Bellevue Yard raising the bar on safety and service

Driven by their pursuit of continuous improvement, this group recently achieved a major milestone: processing nearly 2,600 cars in a single day, including over 1,100 in one shift. Most importantly, all without a single safety incident.

“None of this matters if you don’t do it safely,” said Assistant Superintendent J.R. Elliott.

The goal is to fully align capability and resources with volume, maximizing operations to serve our customers faster and more reliably. The strategy requires that leaders and crews collaborate closely to safely fine-tune processes, ensure clear communication, and provide the right support at the right time.

“When you think about a hump operation, it’s like an assembly line,” Elliott explained. “Cars arrive; you feed the hump, and the hump feeds the bowl. Then you pull back to react and respond safely so you can keep producing high over the hill.”

They executed flawlessly because everyone was aligned on the mission. Everyone pulled in the same direction.

“There was so much pride that day,” said Mike McGowan, Manager Terminal Operations. “The expectation was clear from the start, and the team delivered safely and efficiently.”

“I’m proud of this team for showing what committed leadership and collaboration can achieve,” Superintendent Rob Sarver added. “Everyone stayed focused, worked together, and never compromised on the core value of safety. That’s how you hit milestones like this.”