The board of directors of the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority has approved Carbon County, Montana as its thirteenth member. Now, the authority is tempting Morton County, North Dakota and Kootenai County, Idaho hoping to resume passenger rail service through Bismarck, Mandan, Fargo and Sandpoint - where Amtrak had a depot until 1979 when the North Coast Hiawatha ended service. Democratic Montana Senator Jon Tester sponsored funding for restoration of the North Coast Hiawatha in President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan. The effort is for a 'corridor train' and is not intended to compete with the Empire Builder. It's not in President Biden's rail plan but if someday Amtrak, Colorado's Democratic congressional delegation and the Southwest Chief & Front Range Passenger Rail Commission connect the Chief at Pueblo or Trinidad to the Empire Builder at Shelby, Montana through Denver and Cheyenne, Wyoming it would intersect the North Coast Hiawatha at Laurel or Billings, Montana.
ip photo: the Southwest Chief chugs its way between Trinidad and La Junta, Colorado.
2 comments:
With the addition of Custer County, Montana the Big Sky Rail Authority signed up sixteen Montana counties.
With addition of Mineral County the total is now 17: Mineral Independent.
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