774,421 trips were taken on Cascades in 2008, up more than 14% last year compared to 2007, and 2007 itself was a record year . This is by far the biggest year-over-year increase for Cascades, and is all the more remarkable when considering that no new runs were added last year.
The second graph shows the quarterly data for 2008, and you can see that the third quarter was when ridership was up the most over 2007. This seems to correspond to the rise-up in gasoline prices, but the return to levels similar to 2007 in the fourth quarter may not be explanable solely by the late year slide in gas prices. In December, we had snowpacolypse, and there was another snow day in November, both storms shut down service for some period. In a way, it’s impressive that ridership was up at all in Q4, when you consider that service was out for nearly two weeks.
Apparently in an attempt to boost ridership further, WSDOT – which funds most Cascades service – is applying for some of the Amtrak money that Congress approved last summer. You can see the list of projects here 
. If you look at the projects in the list, most of the money would go toward adding third main lines in typically congested places along the route, in an attempt to ease competition between freight and Amtrak. Noticeably absent from the list is the Pt. Defiance bypass.
Here are the WSDOT reports the two graphs came from:
Nice! My boyfriend and I contributed to the spike in ridership when we went to Portland in August via amtrak!
I’ve only ridden Cascades once, from Bellingham to Seattle, and it was the worst train ride I’ve ever experienced. As long as the train takes about 4 times longer than driving (when you factor in all the delays; even if it had been on time it would’ve been slightly slower than the car) I’ll never take Amtrak seriously again. I can’t recommend it for anyone, especially if they need to rely on a somewhat planned schedule.
Scenery was definitely great, but sitting stationary for 30 minutes outside Everett while a freight train snailed by was painful. And let’s not forget that it’s not cheap!
EeePC, sorry your trip was so bad. I think your “4 times longer than driving” statement is a tad overstated, given the schedule from Bellingham to Seattle is only slightly different between taking the bus or the train (about 15 minutes), but that doesn’t excuse the long delays waiting for a slow freight, which CAN seem to take many hours, while your doing the slow burn.
I routinely drive between the two stops, and it only saves about 30 minutes in my car.
If I gave up driving everytime I got stuck in traffic for 30 minutes waiting for a slow tow truck to clear the freeway, I could have kicked the car habit years ago!
Seriously, ‘reliable’, and fast trains are within our grasp, but until the track and signal improvements are made to keep passenger trains on schedule, and keep revenue generating freight rolling on time, we will always be queueing up at the bottlenecks.
Minumul investments in our rail infrastructure, along the I-5 corridor, is a great investment to gain the speed and reliability you desire. Over 4 million Washitonians live within a 10 minute drive to an Amtrak station. Trains easily beat both planes and cars for both fuel ecconomy and CO2 emmisions. I hope you read the link Andrew had generously provided for all to read, and reconsider your choices for the future.
I had an experience once where the train got stuck somewhere around longview and it took an extra hour. Building these third mains gives the Amtrak trains a place to go when BNSF trains come, because BNSF trains always have priority on their own tracks.
they need to speed up the improvements planned so they can get more trains added sooner, and with more reliable and faster service.
that said i have to congratulate WSDOT for what they have done in the last 10 years to improve the Cascades route. Its a shame Oregon and British Columbia havent stepped up to the plate to improve their portions of the route.
4 times longer than may be a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much. Driving to Seattle from Bellingham takes about an hour and a half (not downtown, but north Seattle). The train should have taken a little over 2 hours, already slower than driving, but it actually took about 5 hours when you factor in the hour late departure from Bellingham station (hung up at customs?), the slower than freeway speeds, and the long wait around Everett. I am not exaggerating.
I can’t comment on the southern portion of the line, but in my experience, Amtrak Cascades just isn’t a reliable service as it currently stands. Like nearly ALL Amtrak lines, the poorly placed track routes, slow train speeds, priorities to freight trains, and hefty price tag make driving much more pleasant. Obviously long distance trips are an even bigger nightmare, and flying ends up being cheaper and faster anyway. (Flights to SanFran from Seattle are about $130 roundtrip, Amtrak costs well over twice as much and takes 22 HOURS)
Yes, hopefully the infrustructure improvements will help fix some of these problems but I don’t see Amtrak Cascades, or any of Amtrak’s lines, being worth the trouble. At least not until a MASSIVE overhaul; like a maglev system they’re doing in California. Hopefully that’ll expand its way up here…
I find the South route competes well with both driving and flying for me between Seattle and Olympia or Seattle and Portland.
For the most part the trains leave on time, are reasonably fast, and rarely have to wait for freigt. Trips to Portland compete well on cost and time (especially when loosing an hour to TSA is factored in). Driving to Olympia is slightly faster and costs less, but I’d rather relax on the train.
I just want to clarify – I’m a big supporter of mass/public transportation expansion in this region, and Amtrak funding is no exception. Before I had a license, I thought it would have been a great way to get myself down to Seattle for a Saturday, and it would have been if it had only been a bit cheaper and faster (with more runs too, of course). Hopefully that’ll happen.
The Sounder train works great though.
By most accounts the Sounder service from Tacoma to Seattle is a success (not so much with Everett to Seattle). I’m a train nut and the idea of spending money on trains just because they’re cool has an appeal much like spending money on manned space programs. However, in the case of Amtrak Cascades that money can be put to better use.
We recently had relatives visit from England. Coming back from Vancouver to Seattle the only reasonable choice was Greyhound. I’ve often wished I could take the train from Seattle to Whistler but that just doesn’t work. I’ve looked at booking out of town guest for a overnight trip down to Eugene. Not only does the scheduling make this impractical but the last time I looked into it part of the route involved a transfer via Greyhound.
Visiting Great Britain we took advantage of rail service from London to Paris and Edinburgh. Both of these routes are fabulous and they are far more than just tourist runs. Instead of spreading money thin on a route from Canada to Eugene they need to focus first on making the trip from Seattle to Portland competitive with air travel. Prove to people that aren’t train nuts that Amtrak funding is more than pork barrel politics.
I think you can get to Eugene by Cascades, but Greyhound sounds like a nightmare. I wouldn’t set foot in one of those things.
After the way they treated their customers during the snowpocolypse, Greyhound can die in a fire. Any notion of customer service seems to be a distant memory in that organization.
I’d say let Amtrak’s thruway motorcoach services fully compete with Greyhound. Requiring a rail segment for most thruway trips is silly and turns away a number of customers who could otherwise use the service.
Andrew,
I think you are in error when you stated thier was not mention of Pt. Defiance in the attached plan. It is called “Tacoma – Bypass of Pt. Defiance” The WSDOT project URL is http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/rail/pnwrc_ptdefiance/
Some harsh comments here on Amtrak.
Basically, Amtrak has been underfunded for years – the recent and thankfully departed Bush administration did their best to destroy Amtrak completely and if McCain had won, we would have even less hope for the network.
The other problem of course is that Amtrak does not own the track it rides on – the BNSF does in Washington State and Union Pacific in Oregon. While BNSF is more sympathetic than the UP to Amtrak, neither railroad has gone out of its way to free up track time to passenger service or spent the money needed on upgrading the track to full European-style express service.
Yet for all this, ridership on Amtrak is up and people appear to love the idea of trains even if the reality often seems to fall short. The attitude of Amtrak riders and staff on the trains I have been on, seems to be that of a ‘healthy-if somewhat-resigned-to-unforeseen delays’ customer base. I always enjoy talking to Amtrak staff and we should also take note of the rennovation work being undertaken at King Street Station in Seattle. I hope when this is done, that KSS will be a gateway of which we can be proud.
I also agree that the track improvements outlined in my preferred option 4 in the WSDT report to allow for 8 round trip trains will come on tap too slowly for my liking and tastes, but I think we’ll get there eventually and the region will be all the better for it.
Tim
Two comments:
1) I thought the frieght companies were legally obliged to prioritize Amtrak, but chose not to and were not called on it. I could be wrong.
2) I’ve had great experiences going from Seattle to Portland on the train.
Good news about the ridership increase. I contributed a two round trips with friends to that total!
No recent news about the second train to Vancouver from the Canadian Border Services Agency. Perhaps the Canadian budget being released tomorrow will have have some news, but I’m not holding my breath.
Added a link to this post on Transport 2000 BC’s news page.
http://bc.transport2000.ca/news.html
While you are waiting for the second train to begin, consider the Canadian Quickcoach bus, which leaves from a motel near the Space Needle and travels to downtown Vancouver on I-5 with a few stops along the way. Five trips per day. Usually faster Seattle-to-Vancouver than the single Amtrak Cascades train. Buy your ticket online for $49 round trip at http://www.quickcoach.com at least 24 hours in advance. Student rate is $37. WiFi Internet access aboard the bus works most of the time.
Nice. I hadn’t heard of it before. Is that $49 Canadian? ;-)
Quickbus states a price in dollars, and then takes its money in Canadian dollars in Canada, or in U.S. Dollars in our country. The round-trip commuter price has just gone up to $51.
I took that once during college and it was excellent. Very fast, and not nearly as creepy as Greyhound
My girlfriend & I are coming up to Seattle/Vancouver B.C. and the Bellingham area in late September. I have friends in Battleground, WA which I understand is close to Vancouver, WA. I have a car but was considering taking the Amtrak Cascades from the northerly point down to Vancouver, WA. Since I can get on at almost any point as my trip is flexible, what are my best options and/or your recomendations. Secondly, I plan on upgrading to business class but was wondering what side of the train offers the best view; i.e coast/or inland?
Coast side of the train between Seattle and Canada offers the best view, without a doubt. I don’t know about other legs south of Seattle.