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Morning Amtrak Cascades No. 500 heads north near Salem, Ore., in June 2015. Amtrak has pledged funds in support of an Oregon effort to secure a federal grant to add a passing siding on the Cascades route south of Portland, Ore. Bob Johnston OREGON CITY, Ore. — Amtrak has pledged to contribute $750,000 to a […]
SEATTLE — One of Sound Transit’s latest light rail projects is featuring what the transit agency says is a first-of-its kind rail line on a floating bridge. The Seattle Times reports that after more than a decade dealing with the technical challenges involved, the agency is installing tracks on the Interstate 90 bridge across Lake […]
PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland-area officials are beginning to explore the possibility of building a light-rail tunnel under downtown to address the bottleneck at the center of the city’s rail system. The Oregon Metro website says the idea, still in its early stages, was first floated two years ago as transit agency TriMet looked at ways to […]
SEATTLE — A newly released business-case study argues that ultra-high-speed ground transportation in the Vancouver, British Columbia-Seattle-Portland, Ore., corridor would deliver economic and social benefits, and could cover its operating costs as soon as 2040. But getting to such a system by 2040 depends on resolving some huge questions, such as what technology — conventional […]
SEATTLE — The address for the website of the Chehalis-Centralia Railroad tourist excursion service in southwestern Washington is “steamtrainride.com.” Unfortunately for the Chehalis-Centralia, there’s no steam locomotive at the moment to pull its trains. The Chehalis-Centralia had been relying on a 1916 Baldwin 2-8-2 Mikado. “Our engine was getting ready for annual inspection and testing […]
The first of 152 new Siemens light rail vehicles was unveiled by Seattle’s Sound Transit on Wednesday. Sound Transit Sound Transit says the new equipment has wider aisles, more luggage space and more bike capacity than current light rail vehicles. Sound Transit SEATTLE — The first of 152 new Siemens light rail vehicles for Sound […]
A view of the wreckage of derailed Amtrak Cascades Train 501 on Dec. 18, 2017. Steve Carter SEATTLE — The city council in Lakewood, Wash., has approved a resolution asking the Washington State Department of Transportation and Amtrak not to reopen the Point Defiance Bypass until all of the National Transportation Safety Board’s recommendations are […]
SEATTLE — The Washington state Legislature has approved a transportation budget with funding for several rail projects, including a feasibility study of a cross-state passenger train. The $250,000 allocated to the Legislature’s joint transportation committee would look at the former Northern Pacific route from Seattle over Stampede Pass, then south through the Yakima Valley and […]
SEATTLE — The shuffling of operators for segments of the state-owned Palouse River & Coulee City in eastern Washington state continues. The Washington State Department of Transportation said it picked Omaha Track as the winning bidder to operate the 90-mile P&L branch of the PCC, which runs from the Idaho border near Pullman to Marshall, […]
Sound Transit’s board chairman says the agency will call in an outside investigator to review its safety procedures in the wake of the National Transportation Safety Board’s findings and recommendations in its own investigation into the December 2017 Amtrak Cascades derailment. NTSB had criticisms for multiple agencies and entities including Sound Transit, which owns the […]
SEATTLE – The first response to the National Transportation Safety Board’s report on the 2017 Amtrak Cascades derailment is the Washington State Department of Transportation’s decision to remove Talgo Series 6 trainsets from service “as soon as possible.” WSDOT, a prime financial sponsor of Amtrak Cascades service on the Vancouver, B.C.-Eugene, Ore., corridor, didn’t specify […]
HERMISTON, Ore. — Union Pacific announced this week that would be laying off nearly 200 people at its Hinkle rail yard in Hermiston, the latest example of cost reductions brought on by Precision Scheduled Railroading. About 195 people will lose their jobs as UP closes its Hinkle locomotive shop and warehouse over the next two […]
