High Speed Rail and Amtrak News

[maccoinnich]

Originally Posted by NJD

^ Good point Macc, I fear WES will leave a bad taste in Trimet's mouth for decades

I've thought about that too. It was built because it was comparatively easy to do, not because it made the most sense... and it's suffering because of that. And it could potentially lead people to think that all commuter rail is a bad idea.

[MightyAlweg]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

I've thought about that too. It was built because it was comparatively easy to do, not because it made the most sense... and it's suffering because of that. And it could potentially lead people to think that all commuter rail is a bad idea.

It's also, almost literally, a train to nowhere. From Wilsonville to the Beaverton TC? Why? (Yeah, yeah, on paper you can transfer to MAX and go somewhere else, but that's not how most people think. With each transfer you kill off a huge chunk of your audience.)

WES would have been great if it had gone from Wilsonville/Tualitin/Beaverton and then nonstop to Union Station downtown. Heavy commuter rail succeeds in many cities when it rounds up folks in the outer suburbs and then heads straight into the heart of the city. Going from the outer suburbs to the middle suburbs isn't doing much for anyone, as ridership clearly attests.

I honestly think TriMet planners saw the traffic on the two-lane 217 "freeway" and thought if they built a train that paralleled that traffic for a few miles that people would pull off the freeway and use the train. Those types of planners are idiots.

[NJD]

^ well, it wasn't a Trimet project at all, it was a Washington County deal, they asked Trimet to run it after the alignment was set. Wash. County was looking at alternatives to the $1-2 billion reconfiguration of 217, and some politician came up with the suburb-to-suburb commuter rail idea... unfortunately, Trimet has the recognition now (which is compounded by the Buy American scandal with Colorado Railcar) and are now forever tarnished in the realm of commuter rail. Note that in Trimet and Metro's future plans there are already replacements coming for WES... Washington County and the Feds came up with the money for WES, but now Trimet has to foot the bill for keeping it going (which it currently runs at $30 a passenger mile, compare that to around $2 for MAX and frequent bus services).

[end rant]

Regardless, I hope the Cascades gets moved to the OE alignment, then WES will actually link to it... Perhaps then an additional rearrangement or realignment can be made with the WES rolling stock to connect to Portland and/or Salem as a supplement to Amtrak services. Perhaps its all wishful thinking though...

[JordanL]

What a waste... why wouldn't Washington County and the Feds throw in for a portion of a MAX line instead? It would cost more, but they'll probably both pay parts of that when it happens anyway.

[65MAX]

Not a waste.... what they did build can easily be converted to MAX service in the future. Some double tracking, some additional stations (and modify the existing ones), electrification, and voila.... the Red Line goes to Wilsonville instead of terminating a few stops west of the Round.

They'd have to eliminate freight trains between Beaverton and Tualatin first, but how many freight trains use that stretch of rail anyway? Anyone have actual numbers?

[JordanL]

Originally Posted by 65MAX

Not a waste.... what they did build can easily be converted to MAX service in the future. Some double tracking, some additional stations (and modify the existing ones), electrification, and voila.... the Red Line goes to Wilsonville instead of terminating a few stops west of the Round.

They'd have to eliminate freight trains between Beaverton and Tualatin first, but how many freight trains use that stretch of rail anyway? Anyone have actual numbers?

Those tracks are the same gauge as MAX tracks?

[65MAX]

Yes, the tracks are the same gauge. So all the new trackwork they laid for WES can be used by MAX if the route is electrified. The station platforms are higher for WES vs MAX though and would have to be reconfigured.

[bvpcvm]

sure, it could be done, but while that might have been an appropriate route for commuter rail, it wouldn't work for LRT. you'd have to have at the very least a stop actually at washington square, and it would be a big boost to ridership to have stops near some of all those office parks near I-5/217: they could keep maybe half of the route, but for the rest they'd have to build new track which jogs away and then back, in some places for a significant distance.

[electricron]

The WES trains run on P&W rail corridor, so there's little chance P&W will allow MAX light rail vehicles on their tracks. The only WES tracks not owned by P&W are located where the WES trains leave the P&W corridor, specifically in Beaverton and in Wilsonville.

Trimet may be able to buy the P&W rail corridor later, in whole or in part, which will not be cheap. Trimet would have to lay exclusive light rail tracks in the corridor for their non FRA compliant MAX light rail vehicles, crossing over or under (grade separated) all freight spurs to P&W industrial customers, which there are plenty.
There apparently isn't enough demand for light rail either. Commuter rail is the correct choice for this corridor for a variety of reasons....

[maccoinnich]

From Vancouver Observer, via STB:

Vancouver, Seattle and Portland sign pact to push for high-speed rail


Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and Portland Mayor Sam Adams have signed a protocol agreement that will unite the three major cities in the push to secure a high-speed railway service through the Pacific Northwest region.

Mayor Robertson made the announcement at a special meeting of key state, business, railway and government leaders in Vancouver to discuss advancing high-speed rail between British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon.

“Having a high-speed link to Seattle, Portland and points further south will help get more vehicles off the road, provide an attractive tourist option and create significant economic opportunities,” Mayor Robertson said. “We are seeing the benefits of Amtrak passenger rail expansion in Vancouver. We need an organized, strategic approach to ensure we have a strong, united voice for the expansion of rail service along the key Pacific Northwest corridor.”

“Regional cooperation on high-speed rail between our cities is a tremendously positive step,” said Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn. “We look forward to working with Vancouver and Portland to bring our cities even closer.”

"The Pacific Northwest leads the way in sustainable development and smart transit," said Portland Mayor Sam Adams. "Linking our region will mean increased trade and tourism, long-term manufacturing and engineering work, and a significant reduction in our collective carbon footprint."

As part of the on-going push to strengthen railway links through the Cascadia corridor, Mayor Robertson hosted a meeting of senior rail, government and business leaders to discuss international railway links and to hear about California’s plan for a $2.25 billion high-speed rail connection between San Francisco and San Diego.

The Vancouver meeting of rail and government officials was arranged by Seattle’s Cascadia Institute and the Vancouver Economic Development Commission. The meeting is being held in conjunction with the American Public Transit Association Convention.

and, from Seattle Transit Blog:

Class I railroads and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) are making another attempt to reach an accord over high speed rail disbursement guidelines.

Most of the large railroads that are targeted for federal high-speed-rail grants are upset at the ground rules insisted upon by the FRA. The guidelines dictate what should be in stakeholder agreements that railroads and state departments of transportation must sign before federal money is spent to improve those railroads for higher-speed passenger trains. They have expressed their displeasure to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

Most of the Class I railroads complain:

the guidelines were drafted without any consultation with the railroads or for that matter any of the state’s DOTs.
they are required to guarantee on-time performance even better than present levels with draconian penalties if goals are not reached.
that the federal government will be the arbiter of how new capacity will be allocated between passenger and freight traffic.

One of the few railroads not to voice any opposition, however, is BNSF. BNSF is involved in HSR projects in both California and Washington State. BNSF asked for a two-week grace period where they can negotiate directly with WSDOT and draft a stakeholder agreement directly that could then be used as a framework for other railroads. Such an agreement would contain language that the other Class I railroads would find acceptable for their own projects.

This request has been granted by LaHood and the FRA will participate in the negotiations. This has been confirmed by WSDOT.

With at least three of the Class I railroads unwilling to sign any agreements whose terms are dictated by the FRA guidelines, the White House finds BNSF’s willingness to find common ground to be worth watching and may help boost their priority within the current administration.

Click here to view the stakeholder agreements.

Both of these are good stories for PNW high speed rail.

[65MAX]

Agreed, both great news for the NW Corridor. But "$2.25 billion" for HSR between SF and SD? That's more like $40 billion.

[NJD]

*sigh* Oregon's low transportation taxes strike again...

Oregon won’t apply for latest high-speed rail grant
DJC: Wednesday, June 30, 2010
BY: Nathalie Weinstein


The U.S. Department of Transportation today announced $2.1 billion in grants for high-speed rail corridor proposals and $245 million for specific construction projects within those corridors, but the Oregon Department of Transportation won’t apply for any of it.

Though ODOT has several multi-million dollar rail projects on the boards, Betsy Imholt, ODOT rail study director, said the transit department won’t apply for this round of funding. The reason, Imholt said, is that the timeline for the grants, which must be applied for by Aug. 6, is too tight to find a 20 percent funding match from another group.

“All of ODOT’s money is legally tied to other projects and can’t be used for this,” Imholt said. “The money from road fees has to go back into roads. The timeline is just too fast to find a project partner.”

If ODOT had a 20 percent funding match from another source, it could apply for funding for studies to improve freight rail connections near the Rose Quarter and to improve the traffic flow of freight trains along the east bank of the Willamette River, Imholt said.

In the meantime, ODOT is waiting to hear back on a DOT grant it applied for in May to update the state’s rail plan, Imholt said, and to study the possibility of a high-speed rail line between Eugene and Portland.

[65MAX]

Originally Posted by NJD

The U.S. Department of Transportation today announced $2.1 billion in grants for high-speed rail corridor proposals and $245 million for specific construction projects within those corridors, but the Oregon Department of Transportation won’t apply for any of it.

OK, but what about WSDOT?

95% of the Seattle-Portland HSR line is in Washington state. So I care more about whether WSDOT has their s*** together.

[NJD]

^ wsdot got $590 million last round (the round that had 0% local match), so I doubt they can get much more until after that money pool is dried up.

[NJD]

News from a few weeks ago: recommendations for dedicated passenger rail funding in the Willamette Valley. Relatively small funding stream compared to the one-time-only Stimulus funds WSDOT and CHSRA received, but it's a great start. The stream can be used for incremental upgrades or bonding a larger project if Fed matching-funds become available again or for a RRIF loan.

Oregon state task force recommends rail taxing district
By Hasso Hering, Albany Democrat-Herald | Posted: Friday, December 30, 2011

An Oregon state task force is recommending the formation of a Willamette Valley taxing district to raise money for improved passenger rail service between Eugene and Portland, via Albany and Salem.

“Through an average increase in property taxes across the six counties of 1.38 percent, $45 million could be raised annually,” the task force said.

In addition, the group recommended that:

• $20 million a year in lottery proceeds be allocated for improvements on freight railroads.

• Property taxes paid by railroads, some $10 million to $15 million a year statewide, be taken from the counties and given to the state for rail improvements.

• A monthly fee of 17 to 26 cents be collected on Oregon land lines and cell phones, raising $10 million to $15 million to reimburse local governments for the loss of railroad property taxes.

• The major railroads, BNSF and Union Pacific, be given a tax credit for their investments in rail improvements. Because Oregon ranks far behind — 39th — in freight tonnage, the companies invest most of their capital elsewhere, the report said.

more...

[zilfondel]

^ About time they start having this conversation. I noticed the task force consisted of some fairly influential institution and business leaders.

[NJD]

no tunnel for Portland-Eugene passenger rail...

check it out (pdf)

the remaining alternatives (pdf)

[Photogeric]

What I think they should do is take that stretch of track on the inner east side and bring it below grade in the same spot it is now. They don't even need to cover it. That would allow the trains to move faster through that area, eliminate those horrible traffic problems and the countless horn honks that occur with every train that passes through that stretch. Since that is probably only a mile in total, wouldn't that be feasible? That might even be able to cut off a couple minutes for Amtrak. Has that ever been studied?

[hat]

How about a new station at SE Rhine? Amtrak passenger rail to Oregon City (and Vancouver) might be more feasible/useful if built in conjunction with a MAX down Powell.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/101004589@N07/9657053996/

Developing the line through Lake Oswego across the Willamette and up the existing line seems a much more direct and cost-effective route.

[dubu]

dam thats a really good idea