OLYMPIA, Wash. — A public comment period concludes April 18 on Washington State Department of Transportation proposals to increase Amtrak Cascades service over the next 20 years to as many as 16 daily round trips between Seattle and Portland, and six between Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia.
The 46-page Preliminary Service Development Plan for the Cascades offers five different scenarios to increase service from the baseline of two Seattle-Vancouver and six Seattle-Portland round trips. Variants include the number of daily trains; bus service between Bellingham, Wash., and Vancouver for some trips; some limited-stop or express trains; and infrastructure upgrades that would allow top speeds of 90 mph. The options carry projected annual ridership by 2045 ranging from 1.3 million (the baseline option) to 3.2 million (the maximum service, with 90-mph operation):
The report notes that the 16-trip option between Seattle and Portland would best meet projected demand, but that “a better understanding of the capital investments and operating expenses” is needed. It also explains the Bellingham-Vancouver bus service is a consideration “without support from Canadian partners” for infrastructure improvements. WSDOT will map out a full Service Development Plan to address these and other questions using the $500,000 grant from the Federal Railroad Administration awarded under the FRA’s Corridor Identification and Development Program in December [see “Full list of passenger routes in FRA Corridor program …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 8, 2023].
The report identifies a total of 18 potential infrastructure improvements, not including those in Canada, that would be required for full expansion of service. Five are north of Seattle and 13 between Seattle and Portland. They include extension of double or triple track at seven locations and addition or extension of sidings at seven others. At least 12 would be necessary for even the most modest expansion plan. The report offers no cost estimates for these projects, noting no engineering analysis for them has been performed. It also notes the various options would require six to 11 additional trainsets.
Additional information on the development of the plan, and a link to comment forms, are available at this page on the WSDOT website.
Such a big deal. Going from 6 to 16 RT’s per day. That should have been the case since operations began. Look at Brightline, 16
Must have convenience to draw poassengers. I rode a round trip ORL/MIA last week. WE deserve so much better from Amtrak. Congress should parcel out operations to a contract company.
I’d like to see a daytime train from Seattle to Spokane on the current Empire Builder route.
Furthermore on the current Builder, I would like to see Leavenworth, Everett and Edmonds be discharge only stations for #7 and receiving only stations for #8.
Leavenworth has been a trouble stop for the Builder since it became a stop. Train often sold out Seattle to Leavenworth in the Builder’s ONE coach and the sleepers as well.
When I sold tickets for Amtrak in Whitefish many times I would go sell a ticket to Seattle and the train showed sold out. Upon further exploring I would find plenty of seats to Leavenworth and sold out after that.
My solution? I reserved a seat to Leavenworth and handwrite a book ticket to Seattle for that passenger.
On the east end of the Builder route, no local travel Chicago to Milwaukee 86 miles. On the west end you have Sounder and Cascade trains from Everett to Seattle with local travel on the Builder. That needs to stop and I’d Seattlites want a train to Leavenworth, extend one of the Sounders to Leavenworth
Leavenworth is a looooong way from Seattle. It’s also not very populous and on the other side of the capacity-restricted Cascade Tunnel. There is no chance Sounder would extend that far. Also, most other discharge- or boarding-only stops on long distance trains are on corridors with lots of short-range trips to cover those stops. There’s what, seven? Hiawatha trips from Chicago to Milwaukee daily, and part of that route also sees Metra service IIRC. Meanwhile, there’s only two Sounder trains and two Cascades trips between Seattle and Everett.
The real solution is not to restrict the Builder’s pickups and dropoffs. It’s to increase Sounder service back to 4 trips Seattle-Everett (or more, but that means more capacity required along the coast) and increase coach capacity on the Empire Builder again. Which means Amtrak needs more cars, which has been covered here before many times.
I agree with you Charles. What would be ideal is to have a morning train departing from each City and return in the afternoon. They could also look at one of those trains serving the former NP route serving Ellensburg, Yakima, and the Tri Cities, which have not had direct service from Seattle for years. I do not think the state has explored that market sufficiently.
I would love to see Seattle Spokane service other than the once daily Empire Builder which arrives in Spokane around midnight and vice versa leaves in wee hours of morning. An early morning departure from Seattle would be more user friendly and a reasonable departure from Spokane other than after midnight.
As Paul Reistrup said when he was Amtrak president, 3x daily or you’re wasting your time. (Referring to mid-distance trains.)
But I’d settle on 2x daily.
Paul Reistrup was one of Amtraks best president’s. Had Congress back then listened to him rather than micromanage, Amtrak could have really been a top notch operation.
I met Mr. Reistrup when we both watched out of the rear of the train on the Boston Section of the Lakeshore Limited, the then-existing backup movement down from the Selkirk Bridge. This was before the post Road track direct into Renssalaer was re-established.
A lot has changed in my life since, notably that I no longer ride Amtrak except MKE-CHI.
The connecting bus from the northbound Coast Starlight, from Seattle to Vancouver BC at departing Seattle at 9PM no longer waits if the Starlight is late getting into Seattle. Heard it directly from Amtrak ticket counter staff. Not much of a “Guaranteed Connection”.