Antitrust lawsuit against railroads dismissed

OMAHA (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that accused Union Pacific and BNSF Railways of price fixing.

Oxbow Carbon & Minerals LLC said in its lawsuit that the two biggest railroads in the western U.S. worked to avoid direct competition with each other to keep rates high, and that Union Pacific has refused to ship coal from its Oxbow’s Elk Creek Mine in western Colorado to avoid competing with BNSF.

The lawsuit brought by Oxbow and six of its companies also said the railroads’ fuel surcharges aren’t based on actual costs and simply raise shipping rates.

But U.S. District Court Judg...