Washington State has submitted the Track 2 ARRA funding request that would increase Amtrak Cascades trains, improve on-time performance and could add nearly 800,000 additional seats with the increased train capacity.
The $1.3 billion request will fund 26 projects between Blaine, Washington and Vancouver, Washington. These projects would dramatically improve the reliability by improving the track to reduce the amount of slow-orders, adding new track in certain locations that will allow passenger trains to go 110mph, new trainsets, new locomotives, extending longer trainsets, and more.
Washington is one of 24 states that have applied for the Track 2 funding that has totaled $50 billion. The amount available is only $8 billion. California has asked Caltrans not to apply for Track 2 funding to improve chances of California’s HSR program. Many people believe California’s system will get the bulk of the $8 billion dollars with a few remaining states getting the rest of the funding.
Work continues on the Stanwood rail platform. Crews expect to have the project ready for passengers by Thanksgiving.
Nighttime lane closures next week near the Mark Clark Bridge
Crews continue to drill shafts for the new Mark Clark Bridge. Drivers will notice equipment and cranes on both ends of the bridge. Crews will close one lane at night near the bridge to continue site preparation work. Flaggers will direct traffic through the work zone.
· Monday, Aug. 31 through Friday morning, Sept. 4 - Crews will close one lane of SR 532 from 270th St NW to the Davis Slough from 8:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. for construction near the Mark Clark Bridge. Please watch for crews working near the road and expect minor delays.
by Vickie Sheehan, WSDOT
OLYMPIA – The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) announced today that the long awaited second daily Amtrak Cascades train between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. will begin service on Wednesday, August 19, 2009.
The Canadian government approved the second train service on July 3 as a pilot project to start as soon as August 1 until after the 2010 Olympic and Paralympics Winter Games. WSDOT worked with Amtrak, BNSF Railway, U.S. Customs, and other stakeholders to get the additional Amtrak Cascades service operational as soon as possible.
With the addition of this second train service, travelers from Oregon will now have direct round-trip service between Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, B.C.
“Amtrak typically needs 90 days to start up service, so getting the second roundtrip train to B.C. going so quickly is a major accomplishment for everyone involved,” said Paula Hammond, Washington Transportation Secretary. “The August launch of the new service will give us a chance to encourage travelers to take advantage of this new service.”
Continue reading "Second Amtrak Cascades train to Vancouver, B.C. begins service August 19" »
by David Brewster at Crosscut:
Retrofitting a grown-up urban area with rail (as opposed to building it early and letting growth cluster around it later) is full of high costs and hot tempers. Bus routes are cut to deflect money to rail and to drive passengers to rail. Light rail, as the adjective suggests, means relatively low capacity and slow speeds. The initial routes, being politically selected, don't attract as many users as usually projected. And the claim that transit stations will shape growth and create walkable, complete neighborhoods is, while true over a long time, very hard to pull off in any dramatic way.
Construction continues on the AMTRAK passenger platform in East Stanwood:
From the Herald:
The Amtrak platform project is back on track.
After
a minor delay this spring, construction on the project is under way
again, said Kirk Fredrickson, project manager with the state Department
of Transportation.
"We had a delay when we encountered a small
area of lead-contaminated soil where the platform will be," Fredrickson
said. "The rail line has been there for over 100 years, so it could
have been there for a long time."
Because of the time it took to
follow state regulations to remove the soil, the project completion
date was moved from late September to November, he said.
Amtrak service is scheduled to begin as soon as the passenger platform is done.
The
concrete footings for the platform have been poured, and Interwest
Construction crews from Burlington are now building the storm-water
detention pond at the north end of the station site, Fredrickson said.
by Bruce Agnew
View the initial high-speed rail outline from President Obama and Transportation Secretary LaHood (Note: Details for grant programs are scheduled to be submitted to Congress next month.)
SMART on Board for Rail Week
John Nemeth, Rail Planning Manager for the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District (SMART) , will be participating in several Cascadia Rail Week events, including the May 28, public lecture at Seattle ’s City Hall and the Snohomish community forum. We have also invited the Marin Bicycle Club to participate. They will review the exciting new voter-approved (two thirds majority) 70-mile rail and trail (from Larkspur/San Rafael to Cloverdale) project that includes the use of self-propelled, energy efficient Diesel Multiple Unit trains. The entire project comes in at a remarkable $540 million.
WSDOT and Amtrak awarded the construction contract to Interwest Construction of Burlington, Washington in March.
Construction is expected to begin next week. The station and associated facilities are scheduled to be completed in late September, and Amtrak service is tentatively scheduled to begin in October.
During its 2006 session, the Washington State Legislature directed that this station will be a new stop on the Amtrak Cascades corridor.
In May 2006, WSDOT shared its proposed plan (pdf 2.4 MB) for Stanwood Station with the community. WSDOT and the city of Stanwood decided to work together to develop more detailed plans for the site and some of the station features. The Washington State Legislature provided WSDOT with $5.0 million to construct a new train station platform in the city of Stanwood. The station platform will provide a place where the traveling public can get on and off Amtrak Cascades passenger trains. The new station platform will enable safe and easy boarding and de-boarding of rail passengers at Stanwood.
WSDOT and Amtrak finalized a construction management agreement for the platform in
December 2008.
A pre-bid meeting with interested contractors occurred in Stanwood in mid-January 2009.
Construction is expected to begin on March 16 and be completed in September.
