July 15, 2020

The Washington State Department of Transportation's blog published a brief update on Amtrak Cascades focusing on the replacement of Talgo Series VI equipment and the re-activation of the Point Defiance Bypass.

All Aboard Washington is pleased that progress is being made to restart Amtrak's use of the Point Defiance Bypass. We recognize that the ongoing health and economic situations make it hard to anticipate the future, but we're glad that planning for improvements of the Amtrak Cascades service is moving forward.

We are disappointed that there were no details given about expectations for new equipment aside from the temporary Horizon cars provided by Amtrak. The taxpayers of Washington have invested a tremendous amount of money into Amtrak Cascades service in order to make it a superior transportation alternative. We believe that the benefits of this service justify the best equipment that we can afford, and we look forward to hearing more about what WSDOT plans to do maintain and improve this valuable public service.