More Federal Funding for WA Rail on the Way

WSDOT just announced via press release and their twitter feed (@WSDOT) that in the latest round federal rail investments for passenger rail WA State received $31 Million.

It looks like most of the money will go towards:

• Retrofitting King Street Station in Seattle
• Building a permanent station in Tukwilla
• Building bypass passing lanes near Mt. Vernon which will help with congestion issues.

Here is more directly from the WSDOT press release:

More than $18.2 million will be spent to seismically retrofit King Street Station in Seattle and its clock tower, as well as restore the station’s main hall and upgrade electrical, mechanical and plumbing systems. This work will transform the busy and historic station and adjacent tracks and platforms to meet current and future needs of expanding intercity and commuter rail service. The effort is a partnership by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), Amtrak, the city of Seattle, Sound Transit and BNSF Railway.

The grant also contributes $9 million to Sound Transit’s Tukwila Station project, a new train station for use by Sounder commuter trains and Amtrak Cascades intercity trains. The project converts the existing temporary platform to a modern full-service station.

“Making these improvements will help give passengers the reliable intercity train services that allow them to choose transit over driving, and help us meet our state goals for reducing how much we drive,” Washington Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond said.

In Mount Vernon, $3.3 million will be spent to build sidings – passing lanes for trains – to improve speed and reliability for freight and passenger trains. The remaining $400,000 will be spent developing a State Rail Plan integrating freight and passenger service – a move that makes Washington more competitive in winning future rail funding.

This latest round of grants comes from two Federal Railroad Administration programs. A total of $2.4 billion from the 2010 DOT Appropriations Act was made available in August to continue the development of high-speed intercity passenger rail corridors across the country.

This is great news for passenger rail service on the Cascade's Corridor.  It is rewarding to see the Feds investing in State's like Washington where we've made a significant investment in passenger rail on the State and Local levels already.

Here is Senator Murray's Quote from the release:
"This funding will help create and save good paying jobs as we work to modernize out state's rail infrastructure," said Senator Patty Murray. "In addition to helping commuters get where they're going this investment will also benefit the movement of freight rail in our state that is so critical to our economy." 

Full release can be found here: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/2010/10/102810_MorerailgrantstoWashington.htm

FTA Awards Next Round of Bus Urban Circulator Grants

The FTA recently announced the next round of urban bus circulator/sustainability grants.

Here is the whole list, http://www.fta.dot.gov/news/news_events_11820.html

One award I found most interesting was the bike sharing program in Boston administered by MBTA.  It looks as though the MBTA argued that funding this bike sharing  program would boost transit ridership and further sustainability goals.  $3 million federal dollars going towards bike sharing is pretty exciting.


Project: Boston Bike Share Program: (Bus and Bus Livability)Sponsor: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)
Amount: $3,003,051
An innovative and truly transformational project, the Regional Bike Share System is a multiple-city bike sharing system making thousands of bicycles available throughout the Boston metropolitan area with the swipe of a card. The Bike Share system was conceived as an extension and enhancement of the existing public transit system. More than 500 Bike Share stations will be located at or near Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) bus and rail transit stations to encourage and facilitate use of public transit. The system will create two million new bike trips per year.

Here are the two projects that received money in Washington.  I don't know much about the Skagit Transit Park and Ride lot, although it is interesting to note it is one of only two park and ride lots nationally to be funded under this sustainability focused this program.  I also can't wait for day when I can access King Street Station from its original internal staircase and admire at the restored original ceiling.

Project: Seattle Intermodal Hub (Bus and Bus Livability)Sponsor: City of Seattle
Amount: $2,400,000
The City of Seattle will restore the historic King Street Station and improve the Westlake Hub,  creating two intermodal transportation hubs in downtown Seattle that connect rail, bus, streetcar, and pedestrian networks in Seattle’s Center City. Improvements to these two hubs are critical to implementation of Seattle’s Center City Access Strategy to revitalize 10 downtown neighborhoods, fight regional sprawl and build a sustainable economy and community.

Project: Chuckanut Park and Ride (Bus and Bus Livability)Sponsor: Skagit Transit
Amount: $2,800,000
The Chuckanut Park and Ride project will be a high capacity parking and transit transfer facility located just off the I-5 Chuckanut/ SR 11 exit in Burlington, Washington.  It will accommodate more than 300 parking spaces and include a bus pad for transit access; passenger shelters; bicycle racks and safety features such as improved lighting, fencing, and security cameras. The goal is to supply necessary transit infrastructure, relieve congestion and also offer convenience, safety and attractiveness to transit and vanpool users, as well as leisure travelers

All Aboard WA to Hold Informative Rail Meeting in Mt. Vernon on June 12th

Our friends at All Aboard Washington will be holding an informative meeting on June 12th in Mt. Vernon to discuss rail current rail issues. The guest speakers will be Mike Pracht of US Railcar and Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen (D-Camano Island). I recommend that if you that wan to hear what is going on in rail in Washington State you attend this meeting.

Here is all the info:
Jun 12, 2010: All Aboard Washington meeting in Mt. Vernon, 10:30-2:00.
All Aboard Washington meeting in Mt. Vernon, 10:30-2:00.
Location: Il Granaio Restaurant, just north of the Skagit Transportation Center.

The Second Train to Vancouver is Coming August 19th

Celebrate the Primary Election by taking the second train from Seattle to Vancouver, B.C. This is a overdue and exciting breakthrough for intercity rail travel on the Cascade Corridor. It is crazy that the Canadian Immigrations stalled this process at all. Regardless I am glad to see the deal finally came through! Passengers will now be able to ride from Portland to B.C. on one continuous train.

A full release is here on the WDSOT Site:
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/2009/08/08122009_AmtrakCascadessecondtrain.htm