Largest rail investment entices Montana passenger rail advocates

“This is an unprecedented investment in rail in general,” Missoula County Commissioner Dave Strohmaier, Chair of Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority said, “Even though we've been more heavily focused on passenger operations, we're seeing this opportunity to invest in freight operations, which has the added advantage of benefiting passenger possibilities in the future.”

The grant has aided rail companies in Montana before. In 2020, Montana Rail Link received $3.5 million to install positive train control on 600 miles of mainline rail across Montana and Idaho. Last year, the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority also secured federal funding with Amtrak to address a “bottleneck” for passenger and freight services near Malta (Amtrak Empire Builder )

Strohmaier said the grant requires a local match and only a government entity can apply. Read more.