Commuter rail in Montana?

[rrandb]

QUOTE: Originally posted by randyaj

As someone who is proud to have been born and raised and spent the first 35 years of his life in Montana, I am about sick of the jokes at our expense. There is not nor will there ever be a greater place to live than Montana.
A Montana forever
Randy Johnson

Who's expense would you like them to be at? [(-D]

[Anonymous]

MRL needs some state money for ROW way Upgrades and repairs...
Passenger rail in exchange for money for track seems to be the deal here even if it is money loser

[arbfbe]

Here is the link to tomorrow's Missoulian newspaper covering the meeting.

http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2006/06/15/web/webnews/wnews47.txt

It will be a long haul, the primary users from the Bitterroot Valley will want the citizens of Missoula to pay most of the cost. Until the $10 billion per month going to Iraq ceases and for some time after that, Federal funds for such projects will be extremely limited.

I agree, Montana is a great place to live. I have been in and out of the state and I always like it here the best. I can live with the jokes and lack of infrastructure just fine. The misconceptions are at times a different matter.

[randyaj]

As someone who is proud to have been born and raised and spent the first 35 years of his life in Montana, I am about sick of the jokes at our expense. There is not nor will there ever be a greater place to live than Montana.
A Montana forever
Randy Johnson

[MStLfan]

Wasn't there a commuter operation in Ottawa, Canada with leased Siemens Desiro dmu's? I seem to remember a photo maybe 2 years ago.
Ottawa isn't New York either.
greetings,
Marc Immeker

[chad thomas]

Well I know where some unused commuter cars are. (see where is it thread)

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

The previous post hints at two important questions that nobody seems to have asked:
1. Where is the money for all of this going to come from?
2. Who will operate it?

[ValorStorm]

Here's the deal. The Bitterroot Valley is the fastest growing place in Montana. It's chock full of movie stars & washed up 80s rock stars. It's in the Missoula marketing radius, so all of that burgeoning population shops in Missoula. Most of them work there as well. US 93 isn't as bad as I-15 in SLC or I-75 in Detroit during rush hour, but maybe just half that. I know. I've driven all 3. DMUs on MRL's Bitterroot Branch would be packed. The problem is that Ravalli County will be stubborn about helping pay for it.

[cstaats]

Wi***he people in other parts of the country would think that far ahead.

[Murphy Siding]

Maybe building in some *redundancy* for future,as yet unforseen, railroad infrastructure needs? I've heard that's important too![;)]

[Anonymous]

They are planning ahead of time, far, far ahead of time - when the population boom is even bigger.

[Anonymous]

Just another way to "carpool" I guess.

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

Less people live in Montana than in Cook County, Illinois. This sounds less like a commuter service than a modern version of a branch-line doodlebug.

[rrandb]

What's next for the love of PETE!!! "Captive" shippers in New York City!!!!

[daveklepper]

WOW Commuter trains in Montana!

[mudchicken]

......it's a long way between prairie dog colonies, don'tch know![:D][:D][:o)]

[CShaveRR]

Mebbe if the coaches looked like comfort-cab pickup trucks...

[zardoz]

This a rather lengthy article, so i just posted the first few paragraphs as a 'tease".

Promoters of rail service say now is the time for open discussion
By ROBERT STRUCKMAN of the Missoulian

A Montana Rail Link engine pulled one car slowly north on the Bitterroot Branch line through Missoula's Slant Street neighborhood on a recent weekday morning, sounding its horn every few moments.

If the stars align for promoters of rail service in the Missoula and Bitterroot valleys, as many as 1,500 commuters may someday travel those tracks in air-conditioned, diesel-powered coaches to stations along the line and a downtown terminal.


“It's a worthy goal,” said commuter rail proponent and local vintner Andy Sponseller.

“What we're looking for is a path forward,” said Alex Taft, a retired urban planner and one of the organizers with Sponseller of a Thursday symposium at the Doubletree Inn entitled, “A Discussion on the Feasibility of Commuter Rail Service in the Missoula and Bitterroot Valleys.”

Talk to promoters of the system, and you'll hear about a rail wave sweeping the nation, made possible by new low-cost DMUs - or diesel motor units - that use existing rail infrastructure. Rail is good for the environment and encourages sensible development. Picture dense pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use developments of housing and small business, they say.

see the entire article at:
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2006/06/11/news/local/news03.txt