The North Coast Hiawatha at Missoula, Montana, in 1974
Overview
Service type
Inter-city rail
Status
Discontinued
Locale
Western United States
Predecessor
North Coast Limited/Mainstreeter
First service
June 5, 1971
Last service
October 6, 1979
Successor
None
Former operator(s)
Amtrak
Route
Termini
Chicago, Illinois Seattle, Washington
Stops
37
Distance travelled
2,228 miles (3,586 km)
Average journey time
46 hours, 40 minutes
Service frequency
Tri-weekly
Train number(s)
17/18
On-board services
Sleeping arrangements
Sleeping cars
Catering facilities
Full dining car On-board lounge
Observation facilities
Dome lounge
Baggage facilities
Baggage car
Route map
Legend
Dist.
Station
0 mi
Chicago
17 mi
27 km
Glenview
IL
WI
85 mi
137 km
Milwaukee
150 mi
241 km
Columbus
178 mi
286 km
Portage
195 mi
314 km
Wisconsin Dells
245 mi
394 km
Tomah
281 mi
452 km
La Crosse
WI
MN
307 mi
494 km
Winona
371 mi
597 km
Red Wing
421 mi
678 km
Saint Paul–Midway
Empire Builder
486 mi
782 km
St. Cloud
551 mi
887 km
Staples
613 mi
987 km
Detroit Lakes
MN
ND
Empire Builder
663 mi
1067 km
Fargo
Empire Builder
720 mi
1159 km
Valley City
754 mi
1213 km
Jamestown
856 mi
1378 km
Bismarck
862 mi
1387 km
Mandan
962 mi
1548 km
Dickinson
ND
MT
1067 mi
1717 km
Glendive
1146 mi
1844 km
Miles City
1191 mi
1917 km
Forsyth
1292 mi
2079 km
Billings
1408 mi
2266 km
Livingston
1433 mi
2306 km
Bozeman
1528 mi
2459 km
Butte
1568 mi
2523 km
Deer Lodge
1647 mi
2651 km
Missoula
1718 mi
2765 km
Paradise
MT
ID
Empire Builder
1838 mi
2958 km
Sandpoint
ID
WA
1902 mi
3061 km
Spokane
Pre-1973 route
2022 mi
3254 km
Ephrata
2074 mi
3338 km
Wenatchee
2195 mi
3533 km
Everett
2211 mi
3558 km
Edmonds
2048 mi
3296 km
Pasco
2138 mi
3441 km
Yakima
2175 mi
3500 km
Ellensburg
2275 mi
3661 km
East Auburn
2228 mi
3586 km
Seattle
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The North Coast Hiawatha was a long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago, Illinois, and Seattle, Washington.
The train was a successor to the Northern Pacific Railway's North Coast Limited and Mainstreeter. Its name is a combination of North Coast Limited and Hiawatha, a Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road) train whose route it followed east of Minneapolis–St. Paul.
Created at the behest of Congress in 1971, the North Coast Hiawatha had an uncertain existence before being discontinued in 1979 amid a wave of Amtrak cuts. This left the Empire Builder as the lone train through Montana and North Dakota and severed some of these states' most populous cities from the rail network, including Missoula, Butte, Bozeman, Billings, and Bismarck.
Rail advocates have called for the return of the North Coast Hiawatha ever since its discontinuation. Efforts have accelerated in the 2020s with the formation of the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority and the inclusion of the route in two Federal Railroad Administration route development programs.
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