Chicago to Pacific Northwest: Montana’s Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority landed a $500,000 grant to study reviving the North Coast Hiawatha, a long-distance Amtrak route discontinued in 1979. This route (which would be renamed to avoid confusion with the current Chicago-Milwaukee line) would parallel the Empire Builder, linking Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul to Seattle and Portland, but on a more southerly course through the largest cities of Montana and North Dakota. In Wisconsin, the line could follow either the Empire Builder route through La Crosse or the proposed route through Madison and Eau Claire — or both, if it ran two round trips daily, says Dan Bucks, the authority’s development chair.

Informative YouTube video from Alan Fisher about "the American Government's Massive Plan to Build more Passenger Rail: Corridor ID"

Corridor ID is a framework system set up by the Federal Railroad Administration to streamline the process of getting funds to start up new passenger rail lines in the US. This is all thanks to the Biden Infrastructure Bill. Mention of the North Coast Hiawatha at 15:48

The Bismarck Tribune Editorial Board believes reviving the North Coast Hiawatha route could be an economic boost for the states involved.

From Trains Magazine - Three passenger corridor revivals I’d love to see. By Kevin P. Keefe | January 15, 2024

It’s fun to dream about what’s possible. Speaking of breathtaking mountain scenery, here’s a vote for bringing back the North Coast Hiawatha, the long-distance train Amtrak ran in Chicago-Seattle service until 1979.

From Montana’s Yellowstone Country - Passenger Rail Service on Track to Return to Montana's Yellowstone Country

America's passenger rail sector has a reputation for barely existing in many parts of the country. Since Amtrak's inception in the 1970s, it has been besieged on all sides by forces seeking its demise, while its attempts at expansion have been haphazard and without a cohesive strategy. That's all changed now.

LaDuke: Warren Buffett has best chance to fix passenger rail

When Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway bought BNSF, he called it an “all-in wager on the economic future of the United States.” Columnist Winona LaDuke says now is the time to make that bet on passenger rail.

Gathering speed is a new push to expand the way travelers can connect across the state and to major U.S. cities, all through passenger rail.

(Billings) – The Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority (BSPRA), in its efforts to revitalize passenger rail service to southern Montana and beyond, reached another milestone after the Billings City Council recently voted in favor of joining the BSPRA as a municipal partner. The Authority boasts 20 member counties, in addition to three tribal nations, BNSF, Montana DOT and Amtrak as ex officio members.

The Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority took a very significant step towards its goal of reestablishing a southern passenger rail route through Montana. The federal government recently selected the route as corridor study program. What does that mean, and what steps are next? Click on the podcast as Jason Stuart, Vice Chair of BSPRA, details what’s involved with the designation and funding.

“What this does is initially bring $500,000 into our coffers to begin the planning process that will eventually lead to subsequent stages result in what we call a service development plan for this route and that service development will be looking at what’s the frequency of service, what’s the structure upgrades necessary to make passenger rail service a reality in the future.

The Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority’s Dave Strohmaier on reviving the North Coast Hiawatha route.

Southern North Dakota passenger rail line gains steam with federal investment.

“Billings was founded as a rail hub and played a leadership role in rail in Montana,” said Billings Mayor Bill Cole. “Our community and people want to be part of this process of restoring and bringing connectivity via passenger rail to Billings, Yellowstone County and the region.”

One of the projects, known as Amtrak’s North Coast Hiawatha and overseen by the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority, a government agency, will restore an Amtrak route discontinued in 1979 and reconnect North Dakota cities along Interstate 94 to Chicago and the Pacific Northwest.

“This will be one of the biggest infrastructure projects in recent history in North Dakota and Montana,” said David Strohmaier, a county commissioner in Missoula, Montana, and chairman of the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority.

With the announcement of this grant, BSPRA is eligible to proceed to the first phase of the Corridor ID Program, which involves developing a scope, schedule, and cost estimate for preparing, completing, or documenting its service development plan."

The federal government announced that they will provide $500,000 in seed money to help kickstart construction of BSPRA North Coast Hiawatha route revitalization between Chicago and Seattle/Portland and connecting communities like Fargo, Bismarck, Billings, Bozeman and Missoula.

An Amtrak route that ran through the southern half of North Dakota and Montana along I-94 and I-90 and was stopped more than 40 years ago could be making a comeback.

“I’m certainly very confident from everything the FRA has told us and that we’ve seen from them so far, that this route is also going to be right at or near the top of their list for the routes that the FRA and USDOT are going to recommend to congress and say, ‘Hey, you need to fund the restoration of this,’” said BSPRA Vice Chairman Jason Stuart.