by Nick Fitzmaurice
Passenger rail could play a key role in decarbonizing transportation in Montana and across the U.S.
Do you love trains? Then you won’t want to miss this! In December, the Biden Administration awarded more than $15 million to develop and improve passenger rail in Montana, part of $8 billion from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act awarded for rail projects across the country. About $14.9 million is going toward upgrading passenger rail infrastructure on Amtrak’s Empire Builder line through northern Montana, with $500,000 awarded to the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority (BSPRA) to continue planning for the revival of an alternative Chicago-to-Seattle Amtrak route through southern Montana. This route previously ran from 1971 to 1979. This 2,200-mile North Coast Hiawatha route, running near the I-90 corridor, was the longest route identified for rail expansion or revival in the federal program. With only one Amtrak route currently in the state, revival of the North Coast Hiawatha route could connect the Montana cities of Missoula, Helena, Bozeman, and Billings as the only public transportation option connecting Western and Southeastern Montana.
While only a step in a process that will take years, this federal funding is a big win for the effort to bolster and revitalize Montana passenger rail. Upon receiving the $500,000 award, BSPRA’s board president Dave Strohmaier told Montana Free Press, “It’s now almost certain that the Federal Railroad Administration will recommend that Congress restore the North Coast Hiawatha route.” This was confirmed in February when the Northern Hiawatha route was selected as one of 15 long-distance routes tapped for restoration by the federal government.
BSPRA was established in 2020 by a joint resolution of 12 Montana counties with broad governmental powers to develop and operate rail services under a 1993 Montana law, seeking the reestablishment of safe, reliable, and sustainable passenger rail service across southern Montana.
This article was published in the March 2024 issue of Down To Earth.
