(The following story by Kim Skornogoski appeared on the Great Falls Tribune website on February 28, 2009.)
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — In 2005, the governor and Montana’s senators led rallies in Havre, Glasgow and Shelby hoping to muster enough support to save passenger rail service to the Hi-Line.
Times have changed — Amtrak set records for ridership in 2008 and, instead of cutting money, Congress added $300 million in October to Amtrak’s annual federal subsidy of $1.3 billion.
Amtrak released ridership numbers this week for Montana’s 12 stops, most of which showed significant increases.
According to the report, 34,000 more people boarded or de-boarded a train in Montana in 2008 than they did five years ago.
“Amtrak is good for citizens and good for economic development,” said Paul Tuss, executive director of Bear Paw Development. “I think we’ve crossed the divide and finally understand that public transportation is a public good.”
Recent high gas prices and tough economic times prove Amtrak is all the more vital to the Hi-Line, Tuss said.
The rail service is often the only way low-income people can see their families. Montana State University-Northern students take Amtrak to see their families, and many people rely on the rail to go to medical appointments in Seattle or Minneapolis, Tuss said.
“Amtrak is a critical component to northcentral Montana,” he said.
Throughout President George W. Bush’s two terms, Amtrak officials feared for the future of passenger rail lines. For years, Congress threatened to cut the federal subsidy that helps pay for operations and to upgrade rail lines and tunnels.
In addition to the October allocation, Congress now is looking to beef up public transportation systems through the stimulus and the annual federal budget.
The change is motivated largely by last summer’s through-the-roof gas prices and the push to buy less foreign oil.
Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said the single biggest factor in the record ridership was gas prices.
Between June and August, Montana residents and tourists cut back on their driving, buying 8 million fewer gallons of gas than they did during the same time in 2007, according to the Montana Department of Transportation.
Amtrak’s ridership was up 11 percent nationwide during that same time frame.
That helps businesses along the route, which includes stops in Browning, Cut Bank, Shelby, Glacier, Havre, Malta, Whitefish and Wolf Point.
Boxcars Casino in Havre provides boxed chicken dinners to riders heading east and breakfasts to the train that splits at Spokane to go to Portland.
Co-owner Craig Anderson said feeding Amtrak riders accounts for 10 percent of his business in the winter and 20 percent in the summer.
Even if the people on the train are continuing their ride, other businesses benefit when the riders step off at a stop to buy soda or batteries.
Whitefish’s economy relies heavily on Amtrak riders. That train stop is Montana’s busiest by far, with more than 35,000 people getting on and off there.
Though fuel prices have dropped since last summer, the soft economy may cause another increase for Amtrak in 2009, officials said.
Anderson has noticed that food orders have stayed at their summer levels. He credits the cold winter, which has led many to take the train instead of drive, and the economy.
“People are willing to invest the time in taking the train, rather than spend money,” he said.