The Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority has completed all step one deliverables for the Corridor Identification and Development Program to restore passenger rail service from Chicago to Seattle, according to Kim Whittemore, community outreach and engagement director for the authority.

"The package is in. The questions have been answered," Whittemore said.

Whittemore said the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority is waiting for authorization to advance to the second step, which is developing the core service development plan. The core service development plan includes defining schedules, station locations, equipment needs and the implementation framework.

"That's where the team is really looking at each community. They're looking at the first and last mile (of the route)," she said. "That's where the detailed economic impact work starts."

Whittemore said all projects within the Corridor Identification and Development Program have been paused. She said all of the routes for passenger rail service in the Corridor Identification and Development Program are being reevaluated.

Whittemore has been traveling the route of the former North Coast Hiawatha Chicago to Seattle route from Fargo to Idaho to gather information along the route, let officials know about the potential of restoring passenger rail service, hear any concerns and look at potential depot locations.

Whittemore met with city of Jamestown officials — Mayor Katie Hemmer, City Councilman David Steele, Jamestown Area of Chamber of Commerce and Jamestown Tourism Executive Director Emily Bivens, Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corp. CEO Corry Shevlin, City Administrator Sarah Hellekson, City Engineer Travis Dillman and Public Works Director Tyler Michel — on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at Buffalo Grill.

In 2023, the Federal Railroad Administration awarded a $500,000 grant from its Corridor Identification and Development Program to the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority to restore passenger rail service on the former North Coast Hiawatha Chicago to Seattle route, which is known as the Big Sky North Coast Corridor. Passenger rail projects in Amtrak's North Coast Hiawatha are overseen by the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority.

The Big Sky North Coast Corridor would go through eight states from Chicago to Seattle, including Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. The exact route is still to be determined, but could go through the following towns:

• In North Dakota: Fargo, Jamestown, Bismarck, Dickinson and Medora.
• In Minnesota: Winona, Red Wing, St. Paul, St. Cloud, Staples and Detroit Lakes. An alternative route could be the BNSF Railway route from Minneapolis, Willmar, Morris, Breckenridge to Fargo.

The concept of high-performance rail includes freight and passenger operations. The Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority is developing a route that would include two trains in each direction daily, ensuring that every community with a stop has at least one daylight train.

"Our intentions are not late-night trains that no one can get to," Whittemore said. "It's up to four trains a day at normal times a day."

She said one of the impediments is coming up with a 10% match for work on the core service development plan. The core service development plan has been negotiated to about $3.2 million and the required match would be approximately $320,000, The Jamestown Sun reported in August.

The North Dakota Legislature allocated $150,000 in 2025 that would be used to match $1.1 million of an $11 million grant agreement with the FRA. The Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority would use the funds to create the service development plan to restore passenger rail service from Chicago to Seattle.

North Dakota is the only state that has allocated funding for creating the service development plan. Steele said those funds have not been released by the North Dakota Department of Transportation.

The service development plan is split into two phases with the initial phase having a budget of about $3.2 million and needing a nonfederal match of $320,0000.

Whittemore said Sens. Tim Sheehy, R- Mont., and Jeff Merkley, D- Ore., have introduced the Long-Distance Corridor Relief Enhancement Act in Washington, D.C., that would remove the nonfederal match needed for long-distance passenger rail routes under the Corridor Identification and Development Program.

"We are one of three that are 750 miles or longer, so we are hopeful," she said.

Whittemore said Sens. John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer, both R- N.D., expressed consideration for the proposed Long-Distance Corridor Relief Enhancement Act to get rid of the nonfederal match.

"But there's no point in pursuing getting rid of the non-federal match until you know what's going on with corridor ID and how it's going to proceed," she said.

She said the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority is waiting to hear what will replace the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that expired on Sept. 30.

"Everyone was waiting to hear what's going to replace it or what's it going to look like, what is going to happen to have a long-term sustaining rail funding vehicle, and we don't know quite yet what that is," she said.

Whittemore said the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority has a partnership with the Western Transportation at Montana State University. She said that initiative, funded through a $6.4 million FRA Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements grant, will focus on rail workforce development to train people for passenger rail operations.

Whittemore said the Big Sky Rail Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, was established. Having the foundation enables the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority to match federal grants, fundraise and design the Big Sky North Coast Corridor, according to the authority's website.

She said individuals should contact the FRA and the U.S. Department of Transportation to affirm the importance of the Big Sky North Coast Corridor.

Whittemore said she sees Jamestown as a stop on the route.

"I have not heard anything to suggest to me that Jamestown isn't on the same footing as the other stops on the map for a lot of reasons," she said.

She said she doesn't have a proposed location for a train depot in Jamestown yet.

"There are conditions parameters," she said. "You're looking at grade crossings, you're looking at safety, access egress, parking, all kinds of things are going to come into play."

Whittemore said the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority is looking at each city's population along the route and what those people's needs are to help determine where the passenger trains will stop.

"Census data is going to weigh into that," she said. "The age of the population, whether there are educational institutions to be served, the healthcare needs are going to be really critical, and then the tourism opportunities and possibilities will be there as well."

Steele said having Jamestown as a stop could mean new business opportunities in the city. He said he spoke with the James River Public Transit about Jamestown being a stop along the route.

"They go out to smaller communities, Medina, Montpelier, people need to get to the rail," he said. "They bring them in for medical treatments now and take them back and forth."

Steele also said the rental car service in Jamestown could be expanded as well.

"It is part of the inventory," Whittemore said. "So in step two, the inventory of what's available, where someone would go if they're out at the depot, how far would they need to go, this all has to be factored in. ... It's all part of what does this need to look like, who does it need to accommodate, and does this make sense for the community?"

Hemmer asked if train depots have problems with homeless people.

"We're not a large population, we haven't had big initiatives to do things like shelters and stuff like that," she said. "I feel like if we were to offer a shelter that we could see a boost of it, and I just want us to have our eyes wide open to be prepared for that."

Whittemore said addressing the depot use by homeless people would be on her list of factors for a train depot. She said other factors include the depot's use, hours of operation and security.

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