Background touted the predecessor North Coast Limited'''s amenities. The flagship train on the
Northern Pacific Railway (NP) main line was the
North Coast Limited, which began in 1900. Its running mate since 1952 was the
Mainstreeter, which operated on a slower schedule with fewer amenities. The NP main line mirrored that of its rival, the
Great Northern Railway (GN), with the latter using a more northerly route through Montana and North Dakota. The NP, GN, and
Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) shared closer relations starting in the 1920s and merged in 1970, forming the
Burlington Northern Railroad. Passenger service continued over both the ex-NP and ex-GN after the merger. When passenger service transferred to Amtrak in 1971, they chose the
Empire Builder—the former flagship train of the GN—for their Chicago–
Pacific Northwest route. Amtrak based this decision on several factors, including the overall higher speed of the ex-GN route and better alternate transportation options along the ex-NP.
Operation Amtrak's decision caused consternation in Montana.
Mike Mansfield (D–Montana), then
Senate Majority Leader, demanded that Amtrak find a way to serve Montana's larger cities that the
Empire Builder bypassed by not using the ex-NP line, including
Billings,
Bozeman,
Butte, and
Missoula. Amtrak reacted to the pressure and announced a resumption of service over the ex-NP line effective June 14, 1971, creating an unnamed
section of the
Empire Builder that ran three days a week over the ex-NP route between Minneapolis and
Spokane. Mansfield's intervention earned the train the nickname "Mike Mansfield Limited". On November 14, 1971, Amtrak formally named this service the
North Coast Hiawatha and extended it to Chicago. It retained its tri-weekly schedule and joint operation with the
Empire Builder west of Spokane. On the four days of the week that the
North Coast Hiawatha did not run, its route between Chicago and Minneapolis was served by a train on the same schedule. This Chicago–Minneapolis train was initially named
Hiawatha, then
Twin Cities Hiawatha (starting January 16, 1972), and, finally,
Hiawatha again (starting October 29, 1972). This name remained until the
North Coast Hiawatha went daily on May 19, 1974. The joint operation with the
Empire Builder ended on June 11, 1973, when Amtrak extended the
North Coast Hiawatha to Seattle using the GN's route via
Stevens Pass and the
Cascade Tunnel, which included stops at the northern Washington cities of
Wenatchee and
Everett. The train remained on a tri-weekly schedule west of Minneapolis. For the summer of 1974, Amtrak added a second train, the ''
Expo '74'' (named for
Expo '74 being held in Spokane), to the Seattle–Spokane segment. The train operated daily between Chicago and Seattle during the summers of 1974 and 1977, and during certain holiday seasons, such as December 12, 1975 – January 12, 1976. Otherwise, it remained tri-weekly west of Minneapolis. In November, Amtrak reduced the running time to 46 hours 40 minutes, after the replacement of the SDP40Fs permitted an easing of speed restrictions. but the last
North Coast Hiawathas ran on October 6, 1979, arriving in Chicago on the 7th and Seattle on the 8th.
Proposed return The end of the
North Coast Hiawatha severed much of the populated portion of Montana from the national rail network, and also spelled the end of intercity rail service in southern North Dakota. Over the years there have been periodic attempts to restore service in these areas. A plan in 1982–83 proposed North Dakota and Montana paying 45% of costs in the first year and 65% thereafter for a new section of the
Empire Builder operating tri-weekly between Fargo and Sandpoint. This proposal went nowhere when neither state approved the needed subsidy. Another proposal in 1991 would have required an additional yearly federal appropriation of $12–15 million plus new equipment. In this scenario, the Portland section would operate over the old route. Again, nothing came of it. In 2008, Congress directed Amtrak to study resumption of service, which rekindled hope of restoration. This approach is modeled on the Gulf Coast Working Group and Southern Rail Commission, which are on track to
restore Amtrak service between
New Orleans and
Mobile in 2022. In December 2020, twelve
Montana counties formed the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority (BSPRA), the first entity to have railway authority powers under Montana state law. The BSPRA's focus is restoring passenger rail in southern Montana along the former route of the
North Coast Hiawatha. The authority held its first annual conference in August 2021. , the number of member counties participating in the BSPRA has grown to eighteen, covering the great majority of the proposed route. Amtrak,
BNSF Railway, the
Montana Department of Transportation, and three
federally recognized tribes are
ex officio members. Amtrak is the presumed operator of the service, while BNSF would host the train on its southern Montana line once it takes control back from
Montana Rail Link in 2022. In September 2021, the
Rail Passengers Association assessed restoration of the full
North Coast Hiawatha as proposed by the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority. On an annual basis, they forecast ridership of 426,000, economic benefit of $270.6 million, operating cost of $68 million, revenue of $41 million, and a
vehicle-miles traveled reduction of 45.9 million. In June 2021, Senator
Jon Tester (D-Montana) added an amendment to the Surface Transportation Investment Act of 2021 which requires the
Department of Transportation (not Amtrak itself) to evaluate the restoration of discontinued long-distance routes including the
North Coast Hiawatha. The bill passed the
Senate Commerce Committee with bipartisan support, and was later rolled into the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which was passed into law in November 2021. The report must be delivered to Congress within two years. The law also provides $2.4 billion in new funds to Amtrak's long-distance route network. In May 2022, the
Federal Railroad Administration established the
Corridor Identification and Development Program as the mechanism to award grants for new train service under the IIJA. In October of that year, the
North Dakota Department of Transportation submitted a note to the FRA supporting restoration of the
North Coast Hiawatha route through Fargo, Bismarck, and Dickinson, North Dakota. In March 2023, the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority formally submitted the route to the Corridor ID Program. The route was accepted into the program in December, granting $500,000 toward development and prioritizing the project for future federal funds. On October 28, 2022, the
FRA announced the beginning of the
Amtrak Daily Long-Distance Service Study as required by the IIJA. Its purpose is to evaluate the restoration and addition of discontinued and new long-distance passenger services, as well as the upgrading of tri-weekly long-distance services (the
Sunset Limited and the
Cardinal) to daily operation. The criteria for either restoring or creating new long-distance routes are that they connect large and small communities as part of a "regional rail network", provide economic and social well-being for rural areas, provide "enhanced connectivity" for the existing long-distance passenger trains, and reflect the support and engagement of the locals and region for restored long-distance passenger service. These criteria include the
North Coast Hiawatha, among other trains. The study will take place through 2023, and will engage with stakeholders, the rail companies, and communities as it "evaluates how to better connect people with long-distance rail services". == Equipment ==