This website has been archived from TrainWeb.org/washarp to TrainWeb.US/washarp.

This is the Intercity Happenings Page. Most of this stuff involves Amtrak service.

I have reformatted this page and paragraph links are used. Please click one of the links tomorrow to find out more information on a particular subject or topic.

• Bellingham Herald Article - 2/21/98
• Bellingham Herald Article - 2/19/98
• Long Distance Pricing Change - Effective 2/3/98

TRANSPORTATION: Speakers urge lobbying for more train service

By Scott Ayers - Bellingham, WA Herald - Saturday, February 21, 1998

About 75 people crowded into a corner of the Fairhaven Station Train depot Friday to support increased Amtrak passenger train service through Whatcom County.

Political and business leaders were joined by citizens, including children holding signs proclaiming "kids love trains,' in calling for more Amtrak service and state and federal money to pay for it.

"The current schedule is inadequate and insufficient for most of the people in Whatcom County," said U.S. Rep. Jack Metcalf (R-Langley), a former state legislator, who joined the rally. "It's vital the state Legislature and the state Senate find funding to expand the service."

Amtrak trains stop in Bellingham on a daily round trip between Seattle and Vancouver, BC. The train stops in Bellingham at 9:48 a.m. on it's way north, and at 7:48 p.m. on its way back south.

The state is working with Amtrak to create a second run between Vancouver and Seattle. The run would leave Vancouver in the morning and stop in Bellingham on its way to Seattle.

Amtrak officials say they hope the second run can start late in 1999, but it will cost an estimated $34 million.

Amtrak has promised $12 million toward improving tracks between Seattle and the U.S.-Canada Border. Track owner Burlington Northern Santa Fe has promised $4 million for the project.

That leaves $18 million to be contributed by the state and federal governments, but if the legislators approve the spending.

State Rep. Georgia Gardner, D-Blaine, said northwest Washington legislators are behind a plan to spend $8 million in state funds, but partisan political battles may kill the plan.

"This is a very doable, reasonable request, but it will only happen if and only if we get a transportation budget," Gardner said. "What we need from you is phone calls, e-mails, and letters to the people that can make it happen."

Gardner said those pleas should be aimed at Rep. Clyde Ballard, the Republican speaker of the state house, and Sen. Dan McDonald, majority leader in the state senate.

Train supporters at the meeting said they hope the money comes through.

"I'm very much interested in service from here to Portland, where I have family," said Pearl Beaver of Bellingham." I'd also use the train to attend cultural affairs in Seattle and then come home."

Rally speakers said they hope there will eventually be many daily runs between Bellingham and the cities, serving as commuting option to traveling on Interstate 5.

"Those of us who live inbetween have the desire to be more than the runway between Seattle and Greater Vancouver, BC," Bellingham Mayor Mark Asmundson said.

Amtrak Service through Whatcom County restarted in 1995 after a 14-year absence. Last year, more than 80,000 people rode the train between Seattle and Vancouver.

Travel: State, federal funds needed to create morning run by late '99.

BY Scott Ayers, Bellingham Herald, Thursday, Feburary 19, 1998.

Backers of rail service through Bellingham are making a push to get a second train to come here, creating a morning run to Seattle.

"They'll hold a rally Friday at the Bellingham Ferry Terminal, stocked with political leaders, in an effort to show the state and federal governments, that Whatcom County residents want more and better passenger train service. Supporters hope a second train can be added late next year.

"The thing I've consistently heard whan I'm up in (Whatcom County) is people want a morning train to Seattle to come doen and go to the theater, or sporting events or for business," said Kurt Laird, Amtrak's general manager for the Pacific Northwest Corridor.

Amtrak trains stop in Bellingham on a daily round trip between Seattle and Vancouver, BC. The train stops in Bellingham at 9:48 a.m. on it's way north, and at 7:48 p.m. on its way back south. It arrives in Seattle after 10 p.m., requiring anyone going to Seattle or points beyond to spend the evening. In addition, on weekends and in the summer the run to Vancouver is frequently sold out before the train arrives in Bellingham.

Amtrak Service through Whatcom County restarted in 1995 after a 14-year absence and by most measurements has been a big success. Last year, more than 80,000 people rode the train between Seattle and Vancouver, and the run is popular, ranking first in the Amtrak National system in customer satisfaction surveys, Laird said.

But for many Whatcom County Residents, the system has been of little benefit, Laird and others say.

"It is necessary, if this is going to be be successful in the long-term, for there to be more trains between Vancouver and Seattle," Laird said. "The system we have now doesn't serve the people of Edmonds or Everett or Mount Vernon or Bellingham."

The state is working with Amtrak on creating the second run between Vancouver and Seattle. The run would leave Vancouver in the morning and stop in Bellingham its way to Seattle. Current plans call for the run to start sometime next year.

It will cost an estimated $34 million.

Last Thursday, Amtrak announced plans to invest $30 million in improvements throughout its Pacific Northwest Corridor this year, including $12 million toward improving tracks between Seattle and the U.S.-Canadian Border - necessary for the second train to be added.

The 1998 capital improvement includes upgrades to track and stations - including restoration of Seattle's 92 year King Street Station and Centralia's rail depot.

The state is also seeking approval from the Federal Railroad Adminstration to allow Spanish-built Talgo Trains operating in the corridor to reach 90 mph beginning this fall. The top speed allowed in Washington State now is 79 mph in a few unpopulated stretches.

Laird said Burlington Northern Santa Fe has promised $4 million on tope of Amtrak's $12 million toward the second run through Whatcom County. That leaves $18 million to be contributed by the state and federal governments, but only if legislators approve the spending.

Friday's Bellingham rally is to "Show support for what Amtrak has done, but to push for funding into the future." said Bruce Agnew, director of the Cascadia Project, a Seattle-based organization which works on regional issues, including transportation.

"This train now connects Seattle and Vancouver," Agnew said. "This is a chance for the Whatcom County community to make this service part of their own community, to make it part of their own travel rights."

Agnew sees the second train as just the beginning of expanding train service north from Seattle - with eventually seven or eight trains a day.

"When you get that, it becomes real viable in terms of being a real transportation option." he said.

Source: Friends of Amtrak - 1/19/98

From reliable sources, starting February 3rd, Amtrak will change its fare structure for long distance trains (i.e Empire Builder). The new setup will resemble the structure already used on the NorthEast Corridor and Amtrak West. There will no longer be round-trip excursion fares between two given points, but rather a series of one-way fares at various price levels which will be subjected to yield management. In other words, instead of booking a round-trip ticket between two points, a passenger will book two one-way tickets. The tickets may carry two different fares depending on how much each individual train happens to be sold out at the time of booking.

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Last Update: 03/02/98
Web Author: Warren Y. Yee