Hello, USA: A passenger rail line between Alberta and Montana is being proposed

A different way to travel to the United States from Alberta may be approaching, as a passenger rail line between the province and Montana is being proposed.

Integrated Travel Research and Development has released its Alberta-Montana Passenger Rail Feasibility Report, with a nearly 900-kilometre line from downtown Calgary to Livingston, Montana.

The proposed route would be made up of 12 stations/platforms travelling through 57 settlements, with the Alberta stations located in Calgary, Okotoks, Vulcan, Lethbridge, Stirling, and Coutts, and the Montana stations situated in Sweet Grass, Shelby, Great Falls, Helena, Bozeman, and Livingston.

Integrated Travel

The group says the rail service would have “a positive impact on tourism and economic development,” making spots in Alberta like Banff, Canmore and Calgary more accessible for Americans, while spots like Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park would be easier to get to for Canadians.

The report added that the initial Alberta-Montana Passenger Rail study is intended to determine the feasibility of a cross-border passenger service connecting Alberta and Montana.

As the project progresses, there is opportunity for the route to also extend northward to Edmonton and further eastward to Billings, Montana, to connect the regions’ most populated cities.

Integrated Travel has not reached any agreements to proceed with the proposed rail route and there is no cost estimate for the project yet.

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Train talk has been big in Alberta lately, with an announcement earlier this week that a connecting train line between Calgary and Edmonton is in the works.

The announcement also included new train lines to connect people in surrounding commuter cities to the major downtown cores and regional rail lines from Calgary and Edmonton to the Rocky Mountain National Park.

Would you be all for a passenger train connecting Alberta and Montana? Let us know in the comments below.