All Aboard Northwest

Push for Amtrak in South Dakota returns to Fort Pierre. Dan Bilka, co-founder and president of All Aboard Northwest, spoke to a group of citizens in Fort Pierre on Wednesday evening. Bilka, who has presented before on the possibility of

Push for Amtrak in South Dakota returns to Fort Pierre www.capjournal.com/news/push-fo...

"The US transportation system has all the balance of a two-legged stool. Adding passenger rail doesn't just add an option, it adds stability" @lakeshorerail.bsky.social

Plans To Bring Passenger Rail Back Based In Need, Use Not Population FORT PIERRE, (KCCR) -- A group of around 50 got more information about bringing Amtrak passenger rail service ...

Plans To Bring Passenger Rail Back Based In Need, Use Not Population www.kccrradio.com/2025/06/26/p...

Push for more railway transportation continues across South Dakota %%excerpt%% A series of public meetings by All Aboard Northwest explores the ongoing support and need for more railway services in South Dakota.

Push for more railway transportation continues across South Dakota kbhbradio.com/push-for-mor...

South Dakota Train Trek: Bringing Passenger Trains to SD We will be holding a series of "Train Trek" presentations across South Dakota next week discussing the FRA Amtrak Daily Long-Distance Service Study findings and what we can do to bring passenger rail back to SD. allaboardnw.org/blog/south-d...

“Fund the 15!” Building Out a True National Network The American passenger rail renaissance is well-under way! Sold out trains, highly successful new services, and (justifiable) frustration about high ticket prices because of it: This is only the begin...

“Fund the 15!” Building Out a True National Network
www.railwayage.com/passenger/in...

ND Legislature allocates $150,000 for passenger rail service project The rail route would go from Chicago to Seattle, including potential stops in Fargo, Jamestown, Bismarck, Dickinson and Medora.

ND Legislature allocates $150,000 for passenger rail service project
www.inforum.com/news/north-d...

Oregon legislature passes bill seeking to strengthen regional rail planning - Trains SALEM, Ore. — Oregon’s legislature has passed a bill seeking to expand the state’s collaboration with Washington state and other entities to improve passenger and freight rail operations in the Cascad...

Oregon legislature passes bill seeking to strengthen regional rail planning
www.trains.com/trn/news-rev...

Save the Date: Pacific Northwest Rail Summit
October 15-17, 2025 | Portland, Oregon

Featuring panel discussions with industry experts and policymakers around innovative energy transmission infrastructure and strategies to enhance our region’s freight and passenger rail network.

@allaboardnw.org testified for Oregon SB 1202, which would create a Department of Rail and Transit. Together with our friends at @aortarail.org @wpsr.bsky.social @aawa.us @railpassengers.org and many others, there was overwhelming support for improving management of rail projects. arr.as/sb1202

The Proposed Oregon Department of Rail and Transit SB1202 proposes to create a state agency dedicated to passenger rail and public transit

State legislatures are supporting several positive rail bills this year. In addition to the Montana bill we've already posted about, here is Matt's discussion on one from Oregon that will be voted on tomorrow. neoregonpassengerrail.substack.com/p/the-propos... @aortarail.org

Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority bill moves to Senate HB 848 would take $2 million from a rail car tax to push forward work by the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority

Big win for Montana! HB 848 passes the House with bipartisan support and moves to the Senate—bringing us closer to restoring passenger rail across the state.

“This is such a truly momentous piece of legislation.” —Rep. Denise Baum

#MTLeg #HB848 #PassengerRail

dailymontanan.com/2025/04/05/b...

House Bill 848 just moved forward by a vote of 61 to 39 in the Montana House thanks to the extraordinary efforts of Representative Denise Baum with the support of our chairman and Missoula County Commissioner Dave Strohmaier.

Amtrak Cascades resumes all trips this weekend aawa.us/news/posts/a...

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Thank you so much for being part of rail.chat! We're so successful that we've had to buy more hosting. Please donate to our sponsor, All Aboard Northwest, keep our train moving. www.paypal.com/donate/?host...

YouTube video by KOIN 6 Amtrak Cascades now down to one train after Horizon fleet taken out of servicev

Dan McFarling on KOIN 6 www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulHx...

I have been having long email conversations on the Horizon car situation. It doesn't look like a quick fix. The defects are structural and have been known to occur with that kind of rail car construction. I don't see a possibility of replacement equipment in the near future. The standard with virtually every agency is - keep almost enough equipment for normal service. Amtrak regularly cancels corridor trains in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan for lack of equipment.

CRA is right. We no longer have any spare equipment to speak of, and we won't see new equipment for at least a year.

Gardner’s Ouster Makes Grassroots’ Task More Urgent www.narprail.org/happening-no... @railpassengers.org

Amtrak CEO Departs Amid Threats of a Transit Funding Pullback Amtrak Chief Executive Officer Stephen Gardner announced that he is leaving his job Wednesday as the Trump administration threatens to pull back on funding mass transit and transportation projects acr...

Amtrak CEO Departs Amid Threats of a Transit Funding Pullback www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Screen shot of AAWA discussion forum

Sneak a peek at AAWA's new discussion board for rail advocates in the Pacific Northwest. Register to post and comment at aawaforum.org Full speed ahead!

We have published a new option for communicating among rail advocates. We hope that it will evolve into "the" place where active discussions happen among @aawa.us @AORTArail.org, and other orgs in the PNW.

This is a "soft launch." Go to aawaforum.org and click on Register at the top right.

Commentary from AAWA and AANW board member Gleb Sych.

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Public Rail Now Webinar with Canadian and US Railroaders. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting. This webinar brings together railroad workers from the U.S. and Canada to share their experiences, discuss the current state of freight and passenger rail, and explore strategies for cross-border orga...

Rail workers between the U.S. and Canada are uniting for a webinar on Monday, March 10 at 7 p.m. (Central), and encouraging allies from the transportation, labor, and environmental justice movements to join in to support their efforts. us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Quad-Cities officials: No bail out for Chicago transit without passenger rail to Moline After another two years of waiting, Quad-Cities' official have provided another update on Moline's passenger rail situation, including possible alternatives to using

Chicago-Moline passenger rail updates:

-IL legislators in the Quad Cities are demanding state action on rail to Moline.

-IAIS still blocking any progress.

-Alternative route through Galesburg being developed as a contingency.

-Federal grant expiring in 2026 forcing movement as well.

New Study Adds Momentum To Return Of Passenger Rail To Wyoming, Montana A January report from the Federal Railroad Administration recommends restoring Amtrak routes across the West, including through Cheyenne. It specifically…

New Study Adds Momentum To Return Of Passenger Rail To Wyoming, Montana cowboystatedaily.com/2025/03/01/n...

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Reminder that the excellent book "When Driving is Not an Option" by @nondriver.bsky.social is on sale until tonight at a major discount. Don't miss out! islandpress.org/best-selling...

All Aboard Erie Shares New Vision for National Rail Transportation Network They say it needs a permanent funding mechanism, dedicated publicly-owned tracks for passengers not shared with freight trains and a federal passenger rail authority to oversee it all. It won't come c

Today, our parent organization All Aboard Erie held a press conference in Erie, PA to announce their proposal for restructuring US passenger rail policy. Without a policy overhaul, we won't catch up with the rest of the world with passenger rail development. More about the proposal soon.

If you haven't purchased @nondriver.bsky.social 's excellent book "When Driving Is Not an Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency" by Anna Zivarts yet, here's a great opportunity.

% of people within 25 miles of an Amtrak or connecting rail station

1. Rhode Island- 100.0%
2. Connecticut- 99.3%
3. New Jersey- 98.4%
4. Massachusetts- 96.4%
5. California- 95.4%
——————————————
44. Iowa- 12.2%
45. Montana- 8.9%
46. Idaho- 5.0%
47. South Dakota- 0.0%
47. Wyoming- 0.0%

On the rails again: Empire Builder trip features landscapes, personalities of America in ride from Spokane to Philadelphia www.spokesman.com/stories/2025...