Sound Transit, WSDOT partner for Amtrak service improvements
Sound Transit will manage construction activities that enable WSDOT to improve speed and reliability by moving Amtrak service through Pierce County to a more direct and less congested track that Sound Transit owns near I-5 rather than along the Puget Sound shoreline.
Seattle’s Sound Transit continued its partnership with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) through an agreement to implement improvements to Amtrak passenger rail service between Portland, Ore. and Vancouver, B.C.
Under contract, Sound Transit will manage construction activities that enable WSDOT to improve speed and reliability by moving Amtrak service through Pierce County to a more direct and less congested track that Sound Transit owns near I-5 rather than along the Puget Sound shoreline.
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Sound Transit will administer all necessary track improvements for WSDOT’s Point Defiance Bypass project between Nisqually and Tacoma, a role that will minimize impacts to Sounder commuter rail service and help complete the work efficiently.
The agreements outline WSDOT’s coverage of all capital costs for the bypass project while providing Sound Transit up to $34 million in federal High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail funding toward its recently-completed D to M Street track and signal improvements project.
Starting in 2017, the investments, which supported the recent extension of Sounder commuter rail service to South Tacoma and Lakewood, will also benefit Amtrak passengers. The agreements also establish parameters for the operations of Sounder and Amtrak trains on the corridor and for Sound Transit’s maintenance of the tracks.
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The Denmark Station $2.3 million construction investment project includes a new 280-foot concrete boarding platform, built eight inches above the top of rail, for improved accessibility for passengers with disabilities and families with small children and much more.
Caltrain and its partners have implemented safety improvements at specific locations in response to known risk conditions, operational needs, and available funding since the agency’s founding.
On a recent episode of METROspectives, METRO Magazine’s Executive Editor Alex Roman sat down with Ana-Maria Tomlinson, Director of Strategic & Cross-Sector Programs at the CSA Group, to explore a bold initiative aimed at addressing those challenges: the development of a National Code for Transit and Passenger Rail Systems in Canada.
Competitive FTA grants will support accessibility upgrades, family-friendly improvements, and cost-efficient capital projects at some of the nation’s oldest and busiest transit hubs.
The 3.92-mile addition will soon take riders west beyond its current Wilshire and Western station in Koreatown, continuing under Wilshire Boulevard through neighborhoods and communities including Hancock Park, Windsor Square, the Fairfax District, and Carthay Circle into Beverly Hills.
Under the plan, all long-distance routes will transition to a universal single-level fleet, replacing today’s mix of bi-level and single-level equipment.
