25.860.9 100th Legislative Session HCR6008
2025 South Dakota Legislature
House Concurrent Resolution
6008
Introduced by: Representative Goodwin
Underscores indicate new language.
Overstrikes indicate deleted language.
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION, Supporting the effort to bring Amtrak passenger rail 1
service to the state. 2
WHEREAS, Amtrak's national network forms the foundation of passenger rail service in 3
the United States, connecting congested urban areas and bringing economically viable 4
transportation options to rural areas and small towns; and 5
WHEREAS, South Dakota is the only state in the contiguous United States to have never 6
had Amtrak passenger rail service in the five-decade history of Amtrak; and 7
WHEREAS, a route on Amtrak's proposed network of preferred routes would connect 8
Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul by means of a route that would pass through Rapid City, 9
Pierre, and Sioux Falls; and 10
WHEREAS, the economic benefits to the northern Great Plains could be comparable to the 11
building of the Missouri River dams and the Interstate highway system; and 12
WHEREAS, American Indian tribes, tourists, and business travelers would be among those 13
who would benefit from this added transportation option; and 14
WHEREAS, passenger rail is forty-seven percent more energy-efficient than travel by car, 15
and thirty-three percent more energy-efficient than domestic air travel, according to the U.S. 16
Department of Energy; 17
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the House of Representatives of the One 18
Hundredth Legislature of the State of South Dakota, the Senate concurring therein, that the 19
South Dakota Legislature respectfully requests the full support of the South Dakota 20
congressional delegation, in cooperation with the Trump administration, to work for an Amtrak 21
route between Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul by way of Rapid City, Pierre, and Sioux Falls. 22