BNSF’s $4bn Barstow hub bet – transformative or a costly moat?

ID 200306716 © Lukas Vejrik | Dreamstime.com By Adam Clermont 29/06/2026 Key takeaway: The Berkshire Hathaway railroad has recently won local approval for the largest intermodal facility in North America. But questions about the transload model, ballooning costs, and the UP-NS merger shadow deserve sharper scrutiny. When BNSF first unveiled its Barstow International Gateway (BIG) on 1 October 2022, the price tag was $1.5 billion and the pitch was straightforward: move container sorting out of congested Los Angeles and into the high desert. Four years later, the number has ballooned ...