Association of American Railroads

Association of American Railroads

Association of American Railroads

Freight Rail in Montana

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Key Facts

  • Freight Railroad Employees: 2,588
  • Freight Railroads: 6
  • Freight Rail Mileage: 2,962
  • Trucks off the Road: It would have taken 5.6 million trucks to handle the freight that moved by rail in Montana in 2024.
Fact sheet

State Spotlight

Montana was fifth nationally in 2025 in originated rail shipments of coal, which accounts for the vast majority of rail traffic that originates in the state. Much of Montana’s coal production originates in the northern reaches of the Powder River Basin. Railroads in Montana also originate large amounts of wheat (Montana was third in rail wheat volume in 2025) and refined petroleum products, including gasoline, asphalt, and fuel oil. Rail terminations in Montana are led by gasoline and other refined petroleum products, automobiles, animal feed, and corn oil.

Celebrating 200 Years of Rail
(1827-2027)

Rail reached Montana Territory in 1880, opening new connections for the territory’s growing industries. By the late 1800s, those rail lines allowed ranchers to ship cattle from Montana’s open ranges to distant markets, helping fuel the growth of Western ranching.

What Moves by Rail

2025 Data

Originated in Montana

Commodity Million Tons Units
Coal 17.1 142,600
Farm products 5.2 48,100
Petroleum products 3.6 39,600
Food products 0.5 4,800
Stone & clay products 0.5 4,600
All other carloads 1.9 20,200
Intermodal 0.1 2,300
TOTAL 28.9M 262,200

Terminated in Montana

Commodity Million Tons Units
Petroleum products 1.8 19,800
Food products 0.8 8,200
Chemicals 0.7 7,300
Stone & clay products 0.3 2,400
Transportation equip. 0.2 7,500
All other carloads 1.0 10,700
Intermodal 0.0 2,400
TOTAL 4.7M 58,300

Carriers Operating in Montana

Note: In the list of railroads, mileage includes trackage rights. For Class I railroads, mileage is from the railroads’ R-1 reports to the STB. For short lines, mileage is an AAR estimate based on a variety of sources. The map shows rail lines whose primary owner is a freight railroad or Amtrak. The owner may not be the only operator of the line. The map is based on the FRA’s North American Rail Network (NARN) dataset. Low-mileage short lines may not be labelled on the map. Information current as of mid-2026. Please report any updates, errors, or omissions to policy@aar.org.

Class I Railroad Mileage

BNSF Railway 2,676
Union Pacific Railroad 125

Short Line Railroads

Butte, Anaconda & Pacific Railroad 26
Central Montana Rail 87
Dakota, Missouri Valley & Western Railroad 57
Mission Mountain Railroad 27

Contacts in Montana

Government-affairs leads for the railroads operating in the state.

BNSF
Matthew Jones
Executive Director, Public Affairs
Matthew.Jones@bnsf.com
Union Pacific
Nathan Anderson
Sr. Director, Public Affairs
Nanderson@UP.com
Watco
Laura McNichol
SVP, Chief Sustainability Officer
lam@watco.com

Note: Data are for 2025 except rail employment and truck equivalents, which are 2024. Total state mileage excludes trackage rights. Data are AAR estimates based on information from various sources.