Amtrak Shelves 70 Aging ‘Horizon’ Traincars, Upending Cascades Service Indefinitely
Citing corrosion, Amtrak suddenly recalled 70 Horizon rail cars for maintenance on March 25, heavily impacting several routes, including Amtrak Cascades between Eugene, Oregon and Vancouver, BC. Down to one operable trainset, Amtrak Cascades will be forced to rely on replacement bus service.
Op-Ed: Route 8 Is Still Route Late, but Here’s the Fix
Route 8 is chronically late, but the Fix the L8 campaign is proposing bus lanes to fix the Denny Way mess delaying riders. Sign their action letter to help persuade the City of Seattle.
State Budget Proposals Focus on Highway Expansion in Both Chambers
While the Washington State Senate budget includes additional taxes on e-bikes and fees for public transit, the House budget includes cuts to transit and climate work. Both budgets are in agreement on the need to double down on a number of highway megaprojects.
Op-Ed: Bremerton’s Multimodal Future at Crossroads with 6th Street Project
Bremerton Mayor Greg Wheeler has presented car-centric preliminary designs for the 6th Street project, with no alternative building sidewalks and bike lanes to state safety standards. Travis Merrigan argues the Bremerton City Council should press the City to study such an option.
More 1 Line Disruptions Ahead for Sound Transit Riders Through May
Pinehurst Station construction and downtown tunnel track repairs are bringing disruptions to 1 Line light rail service from now until May 29. The downtown tunnel work will truncate service from April 14 to 23. Plan accordingly.
Sound Transit Picks Dow Constantine, Elevating Board Insider to CEO
The Sound Transit Board of Directors revealed today its CEO pick is King County Executive Dow Constantine, who has served on the board for 16 years. Constantine has been a controversial candidate, with some observers seeing a seasoned executive who helped build the agency and others a borderline case of nepotism.
Sound Transit Recommends Costly, Car-Oriented Infill Station in Northern Tukwila
A decades-long planned Link infill station in North Tukwila is set to move into environmental review with a single alternative recommended by Sound Transit staff. The recommended alternative forsakes a long standing objective to connect with Sounder and leaves the station relatively isolated.
Op-Ed: Legislature Should Advance Amtrak Planning in Central and Eastern Washington
If the Washington legislature is serious about setting tangible goals for Amtrak Cascades this year, now is the time to also restart the conversation on advancing east-west passenger rail service and connecting Spokane, the Tri-Cities, Yakima, Ellensburg, Auburn, and Seattle. All Aboard Washington is pushing for an amended version of HB 1837 setting eastward expansion goals.