Montana Rail Link is a privately held Class II railroad in the United States. It operates on trackage originally built by the Northern Pacific Railway and leased from its successor BNSF. MRL is a unit of The Washington Companies and is headquartered in Missoula, Montana. The railroad runs between Huntley, Montana and Spokane, Washington, largely within Montana, and the main line passes through the towns of Missoula, Livingston, Bozeman, Billings, and Helena. Montana Rail Link connects with the BNSF on both ends and also in Garrison, Montana. The railroad has over of track, serves 100 stations, and employs approximately 1,000 personnel. The main classification yard is in Laurel, Montana, with smaller yards in Missoula, Billings, Bozeman and Helena. Repair and mechanical facilities are in Livingston, Montana; turntables remain in Livingston and Laurel. In January 2022, MRL and BNSF agreed on an early lease termination to return control of the line to BNSF. This now awaits approval by the Surface Transportation Board. History Montana Rail Link's present status and main line date back to October 31, 1987, when MRL under Missoula businessman Dennis Washington commenced a 60-year lease of Burlington Northern's southern Montana main line between Sandpoint, Idaho and Huntley, Montana, near Billings. This spin-off was controversial as it happened during contract negotiations between Burlington Northern and the United Transportation Union. MRL workers are represented by various unions. Montana Rail Link trains operate between Billings and Spokane using trackage rights over BN successor BNSF's tracks connecting those points. Montana Rail Link still uses cabooses, which are used to carry remote control switching equipment on Laurel switch engines. A significant number of MRL movements are actually BNSF trains, complete with locomotives, that MRL receives at one end of its track and forwards back to BNSF at the other end. MRL also operates trains of its own to gather and distribute local freight along its lines. Forest products and grain are primary commodities, and MRL also operates a special train, called the Gas Local, between Missoula and Thompson Falls, Montana, to bridge a gap in a long-distance gasoline pipeline. On September 8, 2005, Montana Rail Link took delivery of locomotive number 4300, the first of 16 new EMD SD70ACe locomotives. This was the first locomotive that the railroad has ordered new from a manufacturer, and it and the rest of the class were intended to replace aging SD40 and SD45 locomotives on trains