BNSF welcomes Montana Rail Link

Railroading is a team effort, and since 1987, BNSF and Montana Rail Link (MRL) have been operating in collaboration across the Big Sky state and portions of Idaho and Washington. During the time that MRL leased and operated mainline tracks between Huntley, Montana, and Sandpoint, Idaho, our teams worked shoulder to shoulder to ensure strong outcomes for customers, employees and communities alike.

The new year brings a new chapter. Starting Jan. 1, 2024, BNSF will resume operations across what will become the MRL Subdivision of our Montana Division. We’re ready to welcome MRL team members to the BNSF family.

Operating as one will bring benefits to our customers. We look forward to the great potential for freight growth in the region, thanks to enhanced capacity and stronger service to meet evolving logistics expectations. In some respects, it resembles a reunion.

“MRL has a strong reputation of safety and service, and we look forward to carrying forward that proud legacy,” BNSF President and CEO Katie Farmer said.

Our 32,500-mile network stretches across the western two-thirds of the country and having folks who are connected to the regions we serve is essential to providing service tailored to each customer’s unique supply chain. When MRL’s small but mighty sales team joins BNSF, it will ensure smooth continuity of the relationship with customers.

“The MRL sales team members are very knowledgeable about their accounts and specific locations,” said Farah Lawler, vice president, Industrial Products for BNSF. “We want them to continue doing what they do best. For the most part, it will be business as usual. But this new alignment with the MRL now allows us to have more enterprise-wide thinking when evaluating new opportunities on the MRL.”

Montana is known for its mining and oil operations, contributing to MRL’s main online traffic: petroleum products. Lawler is optimistic about growth in these and other segments, whether it’s organic gains with existing customers or over-the-road conversions with shippers new to rail.

Great progress has already been made in establishing the MRL Subdivision, which includes transferring operations and onboarding new team members. It has been a large and complex undertaking.

Luke Johnson, general manager of BNSF’s Montana Division who will oversee operations across the new MRL Subdivision, said he’s proud of how the teams have come together to build a strong game plan for the future.

“We’re excited about the years ahead working together as one team,” Johnson said. “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.”

In terms of service, MRL customers will continue to appreciate consistent and reliable service they’ve had for years. But behind the scenes, there are several advantages for BNSF to align with the MRL.

“When it comes to the mechanical teams across the MRL and BNSF, we shouldn’t see much change,” said Edmundo Rodriguez, BNSF’s assistant vice president, chief mechanical officer, North Region. “But the MRL’s equipment [locomotives and freight cars], and locations of those assets, will give our combined teams more flexibility. We are eager to learn from each other and make our operations safer and more reliable across Montana.”

Engineering, which maintains, builds and replaces track infrastructure and signal systems, is on board too. Matthew Hammond, BNSF’s assistant vice president and chief engineer, North Region, said having MRL in the mix allows his team to be more efficient.

“It’s like getting family back together – we’re familiar with each other,” Hammond said. “And now, when you combine two groups with rich culture and rich heritage, you get the best of both worlds. I expect communications and workflow to be seamless because we’ll be one entity.”

The MRL integration also allows BNSF to share our approach to innovation and our portfolio of advanced technologies in all areas of operations, including dispatching, positive train control, electronic delivery of mandatory directives and more – but most important is the integration of MRL’s employees.

Last summer, BNSF joined forces with 32 MRL employees following an MRL bridge outage. The cooperative effort was a reassuring prelude to how well MRL’s operations team members will integrate into the BNSF team.

“Working through the bridge issue reminded us just how much we rely on the MRL team,” said Aaron Ratledge, BNSF’s assistant vice president, Safety Practices and Rules. “The integration of MRL into our operations team will be a great fit. They have extremely positive attitudes and a great work ethic.”

We are proud to welcome the MRL team members into our BNSF family and are looking forward to the future of our service across the Big Sky state.