(The Associated Press circulated the following article on March 29.)
DES MOINES, Iowa — A judge has set an April 10th trial date for a lawsuit filed against the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad Company by the city of Burlington.
The city claims BNSF breached an 1858 agreement. It allowed the railroad to use 22 acres of city-owned land on the banks of the Mississippi River as long as it maintained train repair shops in Burlington.
BNSF closed the repair shops in 2003 after eliminating or transferring about 400 jobs.
The lawsuit asks the court to make the railroad pay rent for use of the land since the closing of the shops.
Court documents indicate efforts to get the two sides to resolve their differences failed.
Last week BNSF canceled a meeting in which Burlington city officials hoped to negotiate a solution to the dispute.