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“Breadth of representation” a good start for Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority

August 10, 2020/

From a rural standpoint, advocates believe passenger rail could provide needed transportation to larger cities that sit miles away and perhaps provide some form of economic boost. The outlook is similar in the state’s more urban counties, where tourism, business connections and transportation options are vital.

Late last year, Missoula County Commissioner Dave Strohmaier sat in a coffee shop with a view of the downtown rail yard to contemplate the task he had before him.

It would involve uniting more than a dozen Montana counties behind a common vision to restore passenger rail service along the North Coast Hiawatha route vacated by Amtrack more than 40 years ago. It would also require support from the state’s congressional delegation and a review of state laws guiding the creation of an authority that doesn’t exist.

Nine month’s later, Strohmaier has accomplished the task, but the work is far from over.

By Martin Kidston


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