(Havre) The Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority, along with Amtrak, are hosting a Community Meeting Event in the Montana State University Northern Student Union Building on May 8th.
New Media Broadcasters spoke with Dave Strohmaier, Chairman of the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority, for more information.
“The Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority and Amtrak will be in Havre on Wednesday afternoon, earlier in the day we are testifying before the state legislature’s Interim Transportation Committee, talking about passenger rail in the state of Montana. One of the things that we’re looking at is how we can enhance and improve Amtrak service along the Hi-Line in Montana in points east and west and beyond”
The main point of discussion for this meeting is a proposed project for Amtrak’s Empire Builder line, specifically the station in Malta. Strohmaier says that the main issue in the Malta station right now is congestion; it’s a bottleneck where either freight trains or passenger trains are almost always getting in each other’s way.
Strohmaier says that this new proposed project would seek to fix that issue, making the operations there run smoother. This, in turn, makes the stop much safer; an important point to make among the nations recent increasing concerns involving safety when it comes to railway travel.
The meeting is slated from 2pm to 3pm.
