SEATTLE — Almost four years after the derailment that halted its use, Amtrak trains will return to the Point Defiance bypass south of Tacoma, Wash., on Thursday, Nov. 18.
Initially, eight trains — the Amtrak Cascades service and the Coast Starlight — will use the 14.5-mile inland route, which parallels Interstate 5. It departs from the current coastal route at Nisqually, Wash., and rejoins in Tacoma. Additional trains will be added as COVID-19 restrictions ease. Tacoma traffic will move from the current location to the Tacoma Dome station, about a half-mile away in the Freighthouse Square area near 25th Street.
The first train using the bypass will leave Seattle at 7:22 a.m., arriving at the Tacoma Dome station at 8:08 a.m. The first northbound train will leave Eugene, Ore., at 5:30 a.m. and Portland at 8:20 a.m., arriving at 10:54 a.m.
Trains return after what Amtrak calls intensive system testing, crew qualifications and safety certification in partnership with Sound Transit, which owns the line and uses part for its Sounder commuter trains to Lakewood, Wash. Positive train control is now operational on the route. Other safety measures include an Amtrak Safety Management System including additional training, processes to mitigate risk, and enhanced reporting standards; upgraded simulator training; requalification of all crew members, and step-down speed restrictions to ensure proper train speed.
“Amtrak is continuously improving safety for the benefit of our customers, employees, and the communities we serve,” Amtrak President Stephen Gardner said in a press release. “We are ready to safely resume service on the Bypass consistent with the steps required by our host railroad, Sound Transit, the Federal Railroad Administration and our own Safety Management System.”
Those moves largely reflect recommendations that came from a highly critical report on the Dec. 18, 2017, derailment of a Cascades train at DuPont, Wash. [see “National Transportation Safety Board says multiple state and federal agencies failed …,” Trains News Wire, May 21, 2019]. The derailment of the first Amtrak train to use the bypass came when the train entered a 30-mph corner at 78 mph, leaving the track at a bridge, with some of the train ending up below on I-5. Three people died and more than 70 were injured.
The lengthy process of returning the route to service saw Amtrak begin the operation of test trains early this year [see “Digest: Amtrak to run test trains …,” News Wire, Jan. 8, 2021].
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