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Attention Washington State Residents and West Coast Amtrak riders - speak NOW for better service [1]

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Date: 2023-12-19

The Climate Rail Alliance is calling on Washington State’s Department of Transportation to be more active in improving service on the Amtrak Cascades route. There’s a public comment period that will be ending soon, and a real opportunity to act on something that will be an effective way to address climate and infrastructure needs. There are limited opportunities to apply for Federal grants and WSDOT needs to be more proactive. Here’s some information from Amtrak about the route.

Running from Vancouver, BC — Seattle — Tacoma — Portland — Salem — Eugene and stops in between, service end to end is 10 hours 25 minutes, with m ultiple Departures Daily.

The best way to experience the great Pacific Northwest is on the Amtrak Cascades. From Vancouver, British Columbia to Seattle, Portland and Eugene, Oregon, past Mount St. Helens and across the Columbia River Gorge, you'll witness some of our continent's most distinctive cities and most spectacular natural attractions.

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Here’s info from the Climate Rail Alliance with a link to generate letters to legislators and Governor Inslee. An excerpt:

We are in a climate crisis and we need to act swiftly. We need a service plan from WSDOT that provides hourly service with a minimum of 13 trains per day and reliable, shorter travel times - 2.5 hours between Seattle and Portland and 2.75 hours between Seattle and Vancouver BC. These goals must be realized within the next decade. With the climate crisis upon us, we cannot delay. The service planning process is taking too long and WSDOT has established another 20 years for completion of the Amtrak Cascades program that was supposed to finished in 2018. This timeline unnecessarily delays projects that can help us meet our 2030 climate mandates of reducing vehicle miles traveled and emissions. We need to be able to use federal funding opportunities while they are available. Please fund necessary rail infrastructure in the coming 2024 session.

https://wsdot.wa.gov/construction-planning/statewide-plans/passenger-rail-plans/amtrak-cascades-service-development-plan



Please send your letter to [email protected]

WSDOT will be finalizing their report on Amtrak Cascades development, so your comments are timely. Adding your personal story about why you want to see really good Amtrak Cascades service will be very powerful. Be sure to forward copies to your Washington State legislators and Governor Inslee. (The email address for any Washington legislator is [email protected] Governor Inslee's contact form is here .) Don’t forget to forward copies to your Representatives and Senators in Washington D.C. either.

Do it ASAP . WSDOT has been sitting on a plan to upgrade Cascades service for years. It’s detailed, shovel-ready, and can be implemented in years, not decades. The state has been focusing on a . WSDOT has been sitting on a plan to upgrade Cascades service for years. It’s detailed, shovel-ready, and can be implemented in years, not decades. The state has been focusing on a High Speed Rail plan that would take decades to implement, require massive construction, and would bypass nearly all of the communities in the corridor for just a few big cities. (Scroll down the page at the link to see an analysis of why that plan has many serious issues.)

Again:

Please send your letter to [email protected]

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