Amtrak Cascades

For the former Southern Pacific train of same name, see Cascade (train).
Amtrak Cascades

The Cascades at Carkeek Park in 2006.
Overview
Service type Inter-city rail
Status Active
Locale Pacific Northwest
First service May 1, 1971
Current operator(s) Amtrak
Ridership 2,335 daily
852,269 total (FY11)[1]
Website http://www.amtrakcascades.com
Route
Start Vancouver
End Eugene
Distance travelled 467 miles (752 km)
Train number(s) 501, 513, 507, 509, 513, 517 (odd) southbound
510, 500, 504, 506, 508, 516 (even) northbound
Technical
Rolling stock EMD F59PHI diesel locomotive
EMD F40PH locomotive used as non-powered control units
Talgo articulated tilting train sets
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Track owner(s) Union Pacific and BNSF
Departure board at Seattle's King Street Station in 1981, listing the Mount Rainier, the Pacific International, and other since-discontinued trains

The Amtrak Cascades is a passenger train route in the Pacific Northwest, operated by Amtrak in partnership with the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon and the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is named after the Cascade mountain range that the route parallels.

The corridor runs 156 miles (251 km) from Vancouver, British Columbia south to Seattle, Washington, continuing 310 miles (500 km) south via Portland, Oregon to Eugene, Oregon. Two daily trains travel to and from Vancouver, with Seattle or Portland as its starting or ending point; supplemental Thruway Motorcoach service connects travelers from Vancouver to trains heading south from Seattle, as well as providing additional service between Portland and Eugene, and connections to other Amtrak Thruway destinations in Washington and Oregon. The second daily service between Seattle and Vancouver, BC started on August 19, 2009.[2] As of December 2011 four trains run daily between Seattle and Portland, with two of those providing service to Eugene.[3]

Cascades is Amtrak's eighth-busiest route, and it carries the most passengers of any of the railroad's services outside of the Northeastern U.S. or California.[1] Total ridership for 2011 was over 850,000. During FY2011, the service had a total revenue of $30,025,126, an 8.9% increase over FY2010.[1] Farebox recovery ratio for the train has also increased from 48% in 2008 to 72% in 2010.[4]

History

The Mount Rainier in 1974. Note the dome car and coaches still bearing pre-Burlington Northern liveries.

The Amtrak Cascades route was originally operated as a joint partnership by the Northern Pacific, Great Northern, and Union Pacific prior to the creation of Amtrak in 1971.[5] In 2013 travel times between Seattle and Portland remained the same as they had been in 1966, with the fastest trains making the journey in 3 hours 30 minutes.[6][7]

When Amtrak began operations in 1971 there were three Seattle-Portland running and the connection to Vancouver was discontinued. These trains were initially unnamed, but with the advent of Amtrak's first "official" timetable in November 1971, one became the Coast Starlight (which continues south to Los Angeles), while the other two became the Mount Rainier and Puget Sound.[8]

1972 brought the return of the Vancouver service, with the inauguration of the Pacific International, operating with a dome car (unusual for short runs).[9]

Amtrak introduced the Seattle–Salt Lake City, Utah Pioneer in 1977. The Pioneer took over one round-trip between Seattle and Portland, arriving in Seattle in the late evening and Portland just before noon. Amtrak eliminated the Puget Sound altogether, and shifted the Mount Rainier's northbound trip to replace it.[10]:59

The corridor grew in 1980 with the State of Oregon financially subsidizing two daily round trips between Portland and Eugene. Named the Willamette Valley, these trains were discontinued in April 1982. This was on the heels of the Pacific International's discontinuance in September 1981.[8] This left three trains on the Portland-Seattle corridor: the Coast Starlight, the Pioneer and the Mount Rainier. This situation remained unchanged for the next 12 years.

Expansion in the 1990s and 2000s

Amtrak Cascades consist in Portland, Oregon with NPCU at the head of the train.

In 1994, Amtrak instituted a six-month trial run of modern Talgo equipment over the Portland-Seattle corridor. Amtrak named this service Northwest Talgo, and announced that it would institute a second, conventional train on the corridor (supplementing the Mount Rainier) once the trial concluded. Regular service began on April 1, 1994. Looking toward the future, Amtrak did an exhibition trip from Vancouver through to Eugene. Amtrak introduced the replacement Mount Adams on October 30.[11][12] At the same time, the state of Oregon and Amtrak agreed to extend the Mount Rainier to Eugene through June 1995, with Oregon paying two-thirds of the $1.5 million subsidy.[13]

Vancouver service returned on May 26, 1995, when the Mount Baker International began running between Vancouver and Seattle. The state of Washington leased Talgo equipment similar to the demonstrator from 1994.[14][15] Amtrak renamed the Mount Rainier the Cascadia in October 1995; the new name reflected the joint Oregon-Washington operations of the train.[16]

A third Seattle-Portland corridor train began in 1998, replacing the discontinued long-distance Pioneer. By spring 1998, all three Seattle–Portland/Eugene trains were using leased Talgo equipment, while the Vancouver train used conventional equipment. Amtrak introduced a temporary Pacific Northwest brand for all four trains, dropping individual names, in preparation for the introduction of new Talgo equipment built in the United States and owned by the state of Washington. Amtrak announced the new Amtrak Cascades brand in the Fall 1998 timetable; the new equipment began operation in December.[17][18] Amtrak extended a second train to Eugene in late 2000.

In 2004, the Rail Plus program began, allowing cross-ticketing between Sound Transit's Sounder commuter rail and Amtrak north from Seattle to Everett.

The corridor has continued to grow in recent years, with another Portland-Seattle train arriving in 2006, and the long-awaited through service between Vancouver and Portland, eliminating the need to transfer in Seattle, beginning in August 2009[19] as a pilot project to determine whether a train permanently operating on the route would be feasible. With the Canadian federal government requesting Amtrak to pay for border control costs for the second daily train, the train was scheduled to be discontinued on October 31, 2010. However, Washington State and Canadian officials held discussions in an attempt to continue the service,[20] which resulted in the Canadian government's permanently waiving the fee.[21]

Total ridership for 2008 was 774,421, the highest annual ridership since inception of the service in 1993.[22] Ridership declined in 2009 to 740,154[23] but rose 13% in fiscal year 2010 to 836,499 riders.[23]

Rolling stock

The baggage car from the Mount Adams set separate from the rest of the cars. Note the shared-wheel arrangement.
Inside the bistro car with the route on the ceiling.

Service on the Cascades route is provided by articulated trainsets manufactured by Talgo, a Spanish company. These cars are designed to passively tilt into curves, allowing the train to pass through them at higher speeds. Despite a maximum design speed of 124 miles per hour (200 km/h), current track and safety requirements limit the train's speed to 79 miles per hour (127 km/h), although $781 million work is currently underway for the Cascades route which will allow them to operate at speeds up to 110 miles per hour (180 km/h).[24]

The Cascades is painted in a special scheme consisting of cream, brown and dark green. The train is normally operated in a push-pull configuration with an EMD F59PHI or GE P42DC at one end, a 12- or 13-car Talgo-built trainset, and an unpowered EMD F40PH locomotive called a Non-Powered Control Unit (NPCU) on the other end used as a cab car.[25]:140 The NPCU contains a concrete weight to meet FRA weight requirements for collision safety as well as regulations for crash safety for the Talgo cars, which are not FRA crash-rated.

Four of the five 1998-vintage trainsets are named after mountains in the Cascade Range: Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, Mount Adams, and Mount Hood. The last set is named after Mount Olympus, in the Olympic Range. A typical train consists of a baggage car; two business-class coaches; one lounge/dining car; one cafe car (also known as the Bistro car); six standard coaches; and one service car.[26] From the mid 1990s to the May 12th, 2008, Amtrak System timestable, full service dining was available on trains going north out of Seattle's King Street Station to Vancouver, BC. The southern trains to Portland Oregon briefly had full dining services until the May 16th, 1999 Systems Timestable. As noted, the cars still run but, are now only used for lounge services and are open to all passengers. One of the five sets currently in service, the Mount Adams set was originally built as a demonstrator for potential service between Los Angeles, California and Las Vegas, Nevada. It was built with two additional standard coaches, for a total of 14 cars. It operated on the Seattle-Vancouver, B.C. run for several years in its original configuration. It was also originally painted in a different color scheme, using the blue, black and silver of Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner instead of the green, brown and cream found on the other sets.[25]:139

A six-car spare set, including a baggage car, service car, lounge-dining car, café car and two standard coaches, was also built. The two additional coaches from the fifth trainset and the two coaches from the spare set were placed in service on four of the other sets, resulting in four 13-car trains and one 12-car train. Fins on the baggage and service cars serve only as an aesthetic transition from the high top of the American-built locomotives to the roof of the low-slung European-designed passenger cars.

During 2013, two new Talgo 8 trainsets, owned by the Oregon Department of Transportation, entered traffic to enable further expansion of services.[27] These trainsets differ from the original five by having cab cars integrated into the set, therefore not requiring the use of ex-F40PH NPCUs. Additionally, these sets also maintain other minor interior differences such as cafe car layout and onboard electrical systems. The two new sets are named Mount Bachelor and Mount Jefferson, after the respective peaks located in Oregon.

Funding

Funding for the route is provided separately by the states of Oregon and Washington, with Union Station in Portland serving as the dividing point between the two. As of July 1, 2006, Washington state has funded four daily round trips between Seattle and Portland. Washington also funds two daily round trips between Seattle and Vancouver, BC. Oregon funds two daily round trips between Eugene and Portland. The seven trainsets are organized into semi-regular operating cycles, but no particular train always has one route.

Local partnerships

As a result of Cascades service being jointly funded by the Washington and Oregon departments of transportation, public transit agencies and local municipalities can offer a variety of discounts, including companion ticket coupons.

The Cascades service also benefits from Sound Transit's track upgrades for Sounder service, notably the upcoming Point Defiance Bypass project.

Proposed changes

According to its long-range plan, the WSDOT Rail Office plans eventual service of 13 daily round trips between Seattle and Portland and 4–6 round trips between Seattle and Bellingham, with four of those extending to Vancouver, BC.[30] Amtrak Cascades travels along the entirety of the proposed Pacific Northwest High Speed Rail Corridor; the incremental improvements are designed to result in eventual higher-speed service. According to WSDOT, the "hundreds of curves" in the current route and the cost of acquiring land and constructing a brand new route" make upgrades so cost-prohibitive that at most speeds of 110 mph (177 km/h) can be achieved.[31]

The eventual high-speed rail service according to the long-range plan should result in the following travel times:

In order to increase train speeds and frequency to meet these goals, a number of incremental track improvement projects must be completed. Gates and signals must be improved, some grade crossings must be separated, track must be replaced or upgraded and station capacities must be increased.

In order to extend the second daily Seattle to Bellingham round trip to Vancouver, BNSF was required to make track improvements in Canada, to which the government of British Columbia was asked to contribute financially. On March 1, 2007, an agreement between the province, Amtrak, and BNSF was reached, allowing a second daily train to and from Vancouver.[32] The project involved building an 11,000-foot (3.35 km) siding in Delta, BC at a cost of US$7 million; construction started in 2007 and has been completed.

In December 2008, WSDOT published a mid-range plan detailing projects needed to achieve the midpoint level of service proposed in the long-range plan.[33]

WSDOT received more than $800 million in high-speed rail stimulus funds for projects discussed in the mid-range plan, since the corridor is one of the approved high-speed corridors eligible for money from ARRA.[34] The deadline for spending the stimulus funds is September 2017.

In 2009, Oregon applied for a $2.1 billion Federal grant to redevelop the unused Oregon Electric Railway tracks, parallel to the Cascades' route between Eugene and Portland.[35] But it did not receive the grant. Instead, analysis of alternative routes to enable more passenger trains and higher speeds proceeded. In 2015, the current route, with numerous upgrades, was chosen by the Project Team as the Recommended Preferred Alternative.[36] The schedule is for the Leadership Council to vote on this in December 2015, then a Draft Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement should be released in 2016 and hearings held on it, for the Leadership Council to finalize the Recommended Selected Alternative in 2017, then publish the Final Tier 1 EIS and receive the Record of Decision in 2018. [37] Then if funds can be found, design and engineering must be done before any construction can begin.


Point Defiance Bypass

Map of Point Defiance Bypass.

The Point Defiance Bypass is a partnership with Sound Transit to bypass BNSF Railway Puget Sound shore track for an alignment between Tacoma at the north end and the Nisqually River at the south. It increases train speeds in this corridor with a straighter, shorter track alignment, while eliminating the need for Cascades trains to use the single-track Nelson Bennett Tunnel. The first phase will decrease travel time through the corridor by 6 minutes; the second phase will decrease travel time by at least another 5 minutes.

Sound Transit construction of the line between Tacoma and Lakewood was completed in 2012 after feasibility studies, design work and acquisition of land had begun in 2005.[38] The first phase of construction began in June 2009; by that time the completion date had been pushed back to 2019.[39] In 2010, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided additional funding for the project, enough to bring the completion date forward to 2017.[39] Construction between Lakewood and Dupont began in December 2014 and should be completed by the summer of 2017.[40][41]

Ridership statistics

Data from the Washington State Department of Transportation.[42][43][44][45]

Year 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Ridership 94,061 180,209 286,656 304,566 349,761 425,138 452,334 530,218 560,381 584,346 589,743 603,059 636,092 629,996
YoY Diff. N/A 86,148 106,447 17,910 45,195 75,377 27,196 77,884 30,163 23,965 5,397 13,316 33,033 -6,096
YoY Diff. % N/A 91.6% 59.1% 6.2% 14.8% 21.6% 6.4% 17.2% 5.7% 4.3% 0.1% 2.3% 5.5% -1.0%
Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Ridership 676,765 774,531 761,610 838,251 847,709 845,099 811,692
YoY Diff. 46,769 97,766 -12,921 76,641 9,458 -2,610 -33,407
YoY Diff. % 7.4% 14.4% -1.7% 10.1% 1.1% -0.3% -4.0%

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Amtrak Ridership Rolls Up Best-Ever Records" (PDF). Amtrak. 13 October 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  2. ↑ Sullivan, Jennifer (July 3, 2009). "Amtrak cleared for 2nd daily train to Vancouver, B.C". Seattle Times. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  3. ↑ "Amtrak Cascades - Schedule". Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  4. ↑ Washington State Rail Program Update (PDF), WSDOT, March 21, 2011, retrieved 2011-04-30
  5. ↑ The Official guide of the Railways and Steam Navigation Lines of the U.S., Rand McNally & Company, May 1966, The guide shows that the service was operated jointly, some trains using Seattle's King Street Station and the rest Seattle's Union Station
  6. ↑ The Official guide of the Railways and Steam Navigation Lines of the U.S., Rand McNally & Company, May 1966
  7. ↑ Amtrak Winter-Spring Timetable 2013
  8. 1 2 Schafer, Mike, Bob Johnston and Kevin McKinney.All Aboard Amtrak. Piscataway, NJ: Railpace Co., 1991
  9. ↑ Zimmerman, Karl. Amtrak at Milepost 10. Park Forest IL: PTJ Publishing, 1981.
  10. ↑ Amtrak (May 1, 1977). "National Train Timetables". Retrieved August 18, 2013.
  11. ↑ Esteve, Harry (March 31, 1994). "Talgo 200 tantalizes train fans". Eugene Register-Guard. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
  12. ↑ Amtrak (October 30, 1994). "Pacific Northwest Corridor". National Timetable. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
  13. ↑ Bishoff, Don (November 2, 1994). "Seattle in six, and a nap, too". Eugene Register-Guard. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
  14. ↑ "For Riders, Vancouver Train's Just the Ticket". The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington). May 27, 1995. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
  15. ↑ "TRAVEL ADVISORY; Amtrak Resumes Seattle-Vancouver Run". The New York Times. June 11, 1995. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
  16. ↑ Amtrak (January 1996). "Pacific Northwest Corridor". National Timetable. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
  17. ↑ Bishoff, Don (December 2, 1998). "Budget boosts trains service". Eugene Register-Guard. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
  18. ↑ Wade, Betsy (December 13, 1998). "Practical Traveler: On Amtrak, Full Speed Ahead". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
  19. ↑ "Second Amtrak Cascades train between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C to begin service August 19, 2009" (PDF) (Press release). Amtrak. 12 August 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  20. ↑ "Washington state working to keep second Vancouver, B.C., Amtrak train". Trains magazine. September 22, 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
  21. ↑ "Second daily Amtrak train to Vancouver, B.C., made permanent". The Seattle Times. August 17, 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  22. ↑ Washington State Department of Transportation. "Amtrak Cascades Annual Ridership Report 2008" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-12-17.
  23. 1 2 "Amtrak sets new ridership record, thanks passengers for taking the train (link to PDF download)". Amtrak. October 11, 2010. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
  24. ↑ "Amtrak Cascades - About". Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  25. 1 2 Solomon, Brian (2004). Amtrak. Saint Paul, MN: MBI. ISBN 0-760-31765-8. OCLC 56490949.
  26. ↑ "Trainset Roster". On Track On Line. January 1, 2013. Retrieved 2013-06-02.
  27. ↑ Oregon DOT
  28. ↑ Amtrak Cascades. "Amtrak Cascades - Special Offers". Retrieved 2011-12-17.
  29. ↑ Sound Transit. "Sounder train fares". Retrieved 2011-12-17.
  30. ↑ "Long Range Plan for Amtrak Cascades" (PDF). WSDOT. February 2006. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 8, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
  31. 1 2 Schrader, Jordan (May 17, 2011). "Federal money to improve Amtrak Cascades train travel". Seattle Times. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
  32. ↑ WSDOT - Second Amtrak Cascades Train to Canada
  33. ↑ "Amtrak Cascades Mid-Range Plan" (PDF). WSDOT. December 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 July 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
  34. ↑ "ARRA Funded High Speed Rail". WSDOT. Archived from the original on 5 July 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
  35. ↑ Esteve, Harry (July 25, 2009). "Oregon bids big for faster trains". The Oregonian.
  36. ↑ http://oregonpassengerrail.org/files/library/newsletter/opr-newsletter-fall-2015-final-20151013.pdf
  37. ↑ http://oregonpassengerrail.org/page/schedule
  38. ↑ "Tacoma-to-Lakewood Track & Facilities". Sound Transit. Archived from the original on 14 June 2008. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
  39. 1 2 WSDOT - Project - Rail - Tacoma - Bypass of Point Defiance
  40. ↑ http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/rail/pnwrc_ptdefiance/
  41. ↑ "Status - June 2014". WSDOT. Archived from the original on 8 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014. WSDOT’s project team will now advance design work and expects construction to begin in 2015 and open the new route to service in 2017
  42. ↑ Washington State Department of Transportation (December 2009). "Amtrak Cascades Fourth Quarter and Annual Ridership Report - 2009" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-07-29.
  43. ↑ Washington State Department of Transportation (December 2010). "Amtrak Cascades Quarterly Ridership Report - October to December 2010" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-07-29.
  44. ↑ Washington State Department of Transportation (December 2011). "Amtrak Cascades Quarterly Ridership Report - October to December 2011" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-02-11.
  45. ↑ "Amtrak ridership is down in the Northwest - is Bolt Bus to blame?".

External links

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