In a major step forward for the restoration of passenger rail service across Montana's "Southern Route", the federal government agrees to inject a significant investment into pursuing the idea.

It's the latest major move for the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority, which has been working hard on the idea for just over 3 years.

Efforts to restore passenger rail across Montana's southern tier received a significant boost on Friday when the federal government announced $500,000 in seed funding and accepted the route into the Federal Railroad Authority's Corridor Identification Program.

Revival of a southern Amtrak route across Montana gets a boost this week when the Biden administration awards $500,000 to the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority.

The funding keeps the planning alive for an alternate Chicago-to-Seattle Amtrak route connecting communities like Fargo, Bismarck, Billings, Bozeman and Missoula. Known as the North Coast Hiawatha, the route existed through the late 1970s when cuts to Amtrak ended the service.

As a direct result of his bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), and as a part of his continued effort to better connect Montana families and small businesses, U.S. Senator Jon Tester today secured $500,000 in Corridor Identification and Development (Corridor ID) funds for the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority to develop a comprehensive passenger rail plan to reinstate the historic North Coast Hiawatha Amtrak route through southern Montana.

The Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority (BSPRA) has been awarded a $150,000 grant through the Pacific Northwest Economic Region’s Regional Infrastructure Accelerator (PNWER-RIA) to further high-performance rail across the region. This constitutes the largest planning grant received by BSPRA to-date.

The Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority (BSPRA) has completed a new report detailing the public input on passenger rail in rural and tribal communities throughout Montana. Tribal nations represented in the project included the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Crow Tribe, and Northern Cheyenne Tribe. Other rural communities in the study included Paradise, Forsyth and Glendive.

Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER) Regional Infrastructure Accelerator Will Build Capacity, Technical Assistance to Access Critical Infrastructure Funds Across Five-State Region. This funding to BSPRA, as a sub-recipient, will go towards small parcel delivery and first-/last-mile analysis with more details forthcoming.

Stan Parker of Montana PBS on IMPACT, shares the latest on restoring passenger rail to southern Montana and beyond.

The first standard engine to be used on the Livingston Route is shown in 1883. Image: The Livingston Depot Center

The potential to reinvigorate Montana’s passenger rail system got a possible boost from the Livingston quarter this week. Park County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to appoint Livingston City Manager Grant Gager to the board of the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority.

Amtrak is a critical transportation conduit for people throughout our nation, but it is especially important for rural America, where there are significantly fewer options for people who need to get from one place to another. Here in Montana, and I suspect elsewhere, Amtrak is used for a variety of reasons, including transporting people to larger communities for medical care at places like the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and facilities in Seattle. It is used to unite and reunite families and is an important component in bringing tourists to our state to enjoy the grandeur of Montana – and spend money on our Main Streets.

MIPRC also said that restoring the following four long-distance routes discontinued in 1979 would “greatly enhance the backbone of service that long-distance routes provide” while also allowing the Midwest’s regional plans to then build upon them, including the North Coast Hiawatha, which ran from Chicago to Seattle via the Twin Cities, Fargo and Bismarck, ND, and the middle tier of Montana.

MIPRC said that these restored routes would provide new north-south “backbone” long-distance services for both western and eastern parts of the Midwest, and a new east-west service for both western and eastern parts of the region.

Vice chair of the Surface Transportation board, Karen Hedlund, and Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority board chair Dave Strohmaier answer questions during a conference at the Finlen Hotel in Butte (Photo: NBC Montana)

Amtrak published survey findings today that demonstrate strong support from American voters for continued passenger rail investments, including infrastructure renewal and service expansion. Conducted by the Mellman Group and commissioned by Amtrak to better understand America’s interest in intercity passenger rail service, findings show consistent support for passenger rail across geographic location, age, race and gender.

“It is only through regional collaboration and coordination with the host railroads and policymakers that we will achieve our goal of expanding and improving passenger rail service both here in Montana and throughout the region,” said Authority Chairman Dave Strohmaier said

Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority and the North Coast Hiawatha are in the Wisconsin Department of Transportation Rail Plan. Special thanks to Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce and West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition for the collaboration and coordination.

“All of our public transportation is subsidized to some extent. Look at what it would cost to fly if airports and airlines weren’t subsidized,” Magone said. “The money has already been earmarked to restore passenger rail service, so if we ignore this short window of opportunity, another railroad authority in another state will receive it.”

Rural and tribal communities are weighing in on the possibility of restoring passenger rail in Montana, as the Big Sky Rail Authority made six stops around the state. The final stop was in Crow Agency on Thursday morning, where people from the community were given the opportunity to voice their opinions directly to the Big Sky Rail Authority.

Yellowstone County has pushed back against a passenger rail route in southern Montana for months, and now following the recent derailment, officials say their opposition has been reaffirmed.

"Everything that comes in and out of Montana goes on trains, so it is super important that we make sure the infrastructure is steady," Yellowstone County Commissioner Ostlund said. "That (derailment) was kind of a wake-up call for everybody. I think the infrastructure is vulnerable all across the United States."

We have communities across the state who jumped on board because they wanted transportation options. They were looking for ways to revitalize their main streets and communities economically. And the fact is, passenger rail is a much more efficient way to move people than any other mode of transportation.