Montana RailLink (AAR reporting marksMRL) is a privately held Class II railroad in the United States. MRL, which operates on trackage originally built by the Northern Pacific Railway, is a unit of the Washington Group of Companies [taking the last name of Dennis Washington rather than the state of Washington.] headquartered in Missoula, Montana. The railroad runs between Billings, Montana, and Spokane, Washington, largely within Montana, and the main line passes through the towns of Missoula, Livingston, Bozeman, and Helena. Montana RailLink connects with the BNSF on both ends and also in Garrison, Montana. The railroad has over 900 miles of track, serves 100 stations, and employs approximately 1,000 personnel. The main yard is in Laurel, Montana, while a smaller yard is in Missoula. Montana RailLink's present status and main line date back to 1987, when MRL under Missoula businessman Dennis Washington agreed to lease from Burlington Northern's southern Montana main line between Spokane, Washington and Huntley, Montana. This spin-off was controversial as it happened during contract negotiations between Burlington Northern and the United Transportation Union. Workers are represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. Montana RailLink is notable as one of the few railroads still using cabooses, which are used to carry remote control switching equipment. On September 82005, Montana RailLink took delivery of locomotive number 4300, the first of 16 new EMD SD70ACe locomotives. This is the first locomotive that the railroad has ordered new from a manufacturer, and it and the rest of the class are intended to replace aging SD40 and SD45 class locomotives on trains crossing the Rocky Mountains.[1]
References
^ Danneman, Thomas (March 2006). "New Muscle for Montana". Trains Magazine66 (3): p 38-41. ISSN 0041-0934.
