BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — Community leaders and Amtrak met at the Greater Northwest Passenger Rail Summit, to discuss the future of passenger rail transit in the Gem State.
Boise has not had passenger rail since 1997, when Amtrak closed the Pioneer Line. The Pioneer Line connected Salt Lake City to Seattle, with stops in Boise, Portland and other cities and towns.
But there is growing momentum that the line, or something similar, might return in the future. The Great Northwest Passenger Rail Summit, in it's second year, discussed enhancing rail connectivity in the region Wednesday and Thursday, with Amtrak's CEO attending on Thursday, speaking on the issue.
"The Department of Transportation is leading a study to look at the future of our long-distance network... this route, the former Pioneer Route operated by Amtrak, is one of those routes that the Department of Transportation is studying," Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner said.
Mayor Lauren McLean also attended, expressing the community's desire to get passenger rail service back for Boiseans.
"This opportunity to reconnect our communities with the leadership of mayors throughout this region, in partnership with the governor and ITD, and even our congressional delegation, shows how important it is that we bring rail back to the Boise valley, that we connect with each other and create incredible economic opportunities and vacation opportunities along the way," McLean said.
Gardner expressed a lot of optimism in the potential of a Salt Lake to Boise route, comparing it to other similar, successful routes Amtrak currently has. He also added that community enthusiasm has played a big role in getting Boise to where it's at with a potential pitch for bringing passenger rail back.
"The whole community has really I think, been clear about the desire for passenger trains to return here and the interest in using them," Gardner said. "And that is fundamentally what gets Amtrak's attention."
The timeline on getting trains rolling depends on a few factors. Department of Transportation officials will meet to discuss potential routes for Amtrak to put funding and research into, and then Boise would work with other cities and towns into pitching the route.
While trains won't be rolling out of Boise Depot in the next year, Gardner said it's not decades away.
"It's not possible to say that yet but certainly we're talking about service we'd like to be able see in the next decade, not decades away," Gardner said.
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