The Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority would like to invite the community to a public meeting on Thursday, May 25 from 4-7 p.m. at Room 107 of the Ullman Center at Dawson Community College. Food will be provided.

The BSPRA, through a grant made possible by the Montana Healthcare Foundation, is hosting a series of meetings in Glendive and other rural communities across southern Montana titled “Engaging Tribal and Rural Communities in the Development of Passenger Rail Services in Southern Montana.”

A rail expansion for the lower part of Montana is getting some renewed attention.

“Why should people in rural America not have the same access an opportunity to those transportation options as people in urban America? It’s not fair, it’s not right, and we need to fix that,” said Jason Stuart, vice-chair of the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority.

The Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority (BSPRA) strongly supports Montana Senator Jon Tester’s decision to block the White House’s slate of nominees for the Amtrak Board of Directors, urging President Joe Biden to reconsider nominating potential Board members from Western states.

“Amtrak is not only critical to Montana, but it’s critical to rural communities and economies across this entire country, and it’s important that folks in rural America have a voice at Amtrak to make sure we aren’t left behind,” Tester said. “I’ll be blocking these nominees until rural America has a seat at the table.” - Senator Jon Tester

The Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority received a $25,000 grant by the Montana Healthcare Foundation to conduct rural and tribal engagement in southern Montana. Photo: NBC Montana

Missoula Community Radio dedicates 90 minutes to talk about all things passenger rail in southern Montana and beyond including rural, tribal, and underserved communities, and how they could benefit including affording access to healthcare.

The Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority and its county members across the state joined Amtrak in a call this week regarding the agency's “Throughway” service, or the various tools the railroad uses to bring remote riders to a train stop.

More routes, more frequent trains, better serving disadvantaged communities and improving connections with other transportation modes were some common priorities for long-distance rail across six geographic regions, according to a report the Federal Railroad Administration released Thursday.

“I felt like all the stakeholders represented were aligned in that the North Coast Hiawatha is a high priority route to restore,” Strohmaier said. “Also, from a regional perspective, the Pioneer route from either Denver or Salt Lake City up through Boise to Portland is also an important piece of regional passenger rail.”

From Railway Age:
The Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority has submitted a proposal to the FRA for the restoration of Amtrak’s North Coast Hiawatha route, which would travel from Chicago to Seattle and has BNSF support. (BNSF Map)

The FRA is expected to announce this summer which projects will be selected.

Chairman Dave Strohmaier said reestablishing the North Coast Hiawatha Line would improve the economy for rural communities across several states, including Montana and North Dakota. The proposed route would travel from Chicago to Seattle, following interstates 90 and 94, and making stops in Dickinson, Bismarck, and Glendive.

Not only are many Montana counties supporting the effort, but transportation leaders in adjoining states have also been signing on to show support, turning what had been a Montana-based drive into a much larger initiative.

The North Coast Hiawatha route is already under analysis as part of the FRA’s Amtrak Daily Long-Distance Service Study. The Corridor ID Program will work hand in glove with that study to complete a service development plan and preliminary engineering — precursors to resuming passenger rail service through southern Montana and beyond, the press release said.

Plans are moving forward for a proposal to bring back passenger rail service to southern Montana. The Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority's proposal would restore the North Coast Hiawatha Corridor, which stretched from Chicago to Seattle and Portland until 1979. Organizers recently submitted the proposal to the Federal Railroad Administration.

After experiencing success from community events, the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority is looking to host more events in communities throughout Montana this year with an emphasis on what they call “pint nights” at local breweries in those communities.

On the County Talk edition of KGVO’s Talk Back show on Wednesday, March 8th, Missoula County Commissioner Dave Strohmaier provided an update on the effort to return passenger rail service to Montana.

The North Coast Hiawatha route was discontinued in 1979. Governor Doug Burgum, R-ND, has expressed support for restoring the route, saying it would have significant economic impacts for state tourism. Senators Kevin Cramer and John Hoeven have also been in favor of improving long-distance passenger rail across rural America.