The Surface Transportation Board rejected BNSF Railway’s petitions to access Union Pacific tracks in Texas and Arkansas on July 21, determining that the carrier failed to prove it was entitled to such service. The board also established compensation terms for BNSF’s trackage rights in the Lake Charles, Louisiana, area, which were originally mandated as a condition of the Union Pacific-Southern Pacific merger.
BNSF had argued that the 1996 merger granted it the right to serve customers previously handled by both railroads, a category known as "2-to-1 customers." The carrier sought access to two specific sites: the Granite Mountain quarries near Little Rock, Arkansas, and the Colorado Materials Uvalde Quarry in Blewett, Texas.
After initial denials, BNSF refiled its petitions last year, presenting documents it claimed proved both locations qualified for service.
In the Arkansas case, the board sided with Union Pacific’s interpretation of relevant tariffs. The ruling noted that Granite Mountain did not appear on a list of shippers Southern Pacific could access via reciprocal switching.
The board also highlighted a statement from Granite Mountain at the time of the merger, which expressed hope for future access to Southern Pacific markets, suggesting the site did not already have such access.
Regarding the Texas quarry, the board found that the two predecessor facilities on which BNSF based its claim were not open to both Union Pacific and Southern Pacific during the merger. Consequently, the board determined the Colorado Materials facility was not located at a qualifying "2-to-1 point." Union Pacific provided extensive documentation to support this finding.
