U.S., Amtrak and before: Serving the Pacific Northwest with the Empire Builder and multiple transcontinental trains

By J. Bruce Richardson, Corridor Rail Development Corporation; April 19, 2023 If you wanted to get from here to there…

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U.S.: Stephen Gardner’s Amtrak Empire Builder in past better days competed spiritedly with the North Coast Limited, Mainstreeter, Olympian Hiawatha and Western Star

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on this platform on March 15, 2021. It has been updated and photographs and…

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U.S., Amtrak and others: A primer of best practices for how to plan passenger train expansions

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on this platform on March 29, 2021. It has been updated with photographs and…

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U.S., Montana: Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority is doing many of the right things for new passenger train development

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on this platform on December 5, 2020. It has been updated and has new…

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U.S., Amtrak’s Empire Builder: A Multi-Tasking Mobility Machine That Baffles The Experts (Including Amtrak)

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on this website in 2018. By F.K. Plous, Corridor Rail Development Corporation; February 26,…

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U.S., Amtrak Empire Builder History: Welsh Rabbit Was on the Great Northern Menu

By J. Bruce Richardson, Corridor Rail Development Corporation; January 8, 2021 James J. Hill was the Empire Builder by reputation…

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U.S., Great Northern Empire Builder Route History: The Western Star offered superb passenger amenities and food service

By J. Bruce Richardson, Corridor Rail Development Corporation; December 3, 2020 The Western Star, a secondary train of the Great…

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U.S., Montana – It’s official: Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority forms, eyes southern route

By Martin Kidston, Missoula Current, KXLH 9; December 2, 2020 A dozen participating counties spanning Montana from east to west…

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U.S., Montana: Big Sky Passenger Rail Takes Another Big Step Forward

By Will Gordon, KMMS AM 1450; November 19, 2020 Slowly but surely, there could be a new scenic way to…

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U.S.: Pacific Northwest, South serve as models for passenger rail in Montana

By Martin Kidston, Missoula Current; September 18, 2020 As counties across southern Montana join the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority…

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U.S., Washington State: State receives King County to Spokane rail study

By Aaron Kunkler, Bellevue Reporter; July 10, 2020 A new study outlines what it could take to resurrect an east-west…

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U.S., Montana: Amtrak cuts could have outsized impact on Hi-Line

By Justin Franz, Montana Free Press; July 6, 2020 Whitefish is the busiest stop in Montana for Amtrak’s daily Empire…

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U.S., Commentary: We need a better Amtrak for post-pandemic America

By Jon Talton, The Seattle Times; June 26, 2020 Airlines aren’t the only passenger transportation systems in trouble because of…

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U.S., Washington State: Metro, Sound Transit slash service, citing coronavirus outbreak

By Heidi Groover, Staff Reporter, The Seattle Times; March 19, 2020 King County Metro detailed far-reaching cuts to bus service…

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U.S.: See Every Corner of the U.S. With This Cross-country Train Journey That Only Costs $1,000

By Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure; February 07, 2020 In 2019, more people than ever before took to the railways…

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U.S., Washington State: Meet the group trying to electrify America’s railroads

By Aaron Kunkler, Bellevue Reporter; January 13, 2020 Mary Paterson’s involvement in solutionary rail, a vision to electrify rail corridors…

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U.S., Washington State: Plans to beef up Amtrak Cascades service in 2020 beset by multiple uncertainties

By Tom Banse, Northwest News Network, KUOW; December 23, 2019 A holiday wish of many Pacific Northwest rail fans is…

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U.S., Washington State: State may revive Stampede Pass train service

By TJ Martinell, thelens.com; December 23, 2019 As the state continues to explore the idea of a bullet train line…

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Seattle: Sound Transit to change how it names light-rail lines

From Progressive Railroading Magazine; November 21, 2019 Sound Transit last week announced it will create a new naming system for…

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Northwest rail buffs signal for return of Oregon Trail Amtrak route to Boise, Idaho

By Tom Banse, Spokane Public Radio; October 22, 2019 As scenic train rides go, it would be a plum ticket.…

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North by northwest: The Empire Builder holds its own

By Ted Leach, Concord Monitor; October 13, 2019 At 2:15 p.m., right on schedule, the Empire Builder passenger train began…

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Montana: Missoula County lobbies for costly return of passenger rail service

By Dave Stalling, Missoula Current, KXLH 9; October 4, 2019 Missoula County commissioners on Thursday expressed their interest in restoring…

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Opinion – Amtrak state of mind: What if America took its train system seriously?

By Katie Wilson, Crosscut; September 6, 2019 I don’t often get out of Seattle, but this summer I rode the…

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Washington Department of Transportation awarded up to $37.5 million for Passenger Rail Car Replacement Project

By Graham Johnson, KIRO 7; August 20, 2019 SEATTLE – The federal government is helping fund replacements for three older…

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Sound Transit, Seattle: Crews Installing First-Ever Light Rail Track On a Floating Bridge

For the first time ever, according to Sound Transit officials, light rail track is being installed on a floating bridge—the…

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