The possibility of restoring rail passenger service to the former Northern Pacific line in Montana has remained a dream for over 40 years (“Montana counties band together to reinvigorate passenger rail,” May 2021). I’m not saying it couldn’t be done, but the logistical challenges to making it a reality have multiplied in the four decades since Amtrak canceled the route.
The deteriorated roadbed and previously eliminated service routes’ track remain in place, but would require hundreds of millions of dollars in reconstruction to meet passenger train standards again. How much financial effort and political capital is the state willing to expend to make it happen?
Thomas Moran
Whitefish, Montana
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Montana passenger rail.
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