Montana Rail kicks off Spurling track construction project

Montana Rail Link (MRL) has begun construction of four tracks west of Laurel, Mont., at Spurling, Mont., to be used as a staging area for westbound trains, the short line announced this week.

The multimillion-dollar project is expected to be completed in spring 2016. The railroad will use concrete ties based on availability and ease of installation, MRL officials said in an email.

The Spurling project is designed to continue service to its 150 on-line customers, as well as rail customers in the region, as MRL is a primary route for the northern national rail network, they said.

Over the past two years, MRL has invested nearly $25 million in siding and yard expansion projects that have resulted in additional capacity and a 20 percent improvement in transit times across the short line's network.