The Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority (BSPRA) grew a bit larger when its board of directors approved Carbon County as the newest member of the Authority. The addition of Carbon brings the number of counties that have joined the BSPRA to 13, stretching across the state from Wibaux County on the North Dakota border to Sanders County on the Idaho border.

“Being a member of the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority is a big deal for Carbon County, and we look forward to what it brings to citizens of our county,” Carbon County Commissioner Scott Miller said. “Montana is moving forward into the future, and Carbon County has to move with the state to bring the economy and infrastructure needed to support this and the next generation. We need Montanans to stay in Montana and good people to move in to help keep Montana alive.”

With the addition of Carbon County, the BSPRA will look to continue growing in the coming months. Other counties are currently considering petitioning the Authority for membership. The BSPRA remains hopeful that eventually all the counties eligible to join the authority – both those along the former Amtrak North Coast Hiawatha route and those along the former passenger routes running south to Denver and Salt Lake City – will do so.