Connecting Big Sky Country: PNWER RIA Team Visits Montana to Talk Passenger Rail
Earlier this month, the PNWER RIA team traveled to Big Sky Country to join stakeholders and partners in discussing opportunities for our region’s passenger rail renaissance. The two-day Montana visit included participation in Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority’s Annual Meeting and attendance at the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Long-Distance Service Study working group session.
Laying the Tracks for High Performance Rail
The PNWER RIA program established its High Performance Rail initiative in 2022 after assisting the City of Spokane Valley in earning a $22 million Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant for a separation project at a busy highway-rail crossing. Highway-rail grade separation projects like these, while often overlooked, are critical for improving community safety, emergency response access, and freight and passenger movement along the corridor. In addition to the grade separation, the City of Spokane project includes a new trailhead for the Centennial Trail among other community benefits, serving as an exemplary model of blending multimodal investments with rail improvement projects.
Our now-expanded High Performance Rail initiative supports rail improvement projects that will improve both freight and passenger rail systems for shared economic, community and environmental benefit. Our on-the-ground rail work is made possible through partnerships with local organizations like Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority (BSPRA), which serves as a critical resource in advancing High Performance Rail in Montana and across the region.
Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority Annual Meeting
BSPRA is a regional rail authority and subdivision of the Montana state government focused on supporting existing freight and passenger options and expanding passenger rail service to southern Montana. With 19 member counties, BSPRA is an embedded advocate for the reestablishment of the former North Coast Hiawatha route, which ran from Chicago to Seattle before its discontinuation in 1979.
As a subrecipient of our second RIA grant, BSPRA will be a vital project partner for our rail projects in Montana, which include community engagement in rural communities and a study to determine the feasibility of restoring small parcel delivery service on Amtrak trains in Montana. Our team is grateful to the BSPRA team for providing a platform to discuss this and other collaborative rail work we have in store.
Our team joined other expert panelists for a full day of insightful discussion on the benefits of improved passenger rail service, reiterating its benefit for economic sustainability and community connectivity – the guiding theme for this year’s annual meeting. BSPRA Chairman Dave Strohmaier and his team gathered rail industry professionals, Amtrak and FRA representatives, and community advocates that underscored the importance of investment in Montana’s passenger rail network.
Key Takeaways of the Meeting Include:
Hydrogen Advancement: St. Regis, Montana, is a site for the Department of Energy’s regional clean hydrogen hub, and has potential to fuel hydrogen locomotives developed by major rail manufacturers. The St. Regis hydrogen hub is part of the PNWER RIA program’s larger initiative to support zero-emission commercial corridors in the Pacific Northwest.
Healthcare Access: Rural and Tribal healthcare – especially maternal and child care – is a priority benefit of enhanced passenger rail service.
A member of the Crow Tribe of southeast Montana shared powerful anecdotes about Tribal members giving birth in a truck on rural highways due to a combination of winter weather, distant hospitals and lack of alternative transportation options. Restored passenger service along southern Montana would address issues like these and provide reliable transportation in the often harsh winter months.
Rural Community Benefits: The PNWER RIA team presented on the value that enhanced passenger rail can bring to rural communities and Tribal nations, including Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), station development and agricultural transload facilities, which help to move inland products to global markets.
Federal Prioritization: Restoration of the former North Coast Hiawatha route continues to be a federal priority in the FRA Amtrak Long-Distance Route Service Study and Corridor Identification and Development (Corridor ID) program.
Our team is grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the conversations at the BSPRA Annual Meeting, and look forward to continuing our partnership over the next two years. Learn more about BSPRA here.
Revival of the east-west North Coast Hiawatha route is a trending topic among regional and federal rail leaders, as it remains a priority of both FRA Amtrak enhancement programs. While in Montana, our team also participated in the fourth and final stakeholder outreach meeting of the study, which is poised to be completed by the end of the year.
FRA Long-Distance Service Study
The FRA is conducting a study to evaluate the restoration of daily long-distance intercity passenger rail routes and the potential for new Amtrak long-distance routes. This study will create a long term vision for Amtrak long-distance service and identify projects and funding needed to realize that vision. The fourth and final stakeholder meeting of the study featured updates from FRA staff and consultants on cost analysis, station service, run times and community impact.
What does “long-distance” mean?
Amtrak defines routes over 750 miles between endpoints as “long-distance”. Amtrak currently operates 15 long-distance trains, which provide service at nearly half of the train stations in the Amtrak system.
At the conclusion of its study, the FRA will present a report to Congress that includes:
Preferred options for restoring long-distance service
Prioritization of capital projects to enhance service
Identification of federal and non-federal funding sources and estimate costs
Public benefits of restoring and enhancing intercity passenger rail on each Amtrak route
The network of preferred routes proposed by the FRA includes two routes serving the Pacific Northwest: The Chicago-Seattle North Coast Hiawatha and the former Pioneer line, which ran from Denver to Seattle through Boise, ID and eastern Oregon. Both routes, when restored, would provide passenger rail service to previously unserved communities, marking a significant “win” for our region’s intercity connectivity.
Our team’s participation in the FRA long-distance planning process enables us to make informed planning decisions and coordinate more effectively with our regional rail partners, such as BSPRA, Valley Regional Transit and All Aboard Northwest. Learn more about our High Performance Rail work here.
Continuing the Conversation - Join us in October!
The PNWER RIA is proud to co-host the third annual Greater Northwest Rail Summit October 8-9 in Spokane, WA. This summit will convene rail experts and advocates to continue working toward restoring a true national rail network that includes passenger service to the largely underserved Greater Northwest and improved freight connectivity across the multistate region.
