OLYMPIA, Wash. — A bill calling for major expansion of Amtrak Cascades service, as well as improved travel times, is awaiting the signature of Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson after its passage by the state legislature.
House Bill 1857 sets a target of a minimum of 14 daily round trips between Seattle and Portland, Ore., and five daily between Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia [see “Washington state legislation calls for …,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 6, 2025]. Currently, there are six Seattle-Portland round trips and two between Seattle and Vancouver.
Specific target times for travel — 3 hours, 25 minutes on the Seattle-Portland route and 4 hours, 25 minutes for Seattle-Vancouver — were stripped out of the bill by the Senate. As amended by the Senate, the bill calls for an independent study by the legislature’s Joint Transportation Committee, which will review plans developed by the Washington State Department of Transportation.
State Rep. Julia Reed (D-Seattle) told the news site The Urbanist that the bill “basically sets target goals for the Cascades service development plan, which is a federally required plan that WSDOT puts together that lays out how they plan to develop the service for the Cascades in the coming years.”
The bill originally passed in the House by a 68-29 vote; after the Senate approved its version by a 32-17 vote, the House passed the amended version 65-32 on April 16. The bill went to Ferguson on April 24.
Amtrak’s systemwide equipment shortage — exacerbated by the sidelining of Horizon cars that briefly halted most Cascades service — is one current barrier to expansion. But the Cascades route is slated to be the first to receive the new Airo equipment on order from Siemens Mobility, with operation currently anticipated to begin in 2026.
The legislation does not address funding for the expanded service or infrastructure work that would be required to achieve shorter travel times.
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