FORT WORTH, Texas — Montana Rail Link officially became a fallen flag on Jan. 1 when the regional railroad ceased operations and became BNSF Railway’s MRL Subdivision.
Burlington Northern leased the former Northern Pacific main line from Jones Junction, Mont., to Sandpoint, Idaho, in 1987. In January 2022 BNSF and MRL announced an agreement to terminate the 60-year lease early, pending regulatory approval.
“We’re excited about the years ahead working together as one team,” Luke Johnson, general manager of BNSF’s Montana Division, said in a statement. “Our combined forces will have a unique opportunity to build upon the best-in-class service our customers throughout the Montana region have come to expect.”
MRL grew to become a critical segment of BNSF’s routes from the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest as part of NP’s “Main Street of the Northwest” main line.
Last summer, BNSF joined forces with 32 MRL employees following the bridge collapse and derailment at Reeds Point, Mont.
“Working through the bridge issue reminded us just how much we rely on the MRL team,” Aaron Ratledge, BNSF’s assistant vice president, Safety Practices and Rules, said in a statement. “The integration of MRL into our operations team will be a great fit. They have extremely positive attitudes and a great work ethic.”
SD70ACe’s are seen on the southern transcon although in small numbers. And so are SD70MACS although rarely .
What is going to happen to the MRL locomotive fleet? Will they go to other Washington Companies properties or become part of the BNSF fleet?
To explore your question, I can think off hand of two factors. One obviously is the age and condition of MRL’s EMDs, compared to BNSF’s needs.
The other factor is how BNSF assigns locomotives. Looking at the RailCams of the Southern Transcon, one would think that BNSF’s fleet is 100.00% GE/ Wabtec, without a single solitary EMD anywhere to be found on the railroad ever.
Yet the coal trains north to south through Denver are fronted by EMD locos.
BNSF operates a large fleet of SD70ACe’s. So I assume they will be integrated with the BNSF fleet. The remaining active 567 powered GP9’s and switchers will presumably be sold off to short lines and the like, given the quality of MRL’s mechanical department that leaves them in solid shape.
With all the 20 cylinder power now retired to my knowledge, the only parts of the fleet with question marks in my mind are the GP35’s and the Dash 2’s (mostly SD40’s, but also a lone GP40). Given their solid condition, will BNSF integrate these with their own rebuilt GP35’s and Dash 2’s? Or are they too non-standard compared to BNSF’s own fleet (for instance all SD40-2’s left on BNSF are factory built where as the MRL fleet is mostly rebuilt and upgraded SD40’s and even a lone SDP40)?