Railway bill may help North Coast Hiawatha line
The Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority recently announced that an amendment introduced and included in the Surface Transportation Investment Act of 2021, which passed out of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee by a bipartisan 25-3 vote last week, may help pave the way for restoration of the former North Coast Hiawatha passenger rail route through southern Montana along with other former passenger routes across the rural West.
The bill with the attached amendment will now move to the full Senate for a vote as part of the broader Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act of 2021.
The amendment, introduced by Montana Sen. Jon Tester with support from Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), includes language suggested by the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority (BSPRA) and the broader Greater Northwest Working Group (GNWG), an assemblage of passenger rail advocacy groups and supporters from across the Northwest region who are working together to push for restoration and enhancement of passenger rail routes throughout the region.
“Senator Tester’s amendment to the surface transportation bill is a huge affirmation of the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority and our efforts to restore passenger rail service through southern Montana,” said BSPRA Chairman Dave Strohmaier, who serves as Missoula County commissioner. “Although additional steps remain before the bill lands on the president’s desk, this is a foundational first step toward a truly national vision of long-distance passenger rail.”
BSPRA and GNWG members, local officials and tribal representatives from Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, North Dakota and Minnesota held over 20 “virtual fly-ins” with members of Congress and congressional committee staffs last week and Monday of this week to push for language in the surface transportation bill that would help facilitate eventual restoration of discontinued passenger rail routes which formerly serviced those states.
“This initial success is in no small part due to the collaborative nature of this effort,” said BSPRA Vice Chairman Jason Stuart. “A multitude of people from across multiple states, from big cities and small towns and from differing political perspectives have come together to say it’s high time the Northwest receives equal attention and treatment when it comes to access to passenger rail service.
"And we hope that all of our respective congressional delegations have received that message loud and clear and will work together in a bipartisan manner to ensure that the final version of the bill that the president signs includes the Tester amendment.”
The Tester amendment specifically provides $15 million to study restoration of discontinued long-distance passenger rail routes, with a report to be delivered to the Senate Commerce Committee after two years of which routes are recommended for restoration.
The amendment further includes language which would put former routes in the rural West like the North Coast Hiawatha and the Pioneer route at the forefront of those studies.
For more news on efforts to restore and enhance passenger rail service in Montana and across the region or to make a donation or get involved visit www.bigskyrail.org.
To view a video about the efforts of the BSPRA, go to