Amtrak

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.

The Washington House of Representatives has passed legislation setting goals that could more than double service and significantly shrink travel times on Amtrak Cascades. The Washington State Senate still needs to sign off on the legislation.

Sound Transit continues to restore Sounder rail cars to service with some improvements for riders, but maintenance work by contractor Amtrak could take a while longer. That means reduce Sounder service could linger.

State lawmakers are signaling intent to improve Amtrak Cascades service with legislation setting a goal of cutting the trip time from Seattle to Portland to 2.5 hours and boosting service to 14 daily trips with 88% on-time performance by 2035. If lawmakers pass the bill, the goal for trip time service north to Vancouver would be 2.75 hours.

High-speed rail as in investment in Cascadia remains a popular policy idea, but Reece Martin of RMTransit makes the case for prioritizing higher-speed rail upgrades to Amtrak Cascades.

Look back on our top 10 most read articles published in 2024, which run the gambit from rail to highrise to waterfront park news.

The Pacific Northwest is set to be the first home for one of Amtrak's next-generation trains starting in 2026, Amtrak confirmed at the agency's annual board meeting in Seattle last week.

Riding the rails from New York City to Toronto and then eventually onward to London, Ontario, Jason Slaughter of Not Just Bikes details his...