Montana Rail Lawsuit: Bullock Sues BNSF to Cover Some Montana Rail Costs

BILLINGS – Attorneys for Montana have filed a lawsuit against BNSF Railway Company for failing to live up to a 1984 agreement that the state says requires the company to pay some grain shipping costs in central Montana.

BNSF had agreed to pay a state-designated rail operator for each carload of grain shipped between Geraldine and Lewistown.

The agreement was made as part of a bankruptcy settlement. It was meant to keep the line in operation and ensure BNSF did not have a monopoly in the region.

But Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock says BNSF has stopped making payments under the 1984 agreement. In a Nov. 10 lawsuit filed in Fergus County, he asks for BNSF to resume the payments and pay for damages.