Passenger Rail in Southern Montana makes federal list, poised for funding

Efforts to restore passenger rail across Montana's southern tier received a significant boost on Friday when the federal government announced $500,000 in seed funding and accepted the route into the Federal Railroad Authority's Corridor Identification Program.

“By entering the Federal Railroad Administration’s Corridor ID and Development Program, we now have access to resources to complete the planning and engineering work necessary to restore the North Coast Hiawatha, which is a huge win for Montana and the Greater Northwest region,” Commissioner Dave Strohmaier told the Missoula Current. “For those skeptics out there, be skeptical no longer. In three short years, the rail Authority has gone from a fledgling regional rail authority to a regional and national passenger rail powerhouse,” Strohmaier said. “We’ve also demonstrated the ability of local governments to work across jurisdictional boundaries on big ideas and big initiatives.”

The Federal-State Partnership for intercity passenger rail is poised to fund up to $2.3 billion annually. The funding stems in part from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, which awarded Montana nearly $15 million this week to make major improvements to its passenger rail network, including support for the Amtrak Empire Builder, which crosses Montana's northern tier. Read more.