Looking to connect people? Mark Twain: "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness." Rail travel benefits the economy, environment, & equity, & is supported by liberals and conservatives. Donate to @aawa.us at www.aawa.us/support/ & @allaboardnw.org at allaboardnw.org/support/

Federal momentum for the Big Sky North Coast Corridor. U.S. Senator Tim Sheehy (MT) has introduced S.2916, making it easier for long-distance passenger rail projects to advance in the Corridor ID program. www.fairfieldsuntimes.com/news/state/s...

Rail advocates from All Aboard Northwest, AORTA, and All Aboard Washington are encouraging members, allies, and community leaders to participate in the Pacific Northwest Rail Summit, October 15–16 at the EcoTrust Building in Portland. allaboardnw.org/blog/rail-ad...

Finally wrapped up my recap of the 2025 YIMBYtown conference, an event that really seemed to mark a new era for the national pro-housing movement. Plenty of tensions were put on the table for advocates to grapple with. www.theurbanist.org/2025/09/27/y...

Join us in Portland October 15-17 for the Pacific Northwest Rail Summit, where passenger and freight rail leaders and elected officials will discuss opportunities to improve the shared rail system that spans the Greater Northwest. Details at nwsummit.org. Register now to attend in person or online.

NE: Grand Islanders show interest in expanding passenger rail service www.masstransitmag.com/rail/news/55...

Support Passenger Rail Reauthorization and the Big Sky North Coast Corridor action.railpassengers.org/Default.aspx...

Aorta - Association of Oregon Rail and Transit Advocates, All Aboard Northwest and the PNWER Regional Infrastructure Accelerator are proud to host the Pacific Northwest Rail Summit. Details and registration at www.pnwer.org/2025-forum.h... Please join us in Portland or online!

Aorta - Association of Oregon Rail and Transit Advocates, All Aboard Northwest and the PNWER Regional Infrastructure Accelerator are proud to host the Pacific Northwest Rail Summit. Details and registration at www.pnwer.org/2025-forum.h... Please join us in Portland or online!

AANW's Matt Krabacher joins a panel to talk about Why Rural Transit (and Rail) Matters, presented by Oregon Public Broadcasting www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8rv...

Nebraska lawmaker, passenger rail advocates host town hall in North Platte Dan Bilka of All Aboard Northwest was among a trio of speakers at a town hall Tuesday in North Platte aimed at gaining momentum for extended passenger rail in Nebraska. nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/09/10/n...

Push for Amtrak in South Dakota returns to Fort Pierre www.capjournal.com/news/push-fo...

"The US transportation system has all the balance of a two-legged stool. Adding passenger rail doesn't just add an option, it adds stability" @lakeshorerail.bsky.social

Plans To Bring Passenger Rail Back Based In Need, Use Not Population www.kccrradio.com/2025/06/26/p...

Push for more railway transportation continues across South Dakota kbhbradio.com/push-for-mor...

South Dakota Train Trek: Bringing Passenger Trains to SD We will be holding a series of "Train Trek" presentations across South Dakota next week discussing the FRA Amtrak Daily Long-Distance Service Study findings and what we can do to bring passenger rail back to SD. allaboardnw.org/blog/south-d...

“Fund the 15!” Building Out a True National Network www.railwayage.com/passenger/in...

ND Legislature allocates $150,000 for passenger rail service project www.inforum.com/news/north-d...

Oregon legislature passes bill seeking to strengthen regional rail planning www.trains.com/trn/news-rev...

Save the Date: Pacific Northwest Rail Summit October 15-17, 2025 | Portland, Oregon Featuring panel discussions with industry experts and policymakers around innovative energy transmission infrastructure and strategies to enhance our region’s freight and passenger rail network.

@allaboardnw.org testified for Oregon SB 1202, which would create a Department of Rail and Transit. Together with our friends at @aortarail.org @wpsr.bsky.social @aawa.us @railpassengers.org and many others, there was overwhelming support for improving management of rail projects. arr.as/sb1202

State legislatures are supporting several positive rail bills this year. In addition to the Montana bill we've already posted about, here is Matt's discussion on one from Oregon that will be voted on tomorrow. neoregonpassengerrail.substack.com/p/the-propos... @aortarail.org

Big win for Montana! HB 848 passes the House with bipartisan support and moves to the Senate—bringing us closer to restoring passenger rail across the state. “This is such a truly momentous piece of legislation.” —Rep. Denise Baum #MTLeg #HB848 #PassengerRail dailymontanan.com/2025/04/05/b...

House Bill 848 just moved forward by a vote of 61 to 39 in the Montana House thanks to the extraordinary efforts of Representative Denise Baum with the support of our chairman and Missoula County Commissioner Dave Strohmaier.

Amtrak Cascades resumes all trips this weekend aawa.us/news/posts/a...

Thank you so much for being part of rail.chat! We're so successful that we've had to buy more hosting. Please donate to our sponsor, All Aboard Northwest, keep our train moving. www.paypal.com/donate/?host...

Dan McFarling on KOIN 6 www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulHx...

CRA is right. We no longer have any spare equipment to speak of, and we won't see new equipment for at least a year.

Gardner’s Ouster Makes Grassroots’ Task More Urgent www.narprail.org/happening-no... @railpassengers.org

Amtrak CEO Departs Amid Threats of a Transit Funding Pullback www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Sneak a peek at AAWA's new discussion board for rail advocates in the Pacific Northwest. Register to post and comment at aawaforum.org Full speed ahead!

We have published a new option for communicating among rail advocates. We hope that it will evolve into "the" place where active discussions happen among @aawa.us @AORTArail.org, and other orgs in the PNW. This is a "soft launch." Go to aawaforum.org and click on Register at the top right.

Commentary from AAWA and AANW board member Gleb Sych.

Rail workers between the U.S. and Canada are uniting for a webinar on Monday, March 10 at 7 p.m. (Central), and encouraging allies from the transportation, labor, and environmental justice movements to join in to support their efforts. us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Chicago-Moline passenger rail updates: -IL legislators in the Quad Cities are demanding state action on rail to Moline. -IAIS still blocking any progress. -Alternative route through Galesburg being developed as a contingency. -Federal grant expiring in 2026 forcing movement as well.

New Study Adds Momentum To Return Of Passenger Rail To Wyoming, Montana cowboystatedaily.com/2025/03/01/n...

Reminder that the excellent book "When Driving is Not an Option" by @nondriver.bsky.social is on sale until tonight at a major discount. Don't miss out! islandpress.org/best-selling...

Today, our parent organization All Aboard Erie held a press conference in Erie, PA to announce their proposal for restructuring US passenger rail policy. Without a policy overhaul, we won't catch up with the rest of the world with passenger rail development. More about the proposal soon.

If you haven't purchased @nondriver.bsky.social 's excellent book "When Driving Is Not an Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency" by Anna Zivarts yet, here's a great opportunity.

% of people within 25 miles of an Amtrak or connecting rail station 1. Rhode Island- 100.0% 2. Connecticut- 99.3% 3. New Jersey- 98.4% 4. Massachusetts- 96.4% 5. California- 95.4% —————————————— 44. Iowa- 12.2% 45. Montana- 8.9% 46. Idaho- 5.0% 47. South Dakota- 0.0% 47. Wyoming- 0.0%

On the rails again: Empire Builder trip features landscapes, personalities of America in ride from Spokane to Philadelphia www.spokesman.com/stories/2025...

Let's return passenger train service to Cheyenne's beautiful depot! www.atlasobscura.com/places/cheye...

'A resolution in the South Dakota House is calling…for Amtrak service in the state. 'House Resolution 6008 is sponsored by Rep. Tim Goodwin, a Republican…. It requests “full support…for [service] between Denver and [MSP via] Rapid City, Pierre, and Sioux Falls.”' www.trains.com/trn/news-rev...

"Funds from most of the FRA’s 69 Corridor Identification grants, providing $500,000 for planning work, have not been distributed. This is also true for Interstate Rail Compact, Consolidated Rail and Safety Improvement (CRISI), and Restoration and Enhancement grants." www.trains.com/trn/news-rev...

"The world's only "Recombobulation Area" signs at the Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport turned 15 and this, fellow Milwaukeeans, is worth celebrating." And not needed for train travel! onmilwaukee.com/articles/rec...

Oregon lawmakers push for rail funding in transportation package www.kgw.com/article/news...

AANW Testifies Before the Oregon Legislature in Favor of Improved Rail allaboardnw.org/blog/aanw-te...

The West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition's recent meeting in Eau Claire included Dan Bilka's presentation "Regional action, local impacts" www.westwisconsinrail.org/blog/2025/2/...

AANW's Dan Bilka on returning passenger rail to South Dakota www.dakotanewsnow.com/video/2025/0...

The thoughts of everyone at All Aboard Northwest are with those affected by the terrible air tragedy in DC. We will continue to work with elected officials to build a safer, more reliable, interconnected, interdependent transportation network for all, with aviation and rail as critical components.