The Climate Rail Alliance and Solutionary Rail have been trying to get the word out that Washington State DOT has gone off the rails with regards to what the state could be doing to take cars off the roads and cut emissions with better rail service. WSDOT has been sitting on a plan that has been around for decades that would upgrade Amtrak Cascades service with more frequent service and faster running times for the corridor that runs from Eugene, OR to Vancouver, BC.
The Urbanist has an Op-Ed that lays out the story of how WSDOT has watered down plans that would make a real difference in upgrading service — and what could be done instead.
...Amtrak Cascades is the passenger rail service between Vancouver, B.C., Seattle, and Portland – with 11 additional stops along the route and three more south of Portland. If it were fast, frequent, and reliable, Amtrak Cascades would be a viable alternative that seriously competes with driving and flying. Besides, not everyone drives: according to Disability Rights Washington, 25% of Washingtonians don’t drive. And people who live in places far from airports can’t easily fly. For mobility equity and energy efficiency, we need more trains.
What WSDOT is accepting public comments on is called a “Preliminary Service Development Plan” for Amtrak Cascades. Don’t be put off by the bureaucratic-speak of this title. The plan will determine our rail options in Western Washington for the next 20 years, so it’s crucial that readers understand how WSDOT’s proposals water down the goals established in 2006 and 2019, when the state affirmed 2.5 hour trip times from Seattle to Portland, and 2 hour and 45 minute trip times from Seattle to Vancouver, B.C.
emphasis added
Read the whole thing. It describes the alternatives WSDOT is considering and how they all fall short of what is eminently feasible. The plans Washington State needs could be accomplished in just a few years. Needed infrastructure investment have been identified and schedules for improved service have been developed. It can be done!
TAKE ACTION to demand better: here’s where you can do it. (And consider signing up with these groups too.)
We ask transportation advocates to weigh in on WSDOT’s Preliminary Service Development Plan for the Amtrak Cascades, by April 18. Action pages are set up on the Solutionary Rail website, the Climate Rail Alliance website, and by 350 Seattle. Comments can be submitted directly to CascadesSDP@wsdot.wa.gov. Thank you in advance for demanding the rail service we must have by 2030, for the sake of mobility and the planet.
p.s. You don’t have to live in Washington State to have a stake in this. Everyone who lives along the Cascades corridor or visits the region, or cares about climate has an interest in this.
p.p.s, If you think this is a good idea, see how rail can save the salmon of the lower Snake River!