BNSF Railway Company, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., operates one of North America's largest freight rail networks, covering 32,500 route miles across 28 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces. The company transports over 4.8 million carloads annually, handling diverse cargo including consumer goods, agricultural products, coal, and industrial materials. BNSF’s efficient logistics network is central to North American supply chains, playing a crucial role in moving approximately one-third of U.S. exports and intermodal freight.

Computer vision enables BNSF to have real-time inventory in their intermodal yards. This enables answering critical questions: “What’s in my intermodal facility, and where in my intermodal facility is it?” Clear inventory reduces operational complexity to shipping critical goods across tens of thousands of miles of track.

The safe operations of trains relies on ensuring assets are in working condition. With computer vision, train wheels are inspected at critical points across the rail network, enabling identification of potential hazards, preventing downstream issues and derailments.

“Technological advances are essential for BNSF to maintain its leadership in the industry, and Roboflow is helping us immediately realize value from state-of-the-art computer vision technology,” said Asim Ghanchi, AVP of Technology. “Achieving positive results using AI in a lab environment is easy, but the real challenge comes when scaling the solution across a network like ours without disrupting day-to-day operations. Our partnership with Roboflow is allowing us to do just that.”