Passenger rail advocates push for South Dakota Amtrak service

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Conversations nationwide for new and improved passenger rail services have picked back up after the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law back in 2021. For some passenger rail advocates, the increased funding for rail projects is the perfect example to bring back service to South Dakota, which saw it’s last passenger train stop in the state decades ago.

On Monday, President Joe Biden announced more than $16 billion for rail projects in the Northeast of the United States, as a part of allocated funds of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. However, Biden hinted that more can be done nationwide with the remaining funds.

“Train stations that haven’t seen a major upgrade for generations. Tracks in constant need of repair. Look folks, it has real consequences. This outdated infrastructure leads to over 4,000 hours of delays each year on Amtrak,” Biden said.

That same legislation also directed the Federal Railroad Administration to conduct a new study on daily long-distance routes in the country, and look closer at what routes could be restored or created with new funds. The goal of the study is to find what routes could be improved or implemented to better connect smaller cities to bigger hubs on route distances of 750 miles or longer.

Speaking on Matters of the State on Dakota News Now in September, US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said while it will be some time before any consideration is made for reinstating old routes or planning new ones, that process is has already started with the goal of connecting more people to the nation’s passenger rail network.

“We’ve got to build up passenger rail as a country, and this is something that President Biden famously feels very passionate about. Honestly, a big part of that in these five years of this infrastructure law is just shoring up the railroad that we have, and improving what we’ve got,” Buttigieg said. “In the longer run, I think communities that have never had service should be looking at what it would take to get service in the future as we strengthen that foundation, so that people will have more options. It’s all about making sure that there’s a good range of choices to get to where you need to be, so you don’t have only one choice.”

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Passenger rail advocates in the Upper Midwest and Great Plains are taking the study as an opportunity to put South Dakota, one of the last states in the Lower 48 to lack Amtrak service, at the top of any lists for route expansion.

Dan Bilka is the president of All Aboard Northwest, an organization advocating for passenger rail expansion in the Great Plains. He also serves as a director for the Rail Passengers Association.

“[All Aboard Northwest] started over four years ago now, kind of informally trying to dialogue over state lines, to see what could we see realized this time around, instead of just another round of studies that just sit on a shelf for another dozen years,” Bilka said.

Bilka argued that South Dakota should be on the short list for any new routes that the Federal Railroad Administration proposes from the study. The last time a passenger train stopped in Sioux Falls was in 1965, and in South Dakota as a whole in 1969. He said not only is there a nationwide push for more passenger rail services, by connecting smaller cities in the Midwest and Northwest to bigger metropolitan areas like the Twin Cities or Chicago, it can deliver an economic boost for the region as a whole.

“A passenger train isn’t for the end point to end point, such as Chicago to Seattle. It’s for these dozens of communities in-between. It provides that single seat ride in many overlapping city pairs, and provides service to many communities that otherwise wouldn’t have it,” Bilka said. “The Rail Passengers Association has found that long-distance routes really perform above their weight in ridership. And it’s actually sometimes the smaller communities that really out-perform some of the larger communities on the ridership numbers, because the train is the last thing in town for non-personal automobile transportation.”

The Federal Railroad Administration is focusing on daily long-distance routes as the foundation of an expanded rail service in the country. Those routes are defined as traveling 750 miles or more, which costs to operate will come federal appropriations for Amtrak. Bilka said by expanding that service, it can open the door for even more regional and local service that local or state governments would consider; if there was a regional Amtrak route to support it.

“Long-distance routes really should be thought of or conceptualized as the backbone of our national passenger rail system, on top of what states and communities can elect to do, what’s called state-supported routes,” Bilka said. “We don’t see rail as the be-all-end-all, but as one part of a interconnected, interdependent transportation network.”

As for the costs of a potential rail route going through South Dakota, Bilka argues that rail should be treated with the same expectations that road and air travel face. He added that passenger rail travel not only allows people to be more productive with their commutes between longer distances, it also allows the development of denser urban centers that people will have access to without needing other transportation.

“Highways don’t pay for themselves. Airports don’t pay for themselves. Don’t hold passenger rail to a different standard. It’s not the be-all-end-all, but actually if it’s well designed, it can work well in tandem with other transportation nodes. So imagine that you could be able to make a connection to go to the airport, to make a flight somewhere else or vice versa,” Bilka said. “That’s why passenger rail, it does pay for itself but not directly through the fare box recovery. It bring immense economic benefits to the communities that it serves.”

The Federal Railroad Administration’s study is ongoing, with a report due to Congress next spring. From there, it’s Congress that will decide which projects to pursue. Bilka said while passenger rail service to South Dakota won’t be coming in the near future, even starting the conversation will be miles ahead of where the state is currently. He also added that now is the time for interested individuals to contact the FRA and their local, state, and federal leaders to voice their support.

“First things first, we need to get the backbone down to simply be on the map and showcase to people, many of which maybe are not familiar with, what is modern day intercity passenger rail services, and what can it actually mean for the people that it serves,” Bilka said.

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