LOLO – For the first time in nearly two years the Bitterroot Valley is free and clear of parked railroad cars, after Montana Rail Link moved its remaining rolling stock off the Bitterroot Branch Line.
On Friday, MRL crews moved the remaining 100 rail cars off the Bitterroot Branch Line. The remaining cars had been parked above the Bitterroot River below the Lolo "S" curves on Highway 93, and for the most part weren’t in the public view.
In June 2016, MRL had moved over 500 empty coal cars onto the Bitterroot Line when the line was experiencing a 34 percent drop in cargo volume and had to store the extra cars. At one point the cars had stretched as far south as Lolo before they were circulated back into the system starting a few weeks ago.
