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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by nanaimo73 [quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by futuremodal That being said, what if we kept it at it's simplest form? Assuming DM&E does make it into the PRB, it might also work for them or MRL to purchase the Wind River Canyon route from BNSF from Laurel MT to Olin WY. This line also has available capacity for someone willing to use it, and it might work just as well if not better than the old PCE line to Terry and the ex-NP from Terry to Huntley, if for no other reason than it has more direct western access to the PRB. [/quote] But going through Wyoming would do nothing for wheat traffic. Isn't most of the wheat grown in eastern Montana ? Where does that Governor grow his wheat ? [/quote] It would to some degree, given the realities of rail terminal consolidation which force longer truck hauls to the railhead, regardless of intramodal rail competition or the lack thereof. MRL has access to a shuttle or unit grain facility in Billings, and there may also be one in Bozeman, so grain from the upper most portions of Eastern Montana could be trucked there. And that's a better situation than the one that now dominates Montana, wherein it's either BNSF or trucking to the Port of Lewiston Idaho, one that might actually affect a rate decrease. It should be noted that the option of trucking to Lewiston ID only represents a small fraction of the grain shipping market anymore, and thus does not provide competitive rate adjustments per BNSF's pricing policies. But I see your point, so maybe we should add the Yellowstone River lines and the Great Falls - Helena lines to the mix? But beyond that, there's not much that can be done for the High Line and Judith Basin grain growers unless new rail capacity is built, and so far we are only focused on utilizing existing capacity. Maybe MRL can find a way to get the Great Falls - Helena line from BNSF as it is currently out of service. That would penetrate the Great Falls market. As for Governor Schweitzer and the Kalispell grain growers, they are in the same situation as Southern Idaho grain growers, namely neither group has ever had access to rail competition unlike the growers in Cental and Eastern Montana who once had NP, GN, and Milwaukee competing for their business. The Kalispell area has always been the sole domain of GN/BN/BNSF, and Southern Idaho has always been the sole domain of UP.
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