Advocates urge Lewis & Clark County to back passenger rail campaign

On Tuesday evening, more than 100 people took part in a virtual Passenger Rail Public Forum, organized by the Sleeping Giant Citizens Council. They heard updates on the rail authority’s efforts to advocate for the restoration of passenger rail service through southern and central Montana.

The authority is an intergovernmental partnership, with 17 counties currently participating. One of their goals is to revive the North Coast Hiawatha, a former Amtrak service that ran from Chicago to Seattle – passing through many of Montana’s largest cities, including Billings, Bozeman and Missoula. The service was discontinued in 1979.

While the North Coast Hiawatha’s original route ran through Butte, that section of track is no longer in use, and advocates have speculated that a revived passenger train could instead pass through Helena.