Rail

Original Article Several officials say they are united behind rescuing a 40-mile railroad corridor snaking from Renton’s Gene Coulon Beach Park through the heart of the Eastside to Snohomish. While the route does a pretty good job of hitting major job centers, state and local officials say the rail line misses the biggie: Downtown Bellevue. “As a high-capacity transit line, Read More ›

Original Article Stanwood studies train service An official from the Cascadia Project tells officials about the benefits a different type of passenger rail service could bring to the city. By Scott Morris Stanwood officials want to hear more about a regional transportation dream that could revive the long-defunct train depot at the east end of downtown. On Monday, the city’s Read More ›

A group turning to trains to improve transportation in Snohomish County has set its sights on a little-used rail line on the Eastside. The group, made up of residents and elected leaders and backed by the Seattle-based Discovery Institute’s Cascadia Project, is trying to bring a new kind of high-speed rail car to the Puget Sound region. Burlington Northern Santa Read More ›

The 2010 Winter Olympics is stoking enthusiasm for new rail services on bothsides of the Canada-U.S. border. Leading the charge is Whistler Railtours Ltd. of Vancouver, which says it is close to a deal with Via Rail Canada Inc. that could see $20 million poured into launching tourist-oriented rail service between Vancouver and Whistler in time for the 2005 cruise Read More ›

In a recent tour of the transportation policy horizon, Seattle Times’ editorialist James Vesely offered an intriguing observation. “Environment-first groups have the big idea on their side… But the other side has no competitive big idea. They talk capacity while the greens talk about how we live.” Transit theologians have hammered at the notion that auto use is morally wrong. Read More ›

OLYMPIA — Increasingly popular passenger trains rumble between Portland and Seattle four times a day as the upgraded Amtrak Cascades service continues to attract business travelers, sightseers and Mariners fans seeking an alternative to airports and Interstate 5. Ridership has risen sixfold in the past eight years, turning the 466-mile Eugene-to-Vancouver, B.C., corridor into one of Amtrak’s fastest-growing services. Rider Read More ›

SEATTLE — There’s an unusual coalition of train lovers here determined to ensure at least some passenger rail survives along the American West Coast even if Amtrak dies. What is interesting for British Columbians is that some of the strongest proponents of passenger rail on the U.S. West Coast are trying to “internationalize” the rail corridor. They want fast, efficient Read More ›

The quick, pragmatic answer is the national passenger snail service known as Amtrak cannot be allowed to collapse. That means the railway should receive the short-term financing needed to keep it alive through October and into next year. Clearly, however, the three-decades-old Amtrak is a failure as it is now configured. Last week, the Bush administration proposed shifting more of Read More ›