Who owns Montana Rail Link?
Based in Missoula, Montana Rail Link (MRL) is a Class II regional railroad that operates over 900 route miles of track in Montana and Idaho and employs nearly 1,200 dedicated professionals. MRL services over 150 local Montana businesses and moves their products to domestic and international markets daily.
Who owns Montana Rail Link?
Montana Rail Link is a privately held Class II railroad in the United States. It operates on trackage originally built by the Northern Pacific Railway and leased from its successor BNSF. MRL is a unit of The Washington Companies and is headquartered in Missoula, Montana.
Montana Rail Link is owned by billionaire Dennis Washington. Montana Rail Link’s present status and mainline date back to October 31, 1987, when MRL under Missoula businessman Dennis Washington commenced a 60-year lease of Burlington Northern’s southern Montana main line between Sandpoint, Idaho, and Huntley, Montana, near Billings.
In January 2022, MRL and BNSF agreed on an early lease termination to return control of the line to BNSF. This now awaits approval by the Surface Transportation Board. The railroad runs between Huntley, Montana, and Spokane, Washington, largely within Montana, and the main line passes through the towns of Missoula, Livingston, Bozeman, Billings, and Helena. Montana Rail Link connects with the BNSF on both ends and also in Garrison, Montana.
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