{"id":198328,"date":"2025-04-10T12:23:48","date_gmt":"2025-04-10T02:23:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=198328"},"modified":"2025-04-10T12:27:05","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T02:27:05","slug":"montana-passenger-rail-service-gains-steam-as-billings-depot-poises-for-revival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=198328","title":{"rendered":"Montana passenger rail service gains steam as Billings Depot poises for revival"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s been nearly half a century since the last passenger train rolled through the historic Billings Depot, but a growing movement could soon change that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow is the time to get on board. It truly is,\u201d said Jess Peterson with the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A grassroots push to restore passenger rail service along Montana\u2019s southern route is gaining momentum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proposed line would reconnect communities from Chicago to Seattle, including key stops in Montana, such as rural towns and reservation communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe city of Billings was built around the railroad,\u201d said Michelle Williams with the Billings Depot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Williams looks ahead to the future, when the depot is once again bustling with travelers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo have passenger service back would just be phenomenal,\u201d she said. \u201cIt would be an influx of people into our downtown. It would support the walkability, all the businesses, economic development.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reviving rail travel across the state has become a hot topic around the state in recent years. Peterson says federal support is already secured, but now, state action is critical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so much to benefit from the connectivity. Before we even get passenger rail, we are improving it for freight rail. We are bringing millions of dollars for Amtrak and others,\u201d Peterson said. \u201cThis is as real as it\u2019s ever been. It\u2019s moving forward and it\u2019s federally recognized.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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A bill currently moving through the Montana Legislature, House Bill 848, could be a key piece of the puzzle. The measure would establish a Big Sky Rail Account, allocating $2 million annually from rail car tax revenue to support the effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peterson says it has bipartisan support and moved to a Senate committee hearing on Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The funding proposal comes at a time when lawmakers are also considering historic tax relief and other priorities, such as rising childcare costs for Montana families and Medicaid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peterson believes the long-term benefits for Montana are clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s manufacturers, it\u2019s in our agriculture, it\u2019s in our job force, it\u2019s in all the things that we have\u2014and passenger rail brings all of that together,\u201d he said. \u201cSo why wouldn\u2019t we, when we have all of those strengths, our industry, our people, our goods, why wouldn\u2019t we connect it with passenger rail?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the plan moves forward, the Billings Depot could once again become a key travel hub, reviving its original purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Housed on four city blocks, the historic depot has four buildings. The main depot has hosted countless events, inviting people from around Billings and surrounding areas to gather for weddings and fundraisers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn a perfect world, we would love to see this main depot building remain as an event center,\u201d said Williams. \u201cBut for passenger service, we have the original office building that was used by the railroad, and we think that would be a perfect place to have passengers come through.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Williams, the vision is clear: rail passengers stepping off the train into downtown Billings, ready to explore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI love the idea of hundreds of people coming to Billings, getting off at this station, walking into downtown, enjoying our neighboring businesses and restaurants, art galleries,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With support from both federal and potentially state partners, the dream of restoring passenger rail and breathing new life into the Billings Depot may soon be on track.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been nearly half a century since the last passenger train rolled through the historic Billings Depot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":198329,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7436,51,47],"tags":[11],"class_list":["post-198328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-montana","category-passenger-rail","category-rail-news","tag-usa"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=198328"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198328\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":198334,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198328\/revisions\/198334"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/198329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=198328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=198328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=198328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}