The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) co-funds the Amtrak Cascades intercity
passenger rail service with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).
Ridership during the first quarter of 2024 was resilient, ending with an impressive March,
which posted the highest ridership of any month since the 1994 inception of the Amtrak
Cascades in Oregon with 14,263 riders. https://www.oregon.gov/odot/About/GR/2024_Q1_Passenger_Rail_Report.pdf#AmtrakCascades#PassengerRail#oregon#WashingtonState
“New train routes are coming…Just don’t count on the railroad that’s tied to Washington to lead the way.
“That would be Amtrak…A few weeks ago, it released a new map of some proposed routes. Two of these — a Seattle to Denver and a Denver to Los Angeles route — would include major stops in Salt Lake City…because of regulatory hurdles, the construction of these lines would take an estimated 15 years.” https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2024/03/28/passenger-railroads-are-coming-to-utah/#GreaterNW#PassengerRail#SaltLakeCity
Can you guess what transportation markets will be like in 2039?
🙄 I can guess that pursuing low-carbon transport like rail will be even more important in 15 years.
I don’t believe a private company will have SLC—LV—LA connected by high speed rail in 4 years. (I’m willing to be pleasantly surprised.) But the larger point is that I don’t believe the author wants a private competitor to spur Amtrak into action. He sounds like he just wants to shit on government projects.
“Bring the winter charm of Amtrak Cascades to your home!
Our exclusive Winter Posters are now available for download as desktop wallpapers, mobile backgrounds, and full-size print posters at amtrakoregon.com. Get yours today!” #AmtrakCascades#AmtrakPoster
“Preliminary concepts for Amtrak Cascades service growth have surfaced, offering an early look into the potential direction of frequencies and infrastructure enhancements to support them. As part of a renewed service development plan process responding to public feedback, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has developed five options to illustrate different frequency levels, stop patterns, and top speeds.” https://www.theurbanist.org/2023/10/16/concepts-for-amtrak-cascades-service-growth-have-arrived/#Amtrak#AmtrakCascades#PassengerRail