10 years and 3/4 million passengers later, Amtrak Cascades is alive and thriving. From the crazy Talgo car wings to the unique Cabbage Cars, it's a train that you can identify purely on site. The line runs through some of the most stunning parts of the region, serving the US and Canada. Last year the train saw a huge jump in ridership, and for 2010 another train to Vancouver BC will be added for the Olympics.But wait...isn't "rail travel" dead? Not by a long shot, if you ask those associated with the Cascades. In fact, the Governors of Washington and Oregon consider it a Signature Line and a testament to the value of public/private partnerships in railroading. The train has a decade of experience now, finding out what works and what doesn't. They've succeeded, and now with a renewed Federal commitment to rail they have the ability to pass on what they know to those in DC who want to restore High Speed Rail to America.
Governor Christine Gregoire and Oregon's Governor Kulongoski recently cheered the Obama Administration for making rail transport a priority; no doubt this had plenty of leverage from a new Vice President who has used Amtrak to commute now for many years. Gregoire and Kulongoski also wrote a letter to the US Secretary of Transportation (available HERE in PDF form, and great reading) which outlines the success of the Cascades and what they hope to achieve in the future. They also provided some insight on what it takes to make a line succeed, with the most important point being the goal of investing long-term.
Experience shows that a transportation model like the Cascades can work; vision keeps the model relevant. As air travel gets slower at the security gate, and more volatile on the credit card, people are once again seeing the value of hitting the rails. All Amtrak needs now are passengers, and with the way the numbers have been in the last 12 months I don't think that's going to be much of an issue.
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While there is no doubt it has had success, there is more potential than accomplishment so far. As a former resident of Vancouver (WA) I rode the “Cascades” Service on many occasions between Vancouver and Olympia and Vancouver to Seattle, to spend weekends with family and friends.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair to readers outside the Northwest, we should explain that the Amtrak “Cascades” Service is a joint operation funded by the Transportation Departments of Washington and Oregon, in partnership with Amtrak, while the “Coast Starlight” is Amtrak’s problem child.
The “Coast Starlight” runs between Los Angeles and Seattle. While the Cascades” service originates in Eugene Oregon, and terminate in Seattle, for all practical purposes. While the route map on the schedule would tantalize one into believing that you can go all the way north to Vancouver BC, the fact is, “you cannot get there from here.” Not unless you look forward to almost four hours on “The Hound,” between Seattle and Vancouver. (http://www.amtrakcascades.com/schedule.htm)
Equipment is normally the fifth or sixth generation of the Spanish "Tren Articulado Ligero Goicoechea Oriol" or TALGO, though I understand it is out for renovation at this time. Leaning pendulum technology is totally wasted on this stretch of track. Only two stretches where the faint of heart might get a nose bleed; up around Bucoda, and down around Kalama, where we may have reached a dizzying track speed of 60 miles per hour!
The other significant transportation services are the “Sounder” commuter service and the Washington State Ferries, who boast running the largest, and some would argue, the most dysfunctional ferry system on Planet Earth.
As I said, we have a lot of potential to fulfill. None of these transportation entities, Washington State Highway and Ferry Systems, Amtrak, and Sounder, are all doing their own thing. Like a gaggle of ostriches.
For example, providing free shuttle services between the train station and the Washington State Ferries Coleman Hub, serving the Kitsap Peninsula. Sure, it is about six or eight blocks or so for able bodies, it is not user friendly for families or seniors, or infirm, or anyone with more than a laptop and grip.
The Winter Olympics in Vancouver are fast approaching. Never mind that the Canadians, in all their wisdom, put the Alpine activities at the end of a 50 mile narrow two lane highway hugging Howe Sound with CN freights so close you can roll the window down and reach the conductors “Grey Poupon.” And the Yankees are so far behind in upgrading the border crossing at Blaine, train service should be leaping to the forefront!
I got all excited when a Sounder Station was opened in Mukilteo. For residents on the Kitsap, Quimper, and Olympic Peninsulas, walk on ferry fare is free eastbound. So I figured I could walk down to the ferry to Keystone, ride the FREE bus to Edmonds, and grab the Sounder in Mukilteo.
Well, like the ticket lady said, you gotta giddy up go about two blocks to the Sounder Station. Oh, they were thinking about re-synchronizing the ferry run, but when I last checked, it had not been done. Not only that, but, as I stated earlier, none of these entities speak to each other, so while the last Sounder heads south into Seattle, the Amtrak “Empire Builder” comes along at a more civil time, but they do not honor the tickets or goodies (senior discounts) offered by the Sounder.
Riding back in the evening on the “Cascades” I noted only ONE station had protective fencing and BRIGHT lighting in long term parking to dissuade car prowls for those who want to take the train without finding their vehicle parted out upon return.
I stuck up a lengthy chat with the Conductor, who merely grinned when I mentioned the fancy well-lit parking lot in Tumwater. “Hey, this is the seat of State Government!” says he!
All other long term parking at the various stations, suck. You might try it once, but never push your luck. In the six or seven trips I took, I found my gas cap conveniently placed on my rear bumper, but no gas was missing, when I got back to Vancouver. Since I had parked under a dim lamp, about six feet from the main line, I surmised a passing freighter might have scared the perps away.
Back in my varnish days, freights got the hell out of the way for passenger trains! About the third time we hit the hole for a freight train, I looked at the Conductor, who simply said, “Don’t ask!” and went about his various rounds.
Some successes, yes, and we pray for more. Game trains sound and behave more like troop trains, and holidays fill the cars. But what is needed is for the various entities to get together in a big room with several flip chart easels and black boards, and do some old fashioned “talk a little, chalk a little” and get this system operating in sync!