Amtrak

The CEO of the Treasure Valley’s public bus system is now one Senate vote away from joining Amtrak’s board of directors.

The effort to bring passenger rail service back through Boise has hit high gear after the federal government allocated millions of dollars to study where in the United States to focus on expanding Amtrak service.

Bring Amtrak service back to Southern Idaho and link it to Salt Lake City, that’s the hope of the city of Boise and they’re looking for some public input on the idea.

Somedays, it’s good to be cautious. But Bre Brush, chief advisor on transportation at Boise City Hall, says there are other days when it’s “full steam ahead” in the effort to bring Amtrak service back to Southern Idaho and link it to Salt Lake City.

Transportation officials in Colorado and Wyoming are collaborating on a mass transit feasibility study as they consider adding a new bus route between Cheyenne, Wyo., and the northern Front Range in Colorado.

A new program is helping to get Amtrak back on the tracks.

Not too long after Amtrak rolled away from the Boise Depot in 1997, thus ending regular passenger service to the Treasure Valley, there have been several efforts to reintroduce the service. But even supporters of those efforts would admit that they didn’t get too far beyond the conversation stage. But something in 2022 is very, very different.

An Amtrak train derailment in rural north-central Montana on Sunday killed three people and sent several passengers to far-flung hospitals, further burdening ICUs full of COVID-19 patients.

As Congress inches forward a $1 trillion-plus national infrastructure deal – after winning some bipartisan support – a generous slice of the enormous pie could go to Amtrak. That's giving some hope that the long-abandoned Pioneer Route might again roll through southern Idaho.

Nearly a quarter century since Amtrak routinely rolled into the Boise Depot, there’s a renewed effort to restore the service to the Treasure Valley.