Amtrak may add Culbertson stop

The Daily Inter Lake

Amtrak will study the feasibility of adding a passenger train stop in Culbertson to enhance transportation options for workers in the Bakken oil fields.

Montana Sens. Jon Tester and Max Baucus requested the study because many workers face difficulty in getting from one side of Montana to the other.

Culbertson is 37 miles north of Sidney and lies about midway between other Amtrak stops in Wolf Point and Williston, N.D.

Ongoing energy development in the Bakken formation has led to thousands of high-paying jobs and is drawing a large number of workers from Northwest Montana, the senators said.

“With the flood of new workers, the demand to construct new infrastructure and to improve existing infrastructure is constantly increasing,” Tester and Baucus wrote in the request to Amtrak. “The Empire Builder plays a critical role in fulfilling the growing transportation infrastructure needs of the Bakken region, and as the region continues to grow, it is important to look for smart ways to increase the Empire Builder’s capabilities.”

Tester and Baucus previously teamed up to urge Amtrak to increase passenger capacity on the Empire Builder to help the energy-impacted communities take advantage of the Bakken’s oil boom.