BNSF will get to make case before STB on access to Utah short line
The Surface Transportation Board will decide whether Union Pacific is blocking rival BNSF from accessing a Utah logistics park. The post BNSF will get to make case before STB on access to Utah short line appeared first on FreightWaves.
Federal regulators will determine whether BNSF Railway can use its trackage rights over Union Pacific to reach a new shortline railroad in Utah.
The Surface Transportation Board on Monday rejected Union Pacific’s request to dismiss the case regarding the Savage Tooele Railroad.
Savage held a groundbreaking ceremony in November for the railroad. It will revive Union Pacific’s former 6-mile Warner Branch, restore a quarter-mile of ripped-up track, and build 5 miles of new track in the Lakeview Business Park, which is being developed in Grantsville, southwest of Salt Lake City.
The short line connects with UP’s Shafter Subdivision via a 1.04-mile connecting track. UP reactivated the track in 2024.
BNSF argues that the UP (NYSE: UNP) connecting track is an attempt to create a 1-mile barrier between the Shafter Sub and the Savage Tooele Railroad, which would prevent BNSF from interchanging with the short line and reaching customers at the business park.
BNSF was granted trackage rights to operate over the Shafter Subdivision as well as the right to interchange with any new short line connecting to the line as a condition of the STB’s 1996 approval of the UP-Southern Pacific merger.
The STB rejected UP’s claim that the dispute should be settled through arbitration and said a board proceeding was the proper forum for “a dispute with potentially broad implications concerning conditions imposed in the UP/SP merger.”
Under a schedule set by the board, BNSF’s opening submission is due Sept. 25. UP’s reply is due by Oct. 27. BNSF’s rebuttal will be due by Nov. 24.
Subscribe to FreightWaves’ Rail e-newsletter and get the latest insights on rail freight right in your inbox.
Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
Related coverage:
BNSF and UP say possible container glut doesn’t scare them
BNSF, UP battle over California mountain pass trackage rights
Illinois railcar owner doesn’t have to pay damages in Ohio train derailment
The post BNSF will get to make case before STB on access to Utah short line appeared first on FreightWaves.
