Washington and Oregon are in line to receive nearly $600 million for projects to increase the speed of trains between Portland and Seattle, an improvement that could eventually cut an hour from the current 3½-hour trip.
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said the projects will increase the number of Amtrak passenger trains between the Northwest’s two biggest cities, as well as reduce rail congestion and improve on-time reliability.
Washington applied for $1.3 billion worth of projects, including $61 million worth of track upgrades in Vancouver. State officials had not been informed of the specific grant awards on Thursday.
Unclogging rail congestion in Vancouver, Kelso and Tacoma are the state’s highest priorities, said Scott Witt, rail and marine director for the Washington Department of Transportation.
One of the Vancouver projects would add 6.5 miles of track forming a loop at the western end of the Port of Vancouver. While that’s far from BNSF Railway’s main line, state officials say it would benefit passenger service by providing plenty of room for the port to handle mile-long “unit trains” without clogging the main line.
“It’s a matter of clearing the track,” Witt said. “That’s why it’s there.”
Other Vancouver projects include improvements along the main line, including a bypass line running almost 3 miles along the east side of the BNSF main lines from Eighth Street north as far as Burnt Bridge Creek.
The bulk of the money — $590 million — will go to Washington for projects related to high-speed rail. Another $8 million will go to Oregon for improvements at Union Station in Portland.
Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire on Thursday said that eventually, the number of daily round-trips between Portland and Seattle would increase to six, up from four currently, and that the projects to improve the line would create an estimated 6,500 jobs in Washington state.
“This work represents a big step in building our 21st century train system,” Gregoire said. “Hopping on a train from Seattle to Portland will be convenient and will be reliable as an alternative to driving our congested I-5.”
President Barack Obama announced $8 billion in grants for 13 major corridors — including the Northwest — during a town hall meeting Thursday in Tampa, Fla., his first public appearance following his State of the Union speech Wednesday night.
Only the projects in California and Florida are planned to reach maximum speeds of 150 mph or more, what most transportation experts consider high-speed rail.
Washington’s trains currently run at 79 mph, state officials said, due to the needed safety and freight traffic improvements on the line. The goal: to reach speeds of up to 90 mph by 2017.
“At this point with the geographical constraints we have, with the water and the highway and the mountains, we’ve got to look at technology to move us forward,” Witt said.
Murray, a Democrat who chairs the Senate panel that funds transportation, called the grant announcement “a big win” for the region. The high-speed rail line will help create new jobs, improve passenger and freight travel and benefit the environment, she said.
The grant announcement fulfills a longtime request by officials in Washington and Oregon to build faster rail service along the Cascade Corridor, she said.
Both states have cooperated since the early 1990s to study, define, and build a high-speed rail line along a corridor from Eugene, Ore., to Vancouver, B.C., Murray said. Both states have bought trains capable of speeds up to 125 mph and have improved track and signal systems, refurbished rail stations and increased operating funds.
Washington’s request includes money for two additional train sets, which would boost Cascades service from four to six daily round-trips between Portland and Seattle. Each train set, with a capacity of 350 passengers, costs $15 million to $20 million.
Gregoire said that even though they didn’t get all they applied for, the amount was still significant.
“It’s no exaggeration to say that this jolt of federal funding is historic in the state of Washington,” she said.
