Consultants hired to help develop plans for two passenger routes

Consultants have been hired this week to develop plans for two lines — Chicago-Fort Wayne-Pittsburgh and the former North Coast Hiawatha route — that are candidates for future passenger service under the Federal Railroad Administration’s Corridor Identification and Development Program.

The City of Fort Wayne, Ind., working with the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, has hired Kansas City-based HNTB Corp. to help develop the Service Development Plan required under the Corridor ID process. That plan covers the scope, schedule, and budget for full planning for a Chicago-Fort Wayne-Columbus, Ohio-Pittsburgh route.

“We are thrilled to have HNTB on board as our consultant for this project,” Fort Wayne city councilman Geoff Paddock said in a city press release on Thursday, Aug. 1.“The momentum of this initiative is inspiring, and while we recognize that there is a long road ahead, and we are confident that with the support of our dedicated stakeholders, we can navigate this journey successfully.”

On July 30, the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority announced it had hired a team led by David Evans and Associates and including Quandel Consultants, KLJ Engineering, and the Steer Group for work in developing the Service Development Plan for the North Coast Corridor, which last saw Amtrak service in 1979. That route could stretch from Chicago to Seattle and/or Portland, Ore., and would restore service to most of Montana’s largest cities, such as Missoula, Butte, Bozeman, and Billings. It was the only long-distance route included in the Corridor ID list.

“The ambitious goal of the Authority is to have a 21st Century passenger rail service designed over the coming years to enable the passenger service to operate by 2032 if Congress so chooses,” Dave Strohmaier, the authority chair, said in a press release. BSPRA Chair. He said goals for the service include twice daily service in each direction and the development of connecting transportation to outlying communites along the route.

The FRA selected a total of 69 routes — some for new service, some for expanded operations, and some for future high-speed systems — for the Corridor ID program late last year [see “Full list of passenger routes …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 8, 2023]. Sponsors of the applications — Fort Wayne and the Big Sky Authority in these cases — receive $500,000 grants from the FRA to help offset the costs of creating the Service Development Plan. That is the first phase of a process that could take seven to 10 years to launch the service on new routes.