The Federal Railroad Association (FRA) announced in late February that it was evaluating the possibility of restoring the North Coast Hiawatha route, among 15 proposed passenger train services. The catch: It wouldn’t run through Jefferson County, as once envisioned.
Instead of running through Butte, the proposed route, which was discontinued by Amtrak in 1979 due to inadequate funding, would run from Missoula to Helena, then southeast through Broadwater County to Bozeman and eastward into North Dakota.
Jason Stuart, vice-chairman of the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority, a multi-county consortium that has been working to return the North Coast Hiawatha route to service, said the Railroad Association decided on the route change because of the anticipated costs of repairs that would have been needed on track between Butte and Bozeman. Stuart said he would like Butte involved in the future route.
