MAKING AMERICA MORE AMERICAN:

Freight trains make big comeback in nation's transportation network: Warren Buffett's recent purchase of Burlington Northern Santa Fe shows the renewed importance of railroads in the global supply chain. (Alana Semuels, January 3, 2010, LA Times)

In November, the world's second-richest man paid $34 billion for railroad giant Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., despite a deep downturn in the railroad industry. Buffett characterized his investment as an "all-in wager on the economic future of the United States." But it's also a bet on globalization and the renewed importance of rail in the nation's transportation network.

Southern California is a key hub in his new empire. About 40% of all goods that the U.S. receives in containers from overseas enter the country through the seaports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. That freight must then move overland to retailers across the country.

Fort Worth-based BNSF has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years to beef up its Southern California operations to grab a bigger share of that business.

"Within our 28-state network, California is incredibly important to us," BNSF Chief Executive Matthew K. Rose said. "A lot of trade comes through there, a lot gets consumed in California, and a lot gets handled and repackaged there."

China's rise has given a new push to U.S. railroads, which have chugged their way back into the nation's transportation future after losing ground for decades to the trucking industry.