North Coast Hiawatha

North Coast Hiawatha
The North Coast Hiawatha at Missoula, Montana, in 1974
Overview
Service typeInter-city rail
StatusDiscontinued
LocaleWestern United States
PredecessorNorth Coast Limited/Mainstreeter
First serviceJune 5, 1971
Last serviceOctober 6, 1979
SuccessorNone
Former operator(s)Amtrak
Route
TerminiChicago, Illinois
Seattle, Washington
Stops37
Distance travelled2,228 miles (3,586 km)
Average journey time46 hours, 40 minutes
Service frequencyTri-weekly
Train number(s)17/18
On-board services
Sleeping arrangementsSleeping cars
Catering facilitiesFull dining car
On-board lounge
Observation facilitiesDome lounge
Baggage facilitiesBaggage car

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.