Amtrak Leavenworth Station NOT a Bust!

Wow, talk about turnaround!

Within hours of the last blog post about Leavenworth's Icicle Station, I received an email from a Leavenworth Real Estate agent telling me the project was actually a go. He then put me in touch with the mayor of Leavenworth, who told me it's active and moving forward.

"We have passed 65% construction documents and will have our 100% plans on Jan 15, 2009," he says. "We will go out to bid for construction in Feb, with construction anticipated to start mid-March 2009. We are currently working on our agreements with Amtrak for Operations and Maintenance. We are estimating service start in mid to late September 2009."

So now we've got a clear idea of what's going on. Visit the Icicle Station Website or read the Official Press Release from the City of Leavenworth HERE!

Amtrak Leavenworth Station a Bust?

Back in January the Seattle PI reported that Amtrak was adding a new Leavenworth Station. I dutifully added my blog post with a map. Since that time there apparently has been zero movement on the project, and repeated contact with the town officials who championed the project for so many years have gone unanswered. Amtrak is even telling me they have no plans to build a station there.

So unless we hear otherwise, we can imagine that folks won't be stopping in Leavenworth while on the Empire Builder any time soon.

Amtrak to Add New Leavenworth Station

Great news for folks who like Leavenworth! Amtrak will be adding service to the town with the Empire Builder. This is historic, since Leavenworth was bypassed with the Chumstick Cutoff in the 1920s. No tracks run through the town anymore, but the BNSF Stevens Pass line runs close enough for bus service.


For people like me who love Leavenworth, this comes as great news because it means my family can take the train there rather than drive. And someday we will!




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