FTA now looking at local financial commitment more, cost-effectiveness less. I think this once again is good news for Sound Transit, and probably not so good for crisis-ridden Metro.
This has been in my inbox for a while, but in 2009 Amtrak Cascades experienced a slight decline from the high gas prices and lower unemployment of 2008 while maintaining healthy gains over the recent past. According to the report, the drop in performance is mainly due to the Portland-Eugene corridor. In total, Cascades trains carried passengers about 118m passenger miles.
On a somewhat related note, if you participate in RailPlus — using regional passes to travel on Amtrak between Everett and Tacoma Seattle — you must obtain a “validation ticket” from the TVM with your ORCA card. Amtrak staff presumably don’t have ORCA readers.
By way of an official press release from the White House, the Cascades corridor is expected to receive $598 million from HSR (high-speed rail) funds, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. President Obama will be on hand in Tampa (guess who’s cashing in?) today to make the announcement of grants toward thirteen major corridors, the Pacific Northwest being one of them:
Improvements will be made to the corridor using funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to provide rail passengers in the Pacific Northwest with faster, more reliable and more frequent service.
Seattle – Portland: Two additional daily round trips will be added between Seattle and Portland, for a total six; travel time will be reduced by at least 5 percent; and on-time performance will increase substantially, from 62 to 88 percent. Major construction projects include building bypass tracks to allow for increased train frequency and multiple upgrades to existing track and signal systems. Several safety-related projects will also be funded, including grade separations, positive train control, and seismic retrofits to Seattle’s historic King Street Station.
Portland – Eugene: Investments include upgrading Portland’s Union Station, and engineering and environmental work for track and signaling projects that will increase service reliability and reduce congestion.
Along with WSDOT and ODOT, other regions/corridors that have also been earmarked for HSR funds include the Northeast Corridor, Florida, California, the Chicago hub network, and Ohio. The White House website has individual releases for each regional grant. The Infrastructurist had speculated that out of all the contenders, Texas would likely get the shaft, but Fort Worth is expected to receive just a tiny bit. We’ll bring you more as soon as we figure out exactly what projects our $598 million will go towards. [UPDATE 7:26am: Here is a full list (PDF) of the grants from the White House.]
A mudslide has halted Sounder North and Amtrak Cascades service. Sound Transit’s website has been updated to reflect that the following Sounder trains are canceled:
In news that will surprise no one, the Bellevue City Council “will consider” changing their preferred Link alignment.
I-5 undercrossing work for U-Link is a month behind schedule ($ link). This won’t affect U-Link’s overall schedule, as there’s a huge time gap between this work and when the tunnel boring machine reaches I-5.
Area bus ridership continues to drop. Trimet’s ridership on all modes down 15% since July.
An Amtrak Cascades train meets the Portland Rose steam special in Tacoma
Its that time of the month for another rail roundup;
Passenger News
Amtrak is planning, yet again, to purchase new locomotives and passenger cars to replace the aging fleet. The NEC still will not be a true HSR route, even with the planned “Acela II” with a maximum speed of 180mph, now the low end standard of HSR.
Due for replacement are 412 Amfleet I, 122 Amfleet II, 122 Superliner I, 184 Superliner II, 50 Viewliner, 92 Horizon cars, as well as Heritage baggage and dining cars. Among the locomotives are 20 AEM7 d.c. electric locomotives (the remaining 29 have been rebuilt with a.c. propulsion), and the railroad’s F59PH, P42, P40, and P32DM fleets. Currently, an RFP is out for 125 single-level coaches/baggage-dorm cars/diners and 20 electric locomotives.
The last two days the Times has had storiesabout turning Paine Field into a real airport. Airports aren’t really our gig but I thought there were some interesting interfaces with stuff we usually talk about. In no particular order:
Confusion among last-minute ORCA buyers. What the post misses is that for the most part anyone using anything other than a standard adult fare ORCA has to buy it the hard way. Also, the Times.
Just got wind of a BNSF derailment in Gold Bar, Washington. It is unknown how bad the accident may be at this time. It is known to be a intermodal/container train bound for Tacoma, Washington.
This occurred on the Stevens Pass route, about 32 miles Northeast of Seattle. This will most likely affect Amtrak’s Empire Builder trains 7 and 8 depending on the location and severity of the derailment. It is unknown if Amtrak will bus passengers or detour the train if it is blocking the main line.
More details to come as I get them.
UPDATE 4:50pm: Train was the S-LPCTAC with one, maybe two cars on the ground.
