cascade Mountains in Washington. From Minot to the West Coast, this is the route of Amtrak's "Empire Builder". Also owned in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is trackage, running rights and a yard operated by a switch unit and full crew and the track is maintained by a small track crew.

Traveling east from Seattle

Traveling east from the King Street Station in Seattle, the main line of the BNSF heads north through the Great Northern Tunnel under downtown Seattle. After exiting the tunnel the main line continues north through the Interbay classification yard and maintenance facilities and across the Lake Washington Ship Canal on the Salmon Bay Bridge. The main line continues north along the shore of Puget Sound through the cities of Edmonds and Mukilteo, past Rucker Hill in Everett to the old Everett Station. This section of the main line from Seattle to Everett is mostly double track with BNSF planning to double the remaining single track. From the old Everett Station the main line becomes single track making a 180 degree turn through a partially covered cut through downtown Everett to the new Everett Station. From the new station, the main line heads south, then southeast along the Snohomish River through the cities of Snohomish and Monroe. From Monroe the main line follows the Skykomish River through the towns of Index and Skykomish to the western portal of the new Cascade Tunnel. From Everett to the new Cascade Tunnel the route is single track except for passing sidings. It would be very expensive to double track much of this part of the route due to the narrow ledges used for the roadbed as it crosses back and forth across the Skykomish River. The grade from Skykomish to the tunnel is 2.2% uphill. Within the 7.8 mile tunnel the grade is reduced to 1.565% uphill from west to east. After exiting the tunnel the grade goes to 2.2% downhill.

Winter and the Northern Route

Keeping the Northern Route open during the winter can be a real challenge whether it is from snow in the midwest and mountains or rain on the west coast. Heavy rains have the potential to cause mudslides along Puget Sound between Seattle and Everett and in the Nisqually, Washington area between Tacoma and Olympia. For example, in early January, 2006 there were four slides between Seattle and Everett. This was followed in late January, 2006 and again in early February, 2006 by mudslides both between Seattle and Everett and around Nisqually. Following the clearing of a slide no passenger train can run for 48 hours to ensure that the slide area has stabilized.fact|date=April 2008

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