SHELBY – An Amtrak report for Montana says ridership increased at most of the railroad’s 12 stops in the state.
The report says the number of people who got on or off trains in Montana last year was 34,000 greater than five years earlier.
The Amtrak Empire Builder running between Chicago and the West Coast crosses Montana’s northern tier.
Paul Tuss works in economic development for the Havre area of northern Montana and says the state of the economy, including the recently high prices for gasoline, clarify Amtrak’s significance. Tuss says people in northern Montana use the train for medical appointments in Seattle and Minneapolis, and students at Montana State University-Northern in Havre travel home by rail.