CASCADE CORRIDOR GETS HSR FUNDS!

[Ocklawaha]

http://www.seattletravelgram.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/resampled_Jan_11_2010_amtrak_cascades_train_600.jpg

I know, I know, I know, a whole squadron of y'all are still pissed off over this and I'm happy as a bug.  If you were for or against FLHSR, in technical terms, Washington getting the rest of the funds could be a blessing in disguise.

Here's why:

History

The Amtrak Cascades route is an outgrowth of the original routes between Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, BC. Originally operated as a joint partnership by the Northern Pacific, Great Northern, and Union Pacific, this route has evolved to become one of Amtrak's most popular.

When Amtrak started in 1971, there were three trains running between Seattle and Portland; the connection to Vancouver was discontinued upon Amtrak's founding. These three trains were unnamed at first, but with the advent of Amtrak's first "official" timetable in November 1971, one became the Coast Starlight (which continued south to Los Angeles), while the other two became the Mount Rainier and Puget Sound.

1972 brought the return of the Vancouver service, with the inauguration of the Pacific International. It always was a small train, though for a time it had one of the most unusual consists in the Amtrak system, carrying one of the few observation cars that Amtrak operated.

The corridor grew in 1980 with the State of Oregon financially subsidizing two daily round trips between Portland and Eugene. Named the Willamette Valley, these trains were ultimately unsuccessful and were discontinued in April 1982. This was on the heels of the Pacific International's discontinuance in September 1981.

By the 1990s, the Portland-Seattle corridor was on shaky ground, with only a single round trip supplementing the Coast Starlight. But, with a change in attitudes toward Amtrak, in 1993 Oregon and Washington Cascades service began with a single daily round trip between Seattle and Portland. A second train was added in 1994 and in 1995, the Vancouver connection was brought back (originally called the Mount Baker International), along with Oregon providing assistance to extend one train to Eugene again. The corridor grew with a third Seattle-Portland train in 1998, and a second train to Eugene in 2000.

In 2004 the Rail Plus program began, allowing cross-ticketing between Sound Transit's Sounder commuter rail and Amtrak north from Seattle to Everett.

The corridor has continued to grow in recent years, with another Portland-Seattle train arriving in 2006, and the long-awaited through service between Vancouver and Portland, eliminating the need to transfer in Seattle, beginning in August 2009 as a pilot project to determine whether a train permanently operating on the route would be feasible. A second Cascade (when we talk rail-we're always talking 1 name train = one EACH WAY)

The Cascade Corridor is a conventional railroad that has been continuously upgraded and otherwise improved, it handles freight and Amtrak passenger trains as well as the Seattle Sounder Commuter Trains. 3 major terminal stations (think JACKSONVILLE TERMINAL) at Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, are on the line and one smaller terminal at Eugene, Oregon. I'm not talking about just any freight either, ALL OF THE FREIGHT moving south from Canada on the Pacific Coast moves down this same track... BOTH UNION PACIFIC and BURLINGTON NORTHERN SANTA FE freight railroads SHARE this track. If there was ever a test bed for the Spanish TALGO trains, on conventional track in a tight corridor operation, this is it. Think what this could mean when Scott is just a bad memory and Florida is finally ready to move into the 21st Century...  A Florida Cascade-Like network? Possible! Very Possible! And this ought to put to bed for all time the whiners that cry "freight and passenger trains can't mix."

OCKLAWAHA

[thelakelander]

Do you have a link to this story?  Is this with Florida's lost $2.4 billion or from another pot?

An agreement has been reached that will secure Washington State $590 million in high-speed rail funds to improve the Amtrak Cascades rail corridor between Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington Governor Christine Gregoire (D) announced last week.

The deal between the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), the host Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway, and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) was announced February 26.  It guarantees Recovery Act money awarded by the FRA in early 2010.  The project will create more than 6,000 direct and indirect jobs in the Pacific Northwest.

http://www.narprail.org/cms/index.php/main/webfeed/hotline_696/

[tufsu1]

Announcements from LaHood on redistribution of Florida money were to be made starting today.