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BNSF has already started working on a slope stabilization project between Kelso and Vancouver WA (near Felida) to mitigate the risk of landslides that have canceled Cascades service several times this winter. Unfortunately, the track work may delay some trains up to 30 minutes through March 17. from...

Years ago when the HST came out, British Rail did a study. Train trips under three hours were well-received by potential travelers. Above three hours not so much. What's the limit to a traveler's endurance on an intercity bus? BoltBus (Greyhound) found out that Wi-Fi and modern buses are nice-to-ha...

And if you're a student of Western Oregon University, Linfield University, Pacific University, George Fox University, Reed College, University of Portland, Western University of Health Sciences? Yeah, Amtrak don't serve you, either. What does this mean? U of Portland and Reed are within Portland's ...

ODOT has plans for a 4+1 schedule between Eugene and Portland (4 Cascades roundtrips + 1 Starlight). But plans don't mean anything without the enthusiasm of the host railroad and lots of public money, both of which have historically been in short supply in OR.

https://www.oregon.gov/odot/About/GR/2023_Q4_Passenger_Rail_Report.pdf The Q4 2023 ridership numbers for the Oregon trains have been released. Ridership for October through December 2023 • Fourth quarter ridership was up 5 percent over the third quarter of 2023. • The pre-pandemic baseline for comp...

https://www.oregon.gov/odot/About/GR/2023_Q4_Passenger_Rail_Report.pdf The Q4 2023 ridership numbers have been released. Ridership for October through December 2023 • Fourth quarter ridership was up 5 percent over the third quarter of 2023. • The pre-pandemic baseline for comparison purposes is 2019...

Felida is the new Mukilteo. Landslides have been largely eliminated in the Mukilteo area, but Felida seems to be the new trouble spot. There are some steep hills alongside the tracks in the Felida area that are prone to sliding when the ground gets soaked. I would imagine someone at WSDOT is already...

The Cascades schedule did change on 12.11.23. In Oregon, the first northbound train from Eugene was changed from 530am to 745am. Two more roundtrips were also added between Seattle and Portland. But I would agree Amtrak is very fuel in efficient. A modern Dmu would use a lot less, on Wouldn't a trul...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/amtrak-service-between-seattle-portland-suspended-until-tuesday/ar-BB1h31TX?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=afe070df9eb340ea9b061988dc1c883c&ei=15 That article explains exactly what we've been talking about. Front line staff may care about the job they do, bu...

I love riding trains--beautiful scenery, the ability to move around during the journey, meeting new people. But I don't trust Amtrak to do everything it can to make sure I get to my destination without hassles and delays. I understand that sometimes the delays are beyond Amtrak's control, but usuall...

ODOT's Q3 2023 Report to Legislature shows strong ridership gains in 2023 for the Oregon funded trains between Portland and Eugene. Total ridership was significantly higher than 2022 and even higher than the 2019 baseline. I couldn't find any information about ridership at individual stations, howev...

https://wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2023-04/Amtrak-Cascades-2022-Performance-Report.pdf According to the 2022 Cascades Performance Report, 46,000 passengers rode within the Eugene to Portland segment while 45,000 passengers rode from somewhere south of Portland to somewhere within the Portland...

from Tadman: From what I understand, travel patterns south of Portland, PDX-SEA, and SEA-VAN are radically different. In my experience, this has been very true. However, I was on 505 this week (SB departure from SEA at 708am to PDX/EUG) and there were lots of passengers who boarded at intermediate s...

Service to Vancouver, BC is always going to be problematic. Between Seattle King Street Station and Bellingham, the train averages almost 45 mph. That's not great, but it's not where the worst slowdowns are located. The train's average speed from Bellingham to Vancouver is less than 33 mph. Even all...

The Washington State Department of Transportation’s new Amtrak Cascades Service Development Plan has five options. None will achieve reliable 2.5-hour trip times without new infrastructure investments. Among them: Point Defiance Bypass curve revision, where speeds are now limited to 30 mph, a new f...