By Justin Franz

BNSF Railway has inaugurated a new direct service between Spokane, Wash., and Denver and Salt Lake City. The tri-weekly service began on October 1, according to a press release. 

The service utilizes the former Montana Rail Link across southern Montana that BNSF reaquired earlier this year, before heading south through Wyoming and Nebraska to Denver. From Denver, tonnage can use BNSF trackage rights over the Union Pacific’s former Denver & Rio Grande Western to reach Salt Lake City. Railroad officials said the new direct service will cut transit time between the Pacific Northwest and Denver in half. 

“This new express service option from Spokane to Denver and Salt Lake City builds upon our wide array of reliable service offerings and broad network reach already available to our customers,” Colby Tanner, BNSF group vice president of industrial products, said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing to help our customers grow their business by providing more options in accessing some of the country’s biggest and fastest growing inland markets.”