MISSOULA — The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) recently delivered its final daily long-distance report to Congress with only one new long-distance route being recommended for development.
“Montana is the epicenter for two of these preferred routes in this long-distance study,” said Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority (BSPRA) chair Dave Strohmaier.
That route is the Big Sky North Coast Corridor which would run through southern Montana. This route, formerly known as the North Coast Hiawatha — which ended operations in the late 1970s — is being recommended to be restored with the hopes that it will bring Amtrak service to Billings, Bozeman, Helena, Butte and Missoula.
“And I think we can take a lot of pride in that and what we've accomplished to get us to where we are today,” said Strohmaier.
The process of getting the route to this point has been several years in the making. It initially started picking up steam with the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) where funding was given to do a feasibility study.
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From here, BSPRA will now start a more detailed planning stage.
“The long-distance study that just went to Congress is at a pretty high level in terms of recommendations. We'll be drilling down much deeper and identifying where the station stops will be located, the specific infrastructure enhancements that are necessary to support both passenger and freight rail on the same tracks, what the train sets themselves will look like, what the propulsion systems will be,” explained Strohmaier.
The main barrier in front of BSPRA now is the approval for more funding from Congress. That's something that rail industry expert Mark Meyer, who worked in the industry for four decades managing Montana’s railroads, says may prove challenging.
“I don't see really any way forward for the time being. It's going to need a sea change in the thought process at Congress that you want to spend — basically, like I said, the Amtrak budget, just the operational budget, is $2 billion. And then when you say, well, $4 billion for a North Coast Hiawatha or some of these trains or even more, I think that's a really tough sell,” said Meyer who worked as a former manager of locomotive utilization for BNSF.
But on the other hand, BSPRA says that there still may be a decent chance for more funding.
“I think there's a high likelihood of Congress moving forward with this because we lament so much. Even the president who just took office yesterday has stated his desire to invest in American infrastructure and really have a renaissance of infrastructure in this nation. And I don't think anyone will dispute the fact that we do not currently have the greatest passenger rail infrastructure on the planet, but there's no reason why we couldn’t,” Strohmaier told MTN.
MTN reached out to members of Montana’s congressional delegation to see their support for the project.
U.S. Representative Ryan Zinke’s (R-MT) press team stated: “The Congressman is opposed to additional federal funding for passenger rail. The federal government already spends billions of taxpayer dollars a year on Amtrak and they can’t get it right. States like California spend billions trying to develop passenger rail and have nothing to show for the boondoggle. The Congressman believes now is the time to cut wasteful government spending, not increase it.”
“Especially in Montana and across the West, rural infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and railroads, play a key role in connecting communities and driving our economy. As your senator, I understand the importance of passenger rail services to Montana and will work to support projects that will help grow our economy, strengthen rural communities, and protect our way of life," U.S. Senator Tim Sheehy (R-MT) stated.
“Long-distance passenger rail service plays a vital role in Montana, connecting rural communities to the rest of the country and boosting our economy. In the Senate, I will continue working with my colleagues to protect and expand long-distance rail in Montana," U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) stated.”
U.S. Representative Troy Downing did not respond by the time of publication.
The Big Sky North Coast Corridor route may face an uncertain future right now but according to BSPRA, that doesn’t take away from their pride in this being the biggest accomplishment for passenger rail in Montana for the past 46 years.
