HELENA, Mont. — Montana’s legislature is considering a bill that would use a tax on railroad cars to help provide funding for the organization seeking to revive passenger service on the former route of the North Coast Hiawatha.
House Bill 848, introduced by state Rep. Denise Baum (D-Billings) earlier this month, initially sought to direct 25% of the funds from a tax on rental vehicles to a “Big Sky Rail Account” for use by regional rail agencies in the state. It was subsequently amended to substitute the state’s railroad car tax for the rental-car tax.
Currently, the state has just one such rail agency: the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority, which is working to restore service on the route last used by the North Coast Hiawatha in 1979. The Authority could use the funds for administration, providing matching funds for federal grants, and other purposes, the Terry Tribune reports.
The bill is currently being considered by the House Transportation Committee, which held a hearing on the legislation on March 26 but did not immediately take action.
Yes there a lot of richer persons who can afford private airplanes. The thinking might be the results of many weeks of harsh winter that slows or stops auto traffic and some air travel. But there is going to need some way to make winter travel more reliable than what happened to the EB this past winter.
DOA – any hint of “Green” will doom a project under this administration & the same with their state toadies who will follow in lock step. The Senator that replaced Testor is against it & is opposed to Amtrak funding. MT especially western MT is becoming another playground for the rich just like UT, CO & WY. Pretty soon the people who have lived there for years won’t be able to afford it or will be enticed to pull up stakes for the $$$. The rich can just never have enough homes while many other struggle to keep one!
Okay Galen. Nice thoughts. Now tell us how to make the Northern Pacific route work for a passenger train. Who is going to pay? How will BNSF be brought to approve the use of its tracks?
Those “rich” people flocking to the mountain states BTW are for the most part Democrats. I don’t ever visit UT or WY, but I do spend time in CO. I see how the Democrats have utterly devastated that state, turning Denver, once a livable city, into a doppelganger of a bad part of Los Angeles.
“restore the routes last used by NP in 1979″…ah, isn’t this the Homestake pass route? Revival of this route would require quite a bit of funds, even though, a good amount of the rails still exist.
I think they’re still looking at Homestake Pass (via Butte) vs Mullan Pass (via Helena). Obviously the former requires a lot more work and money, but it could then be easier to tie the service to a future passenger route toward Salt Lake City (if demand ever materializes). Now, if they had *two* trains running over this route they could send one each way.
Always new pie-in-the-sky routes, but never a focus on beefing up the existing ones. Hasn’t the Borealis taught the advocates anything?
Wouldn’t North Dakota need to get into the act on this as well to make it viable?
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Can certainly see it possible after some success getting second daily to St. Paul from Chicago. Adding another daily across northern tier one staying on high line and the other taking NP route. Heck, you could have second daily cut across ND via Jamestown, Valley City & Bismark. Heck, take it one step further and restore passenger rail to the likes of Morris, MN and my old hometown, Breckenridge, MN. Of course, I’m probably in lala land & wishfull thinking. Plus who knows what Buffet’s gang ask would be to reintroduce passenger rail service covering three states instead of one across the northern plains
Honestly, despite as much of a rail fan that I am, it would be probably better for the state to start with increased subsidized bus service. If that is a great success, then you can maybe start looking at rail service.
How do they tax railroad cars?
That was my question, since I don’t think anyone has a railcar manufacturing plant in Montana. If you look at the article, click the link that says “the state’s railroad car tax” and read that.
Probably private businesses in MT, which own cars in MT. It’s a personal property tax much like many states have for automobiles. CA taxes railroad cars.
Good luck. The Northern Pacific route may seem a natural for an LD, but we don’t know if there will be any LDs.