Case Study: Wind Turbine Manufacturer achieves flexible multi-component rail transport with BNSF Logistics' universal railcar solution

Wind Turbine Manufacturer - Customer Case Study

Wind Turbine Manufacturer, a wind turbine company with 40 years of experience delivering more than 101 GW of sustainable energy worldwide, needed a way to transport multiple turbine components on the same 8-axle railcar and interchange those components without any hot work. They turned to BNSF Logistics for a rail transport strategy and custom fixture design that could meet or exceed AAR OTLR securement requirements.

BNSF Logistics engineered a universal railcar securement solution using bolted fixture plates and interchangeable securement fixtures, eliminating onsite welding and enabling fast changeovers between component combinations such as nacelles, drivetrains, and hubs. The team also added storage boxes for fixtures and hardware on each railcar, reducing loading and unloading time and labor while keeping empty cars non-dimensional to help minimize repositioning costs.