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.

The project and its findings are BSPRA’s first effort to gather public knowledge on passenger rail and social health in these areas of Montana. It provides a baseline understanding of benefits and issues with reestablishing passenger rail in southern Montana and creates a template for future public engagement.

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.