ANACORTES, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A federal judge has found that BNSF Railway willfully violated an agreement with the Swinomish Tribe that limited the size of its trains running through the tribe’s reservation.

The Skagit County tribe brought the lawsuit after the railroad began to roll 100-car crude oil trains to refineries near Anacortes in 2012.

An easement agreement reached in 1991 between the tribe and the railroad limited BNSF to one eastbound and one westbound 25-car train each day.

The agreement came after BNSF operated trains for decades on tracks built in the 1880s without permits, congressional approval, or the tribe’s permission.

The Seattle Times reports the judge found that BNSF unilaterally and knowingly violated the agreement.

A second phase of the trial will determine what compensation for damages the tribe should receive.