The Value of Whitefish's railway industry
The joy on the faces of the 800 children and parents who rode a real train to the North Pole to pick up Santa is reason enough for the Chamber to plan this event, although the main thrust behind launching the Whitefish Polar Express was to educate the community about the importance of rail travel and industry.
Together with Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railroad and Travel Montana, the Chamber designed an event that combined the thrill of a train ride, Montana's railway history and how it helped develop tourism, trade and industry in our area and the Sly Fox coloring book teaching train safety. What the event could not project are the hard facts of how vital today's railway operations are to our community.
BNSF alone provides Whitefish with 235 jobs for their freight operations. BNSF recently hired 30 new employees and will add 15 more in February. Payroll totals approximately $11 million annually excluding benefits.
Whitefish generates $30 million per year for BNSF in local freight hauled out of Whitefish. Statewide, the 200 railway jobs create an additional 100 jobs from the economic trickle-down effect, a state Department of Commerce official stated. BNSF has spent $40 million this year to upgrade tracks throughout the state, including the Hi-line.
Another railway operation is The Empire Builder; an essential public transportation connection across the upper United States. Amtrak President and CEO David L. Gunn stated,
"We are the steward of three-quarters of a century of reliable passenger train service to an otherwise isolated area of the nation."
A study carried out for the state of Montana found the Empire Builder has a total economic impact in that state of nearly $14 million, provides good-paying jobs, reduces highway maintenance and brings in at least $5 million tourist dollars a year.
In 2004, Whitefish welcomed 56,269 travelers through our Amtrak station. The Empire Builder also draws customers from across the border in Canada, since passenger rail service in some of the western Canadian provinces operates far from the U.S. border.
As an education piece for the Whitefish Polar Express, children received an activity book and crayons during their trip to the North Pole. They colored "Sly Fox," as they learned all about train safety and the history of the railroad industry in Montana. The kids were able to track the tourism business in Montana back as early as 1904.
As one of our Valley's leading industries today, tourism is an area of concentration for the Chamber. To help launch the Whitefish Polar Express, the Chamber received bed tax funds from Travel Montana's Special Events Grant to pay for many aspects of the event. Another benefit of this event - using bed tax funds to put tourism dollars back into the community.
The railway industry is an important economic asset to our community. We thank Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway and Amtrak for all that they do for our community and state.
Sheila Bowen is the Executive Director of the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce