Summit Exploring Benefits of Re-establishing Passenger Rail Services

The re-establishment of passenger rail services is in talks again after their discontinuation 42 years ago in October 1979. The Greater Northwest Passenger Rail Summit in Billings continues to examine everything from social benefits to environmental advantages of having the rail network in our region, especially for our rural and native communities.

Jim Mathews, CEO of Rail Passengers Association, says, “This service can bring the rural community members into the larger community for entertainment, for connection, but also for things, like health services, for clinic visits, for education. It's a way of stitching the communities together so the people in rural communities aren't on their own” added Mathews. Additionally, Norma Gourneau, a member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe, believes that the presence of passenger rail will open an entirely new world of possibilities to countless tribal members. Read more