In a major step forward for the restoration of passenger rail service across Montana’s “Southern Route”, the federal government agrees to inject a significant investment into pursuing the idea.

But the idea of seeing the “Hiawatha Route” trains rolling between Billings and Missoula again will depend on whether the report shows there’s public interest in using the service.

It’s the latest major move for the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority, which has been working hard on the idea for just over 3 years.