Daily passenger rail service aboard Amtrak will return to Montana’s Hi-Line within the next 90 days, after a bill drafted by Montana Sen. Jon Tester’s secured an additional $166 million in grants for the beleaguered national rail carrier. Tester's bill was passed by the U.S. Senate along party lines on Saturday, as part of the $1.9 trillion COVID relief package.
Service along Amtrak's Empire Builder long-distance passenger line, which serves 12 communities along Montana's Hi-Line, was cut from seven-days a week to just three last October, after ridership dropped to just five-percent of pre-pandemic levels.
On Feb. 23, Tester introduced legislation to reinstate furloughed Amtrak employees and return complete service to the Empire Builder, as well as to the 14 other long-distance routes across the country that Amtrak currently operates.