Join the discussion on the following article:
STB issues Tongue River environmental study for public comment
The Tongue River line has been talked about for 40 years, though initial plans were for the line to start from Miles City, not Colstrip.
29 years and nothing. Had this been 1915 the line would be in operation.
Originally the Tongue River line was envisioned as a water-level route Powder River Basin shortcut. With the Colstrip detour, it’s hardly any shorter than the existing route along the Little Big Horn, and it does not yet get to a connection at Decker. The current project just seems to be a local line to the Ashland area, and is dependent on the new mines being opened. With the downtrend in coal, I wonder if it will ever be built.
If there had been this kind of government red tape and EPA b.s back in the 1800’s, the transcontinental railroad still wouldn’t be built!