North Dakota could be host of future passenger rail route that once closed in 1979

(Washington, D.C.) -- The Federal Railroad Administration is looking at 15 proposed future passenger rail routes, one of which is a revitalization of the North Coast Hiawatha Route that ran through the Red River Valley.

The route would be from Chicago to Seattle, crossing southern North Dakota and Montana mostly parallel to Interstates 94 and 90. Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority says this is another step in restoring the line, which went out of service in 1979.

Another proposed route would travel south from Billings to El Paso, Texas, passing through Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico.