OREANDA-NEWS. BNSF Railway announces Utah Railway as the recipient of the 2014 Shortline of the Year Award.  Utah Railway operates about 423 miles along the heavily populated Wasatch Front Corridor serving a wide variety of customers with growing volumes in Utah.

"Utah Railway demonstrated outstanding performance over the last year as we worked together to grow our businesses and serve mutual customers in petroleum, coal, industrial products and agriculture," said Dean Wise, BNSF vice president of Network Strategies. "We congratulate Utah Railway on their achievements and we honor them for making a difference to expand our supply chain network."

Utah Railway plays a vital role in connecting Utah industries to BNSF's network, resources and expertise. Utah Railway's customer service focus and excellent safety record make them a shortline industry leader and a natural choice for this year's award.

"We are committed to unlocking the potential for the state of Utah, and our teamwork with BNSF allows more shippers to increase their business," said Clint Ashmead, Utah Railway vice president of marketing. "Before we began working with BNSF, our business was mainly the movement of coal.  Now, Utah Railway moves many other commodities because shippers have access to the BNSF network."

Utah Railway is an important part of BNSF's operation because it is committed to enhancing service to customers by focusing on network and terminal velocity initiatives, responding to changes in traffic volume, and investing in infrastructure while always emphasizing that the safety of employees is the number one goal.

The connection between BNSF and Utah Railway serves multiple customers in numerous industries including: oil, coal, agriculture, and construction and building products.  BNSF presented the award to Utah Railway during the BNSF Shortline Conference in October in Fort Worth, Texas.