The Surface Transportation Board has set final compensation terms for BNSF access to the Rosebluff Lead, ending a long-running payment dispute over the nine-mile Louisiana line.

BNSF-led freight train crossing a steel railway bridge in Louisiana
A BNSF-led manifest freight train on a bridge in Louisiana. Illustrative image; it does not show the Rosebluff Lead or the current STB proceeding. Photo: Amtrak Guy 124 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

How BNSF access to the Rosebluff Lead will be priced?

The July 21 decision⁠ calculates terminal trackage-rights compensation at $9.90 per car mile in 2021 dollars. BNSF must pay half of that amount—$4.95 per car mile—to Canadian Pacific Kansas City, reflecting its 50% ownership interest through Kansas City Southern.

The $4.95 figure is a 2021 baseline rather than a fixed current-dollar charge. The parties must index it to the current year and adjust the rate annually after July 1 using the STB Inflation-Adjusted Index multiplier for the previous calendar year.

Union Pacific will receive a separate fee previously established under the UP–Southern Pacific merger conditions. That payment applies to BNSF movements under the terminal trackage rights, except direct movements to and from the LyondellBasell facility, for which UP waived the charge.

Why the nine-mile line matters to Lake Charles shippers?

The Rosebluff Lead is a single-track route running through Rosebluff Yard in the Lake Charles area. CPKC and Union Pacific jointly own the infrastructure with equal usage rights.

The access regime covers eligible shippers in Lake Charles, Westlake and West Lake Charles. The STB’s official announcement⁠ connects the arrangement to conditions imposed after the 1996 UP–Southern Pacific merger to preserve competitive carrier and routing options.

BNSF served local customers through reciprocal switching for nearly two decades before applying for direct access in 2013. The regulator granted terminal trackage rights in 2016 after finding them necessary to maintain the competitive access created by the merger conditions.

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The compensation framework took effect immediately

The STB established operating conditions for BNSF’s direct service to LyondellBasell and outlined a compensation procedure in 2020. BNSF, Union Pacific and Kansas City Southern did not reach an agreement, leading to additional submissions, a technical conference and supplemental analysis.

The July 21, 2026 order took effect on its service date. It narrowly modifies the 1996 merger decision to establish BNSF’s payment obligations whenever it uses the rights granted in 2016, without changing ownership of the line or creating additional trackage rights.

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