An organization called All Aboard Northwest wants to get passenger rail service into Idaho and other states without the service.
All Aboard Northwest is a nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to spreading and encouraging passenger railroad opportunities for the Greater Northwest region from Chicago to Portland and everywhere in between which may include Rexburg, Idaho Falls, Blackfoot, Pocatello and more.
"There’s an interesting research study being done at the present time by the Federal Railroad Administration and what they’re looking at is that they’re looking at places that used to have passenger rail service but don’t anymore," said Charles Hamilton, co-executive director for All Aboard Northwest. "And one of the ones that are particular of interest in eastern Idaho is the train line that used to be called the Pioneer and it used to go from Seattle to Portland to Eastern Oregon to Boise to Pocatello and then south to Salt Lake City and beyond."
“Passage rail is not the be all, end all and it’s particularly most beneficial in my eye for not the largest of communities that can be served, but really for the small ones that could be served between the major metropolitan area," said Dan Bilka, the co-founder and president of All aboard Northwest. "Whether it’s places like Dillon (Montana) or Blackfoot or other ones that way that passenger rail provides single seat ride and many overlapping city pairs."
While studies are still ongoing as of writing this, you can learn more about the organization at allaboardnw.org or find the organization on Facebook.