What’s next in the push to restore southern Montana’s passenger rail service
Two of Amtrak's new ALC-42 locomotives lead the Empire Builder near Whitefish on Feb. 13, 2022. (Justin Franz/MTFP)
Last week the Federal Railroad Administration announced that it awarded a $500,000 grant to the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority to explore the feasibility of restoring passenger rail service along the North Coast Hiawatha route, which passed through many of Montana’s largest cities along its Chicago-to-Seattle route before the service was scrapped four decades ago.
The planning grant will allow the authority, which formed in 2020 under an obscure, century-old piece of Montana law, to catalog what needs to happen to get passenger train service running once more through Billings, Bozeman, Missoula and smaller communities in between.
Montana Free Press caught up with the Missoula County Commissioner and BSPRA board president Dave Strohmaier to better understand the state’s prospects for expanded long-distance train travel. His comments have been edited for length and clarity.
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