Passenger trains are gaining in popularity. Just last week, Sen. Jon Tester met with Amtrak CEO Joseph Boardman in Havre to emphasize how important the Empire Builder route, which makes daily stops in communities across northern Montana, including in Whitefish and Libby – is to the state.
“I’ll say it till I’m blue in the face: Amtrak service should never be cut or limited in Montana,” Tester said. “These days, as we deal with unpredictable fuel prices, passenger train service is something we need to invest in.”
And now President Barack Obama is talking trains. Earlier this month, he held a press conference to announce that $8 billion in federal stimulus money will be set aside for high-speed rail. He identified 11 corridors that may be eligible for money. Unfortunately, $8 billion won’t buy a lot of tracks. <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2009-03-16-high-speed-rail-travel_N.htm" title="From USA Today“>From USA Today:
As large as it sounds, $8 billion wouldn’t begin to design and construct a true high-speed system in which rails are dedicated to high-speed trains. The California system alone would cost about $50 billion to complete.
Nonetheless, if states in the Pacific Northwest or Chicago Hub Network corridors (see map above) are awarded stimulus money, it could eventually make traveling to Montana by train that much easier. There are certainly skeptics of the plan, but trains do seem to be cool again.