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Trains News Wire EXCLUSIVE: Future of Montana Rail Link branch in jeopardy
That is generous of MRL to offer customers the opportunity to unload their freight in Missoula. Especially since a trucker will gladly deliver it to their door. That mentality is why the branch is in jeopardy.
Too bad. I blame the EPA, and the Forest Service, for killing the lumber industry, in favor of protecting the ‘western pine borers’. More forest fires next year! Thanks, Sierra Club loons! Maybe it is time for BNSF Railway to cancel Mr. Washington’s lease and run the MRL trackage properly. Warren: as a shareholder, I would approve of this move.
Mr. Hays hit the nail squarely on the head. The timber industry is what sustained many branch lines, and where most of the timber is on government lands there has been a significant reduction in production and therefore rail service.
A scenic branch with one end in a city. Does this have potential as a tourist railroad?
@JIM NORTON - Sounds to me like you’re putting the cart before the horse. It’s because of the poor health of the line that they’re being forced to make their customers unload their freight at a less convenient location.
A major issue the railroads have always had is that people expect them to operate a line even when it’s not profitable. Truth is that if, say, Penn Central had been allowed to abandon some of its worst lines and serve its customers using a fleet of trucks, it would probably still be here today, warts and all.