High Speed Rail and Amtrak News

[uncommon.name]

Amtrak resumes service between Portland and Vancouver, B.C.

Rail travelers will once again be able take the train directly from downtown Portland to Vancouver, B.C., three years after the line was disrupted.

Officials planned to gather at Union Station in Portland on Monday to celebrate the full revival of Amtrak’s Cascades line, which runs daily between Vancouver and Eugene. Trips into Canada were halted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as travel restrictions went in place around the world. In September 2022, the train line resumed between Seattle and Vancouver, but those traveling from Portland were required to transfer.

Travelers can now leave Union Station at 3 p.m. and arrive at Pacific Central Station in Vancouver at around 11 p.m., Amtrak officials said. The southbound train is scheduled to leave Vancouver at 6:35 a.m. and return to Portland at 2:55 p.m.

“With more people now traveling, we are thrilled to double the daily roundtrips between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. By adding staffing and equipment to the region, we can once again offer customers a direct connection between Portland and Canada,” Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner said in a news release.

Round trip tickets are currently on sale for as low as $102 on the Amtrak Cascades website, which is less than the cost to fly.

Read more on Oregonlive...

[2oh1]

That's great news, but the return time is kind of brutal. Departing at 6:35am? I wish it ran overnight. Ah well!

[subterranean]

Takeaways From a Blockbuster Week for Trains Across America | High Speed Rail Alliance
Rick Harnish

Let’s celebrate a big step toward U.S. high-speed rail!

Today, the Biden Administration formally announced the awards for the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail and the Corridor ID Program. This combines Year 1 and Year 2 of a five -year commitment contained in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

The big awards went to just a few projects, with several features common to all of them: 1) The state has shown a high level of commitment, in terms of funding and planning. 2) The state controls most of the land. 3) The project is ready to go.

Those states and projects were:

California: Continuing construction of the Central Valley segment of the Los Angeles–San Francisco 186+ mph high-speed line. $3,073,600,000
Nevada: Constructing the Las Vegas–L.A. Basin 186+ mph high-speed line. $3,000,000,000
North Carolina: Constructing regional rail on the Raleigh–Richmond segment of the New York–Atlanta Corridor. $1,095,576,000
Virginia: Building a second Long Bridge to improve the New York–Atlanta Corridor and other routes. $729,000,000
The other Fed-State Partnership awards were:

Alaska: A new bridge in Willow. $8,200,558
Amtrak: Concourse and platform improvements at Chicago Union Station. $93,600,000
Amtrak: Improvements to the Empire Builder route near Malta, Montana. $14,900,000
Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority: Construction to improve the Downeaster. $27,492,000
Pennsylvania: Construction to improve the Harrisburg to Pittsburgh line and add a daily roundtrip. $143,629,028

There are two big take aways from today’s announcements:

We need a much bigger federal program, and
We need a lot more projects ready to go.

That is where Corridor ID comes in.

The BIL established Corridor ID to create a pipeline of projects and launch a big, ongoing, federal program. Today’s announcement also included the news that 69 corridor segments have been added to the program. In some cases, they overlap with projects that already have funding. And, in many cases, each should be included as part of longer corridors or part of bigger networks.

Four new high-speed rail projects were included in this round:

Atlanta, GA – Charlotte, NC
Fort Worth – Dallas – Houston, TX
Portland, OR – Seattle, WA – Vancouver, BC
Palmdale – Victorville, CA (linking Brightline West to the California high-speed backbone.)

So, a lot of what we envision as a national network will soon be under study.

Source: https://www.hsrail.org/blog/takeaways-from-a-blockbuster-week-for-trains-across-america/

[uncommon.name]

Originally Posted by subterranean

Source: https://www.hsrail.org/blog/takeaways-from-a-blockbuster-week-for-trains-across-america/

Really hoping to see the HSR eventually connect all the way from Vancouver BC to the California HSR. Maybe even in our lifetimes, we will see a cross country route emerge.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by uncommon.name

Really hoping to see the HSR eventually connect all the way from Vancouver BC to the California HSR. Maybe even in our lifetimes, we will see a cross country route emerge.

I would be happy to just have it running in the Northwest from Eugene to VanBC, with regular rail spurring off from HSR stations.

[Jakz]

Intriguing RFP posted by Metro:

https://bidlocker.us/a/oregonmetro/details/4457_Rfp_4391_Regional_Rail_Futures

Haven't looked at the attachment yet. Anyone have an account?

[maccoinnich]

Originally Posted by Jakz

Intriguing RFP posted by Metro:

https://bidlocker.us/a/oregonmetro/details/4457_Rfp_4391_Regional_Rail_Futures

Haven't looked at the attachment yet. Anyone have an account?

Not yet, but it's usually easy enough to sign up for public bid websites. It looks like Metro TPAC is getting a briefing on the Regional Rail Futures Study on October 4th (see page 3 of this PDF).

[maccoinnich]

From the RFP:

. Background/History of Project

The Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) establishes a strong vision for transit to help the Portland metropolitan region meet its transportation goals and provide communities with equitable, economic, safety and climate benefits. However, gaps remain in the transit system. While the region’s long-term target is 37% of jobs accessible by transit, our 2045 RTP constrained investments would only provide access to 8% of jobs. Working toward that vision, the 2023 High Capacity Transit Strategy (a component of the RTP) provides a blueprint for investment that expands the backbone of the regional public transit system, connecting Portland’s central city and regional growth centers where the greatest number of people live, work and play.

Achieving the region’s transportation vision requires creativity to serve travelers with different modes and plans to connect existing transit more effectively. Reuse of existing freight rail lines is a potential solution to improve access that is already leveraged in the region (e.g., WES, Council Creek) and is part of our regional planning (e.g., Shore Line, Milwaukie-Lake Oswego-Beaverton HCT). Other types of regional and local transit complete the web of connections, with TriMet’s Forward Together service plan (phase 1 completed in 2022 and phase 2 currently in progress) filling gaps as aligned with this vision. The RTP also calls for additional commuter rail and intercity transit service to neighboring communities and other destinations outside the region. This is consistent with the 2020 Oregon State Rail Plan which assesses and recommends improvements to solve issues affecting the state passenger and freight rail systems and balanced with the 2018 Regional Freight Strategy (another component of the RTP) guiding efficient goods movement in the region.

The Oregon State Legislature passed Senate Bill 5701 in April 2024, calling on Metro to study the use of existing heavy freight rail assets in the Portland metropolitan area for passenger rail alternatives to augment existing transportation modes. This study would help identify additional rail opportunities for future travelers, while also considering the potential barriers to resolve and the potential level of costversus benefit. Providing better connections for current and future passenger travel markets in our region could be accomplished using heavy rail corridors and through improvements and/or expansion of LRT corridors. Building on the recently updated High Capacity Transit Strategy and Oregon State Rail Plan, and undertaking an inventory of existing heavy rail and LRT assets, the Regional Rail Futures study will assess potential future passenger rail service corridors that can fill transit system gaps. This study will begin to identify the potential for combining passenger service on existing heavy rail lines and potential improvements to LRT lines in our region where there are gaps. The result will begin a high-level vision of passenger rail in the Portland metropolitan region including LRT connections, and a list of next steps to better understand the potential of moving forward with different improvements. The study may also look at potential connections (a case study) outside of the Portland region and operating and maintenance facility needs.

[aquaticko]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

From the RFP:

I really do hate documents like this. I understand that I may be operating from an "it's all so obvious" position that misses finer details, but a regional transportation document needs to get the big picture right first. Otherwise, the finer details are a waste of time to worry about.

Metro Portland needs, like, 3 big things to shift mode share. In order of decreasing difficulty:

1. Better, more transit-oriented land use. No more suburban--or at this point, ex-urban--sprawl. Infill and densification, of housing, jobs, and retail, are what most west coast cities need to start doing (the east coast needs more of that, too). This is a cultural issue, too; especially given how elevated real estate prices of various kinds are all over the west coast, it's clear that more people want to live and work in these places than we currently make possible. The nice thing is this is a three-birds-one-stone solution, if we can do it: encourage transit use, (eventually) reduce real estate prices, and allow more people to live where they want to.

2. A city-center MAX tunnel, and other grade separation or speed-abetting projects throughout the MAX system. The bones of a good transit system are already there, we just need (1) to structure our growth around it and make use of it better.

3. Better bus/bike infrastructure, especially the former. The city's bus network is pretty well used; how much better-used might it be if we had actual BRT anywhere? Likewise, Portland remains one of the best American bike cities; how many more people would bike around with more extensive protected lanes? (I know I'm one who would). Of course, fixing these problems could also improve MAX ridership.

I'm not sure how much more extensive we need our rail transit to be given current ridership levels. It doesn't make sense to expand our most expensive implementation of fixed-route transit when what we really need viz a vis that transit it's not very intensively used in the first place (though I know that sometimes expansion can abet that; it's just a risk that our current anti-transit culture can't really afford. Pretending otherwise is a pointless misdirection.

[Bigtimecharlie]

Amen to the tunnel idea! I agree that increasing the speed and reliability of the current system by developing more grade separation would likely have more bang for the ridership buck than expanding the system at this point. I’d use Max more if it didn’t take 40 minutes to crawl through downtown. More rapid, less mass, transit focus.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by Bigtimecharlie

Amen to the tunnel idea! I agree that increasing the speed and reliability of the current system by developing more grade separation would likely have more bang for the ridership buck than expanding the system at this point. I’d use Max more if it didn’t take 40 minutes to crawl through downtown. More rapid, less mass, transit focus.

Can we not exaggerate times, it's 21 minutes. You can say that is too long for a train to go from Lloyd District to Goose Hollow, but we don't need to pretend it takes longer than that.

[dizflip]

Indeed, the MAX network is extensive, and we're infinitely better off building the downtown tunnel and improving the frequency of our existing bus routes than pursuing another series of half-assed rail expansions.

That said, extend the Blue Line to Forest Grove.

[ThatDarnSacramentan]

Originally Posted by dizflip

Indeed, the MAX network is extensive, and we're infinitely better off building the downtown tunnel and improving the frequency of our existing bus routes than pursuing another series of half-assed rail expansions.

That said, extend the Blue Line to Forest Grove.

Shame it's probably too difficult or infeasible at this point to extend the Blue on the east side as well up to Mt. Hood Community College.

[babs]

Originally Posted by ThatDarnSacramentan

Shame it's probably too difficult or infeasible at this point to extend the Blue on the east side as well up to Mt. Hood Community College.

Extending to serve the large number of students at MHCC makes sense. Extending to Forest Grove makes zero sense based on potential ridership.

[ThatDarnSacramentan]

Originally Posted by babs

Extending to serve the large number of students at MHCC makes sense. Extending to Forest Grove makes zero sense based on potential ridership.

Certainly there's a logic to it, but looking at a map, unless they decide to eminent domain their way through cul de sac streets and the golf course, I don't see a way to run rail from where the Blue Line currently ends to MHCC.

For that trouble, it would probably be logistically easier to extend the Orange Line down to Gladstone and Oregon City.

[uncommon.name]

Originally Posted by babs

Extending to serve the large number of students at MHCC makes sense. Extending to Forest Grove makes zero sense based on potential ridership.

Not sure how you figure this. MHCC serves about 18,000 students per year total (mix of all of their campuses and online), and it's also somewhat seasonal with summer and holiday breaks. Whereas Forest Grove and Cornelius combine for over 40,000 people. There are a lot of people who commute into the larger cities from FG and Cornelius for work.

[babs]

Originally Posted by uncommon.name

Not sure how you figure this. MHCC serves about 18,000 students per year total (mix of all of their campuses and online), and it's also somewhat seasonal with summer and holiday breaks. Whereas Forest Grove and Cornelius combine for over 40,000 people. There are a lot of people who commute into the larger cities from FG and Cornelius for work.

If there are 18,000 students at MHCC, that's a large population of people going to one area that can be well served by transit especially considering students are generally a hot bed of transit use. If that golf course could be the path by which to expand MAX to MHCC and the rest of the land used for high density house, then this is a slam dunk, no brainer.

40,000 people spread over two rural cities that are sprawled out with few commuting to downtown Portland or jobs anywhere near the MAX line with many accustomed to using their cars is not a recipe for high ridership on a high capacity transit line. Perhaps an FX line but this is not where I would invest our transit dollars to expand MAX, it just doesn't make sense unless there is a commitment from the two cities and Washington County to build high density housing along the route, something I highly doubt will happen.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by ThatDarnSacramentan

Certainly there's a logic to it, but looking at a map, unless they decide to eminent domain their way through cul de sac streets and the golf course, I don't see a way to run rail from where the Blue Line currently ends to MHCC.

For that trouble, it would probably be logistically easier to extend the Orange Line down to Gladstone and Oregon City.

And we all know that isn't happening since Clackamas County voters had to be dicks and make it near impossible to get any new rail expansions to happen in the county without a voter approval.

[babs]

Originally Posted by urbanlife

And we all know that isn't happening since Clackamas County voters had to be dicks and make it near impossible to get any new rail expansions to happen in the county without a voter approval.

The Orange Line is Trimet's worst performing line by far. The route is awful going by so much undevelopable property but I'd love to see Portland make an effort to focus on upzoing and encouraging housing development along the route, at least up until the bus garage on 17th.

How awesome would it be to build a giant platform above the bus garage to support housing construction and put all that land along the line, close to downtown, to good use?

[ThatDarnSacramentan]

Originally Posted by babs

The Orange Line is Trimet's worst performing line by far. The route is awful going by so much undevelopable property but I'd love to see Portland make an effort to focus on upzoing and encouraging housing development along the route, at least up until the bus garage on 17th.

How awesome would it be to build a giant platform above the bus garage to support housing construction and put all that land along the line, close to downtown, to good use?

Looking at the map, the only place I could even see being a housing development opportunity is the park and ride lot at the Tacoma stop. Certainly doable and maybe even a good investment, but there doesn't seem to be much else along the Orange Line. The Sellwood/Eastmoreland stop is sandwiched between a park and a golf course next to a highway, and the SFH owners living along the line in Brooklyn probably aren't going to go willingly with any upzoning there. I think until there's more, stronger reasons for people to travel between downtown and Milwaukie and until the OMSI District gets built up, that line is probably going to suffer. One could even argue it faces competition from the 19 bus because that follows Milwaukie and drops people into the heart of Sellwood.