Dear advocates for climate solutions and rail transit mobility in Washington State,
WE NEED YOUR HELP to get better Amtrak Cascades regional rail transportation this year!

Click “Start Writing” and the letter will be sent as written or you can personalize it.

If you prefer, instead of using the Action Network tool at the right, you can copy/paste the letter to your legislators in your own email. Sometimes letters are better received this way, and the links are active! The email address for any legislator is First.Last@leg.wa.gov
The link to the Governor's contact form is here.

Below is the letter to send as written or to customize if you prefer to send it on your own:

Subject: EARTH MONTH 2023 - Improve Amtrak Cascades Rail Service

Dear (Senator or Representative, or Governor Inslee),

Please provide funding for critical improvements to the Amtrak Cascades program. The Point Defiance Bypass curve revision and the third track between Nisqually and Centralia are examples of projects that are just waiting to be built and that will improve reliability and shorten trip times on the corridor. These projects fix the bottlenecks that impede travel and they leverage the advantages of the eight new train sets expected to arrive in 2025.

I am concerned about the WSDOT contract timeline for delivery of a Service Development Plan (SDP) for the Amtrak Cascades. The WSDOT website and recent report to legislators indicate they will be starting over with a new, preliminary SDP, with the scope of the contract identifying a range of service alternatives. We already have a service plan. We need the SDP to be based upon a high growth scenario and on the existing Long Range Plan for Amtrak Cascades (ACLRP)(2006), which meets all Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) prerequisites for an SDP, and just needs updating. The FRA, according to their recent information on their Corridor ID Program, does not require an extensive SDP for an existing service on an existing corridor. The process is being unnecessarily delayed. It needs to be completed in time for federal funding opportunities. Please ask WSDOT to accelerate finalization of the Cascades SDP.

https://wsdot.wa.gov/construction-planning/statewide-plans/passenger-rail-plans/amtrak-cascades-service-development-plan
https://wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2022-06/Amtrak-Cascades-Service-Development-Plan-Progress-Report-June2022.pdf

The whole Amtrak Cascades program is taking way too long. WSDOT has also established another 20 years for completion of the program that was supposed to finished in 2018! This timeline unnecessarily delays crucial projects that can help us meet our 2030 climate goals of reducing vehicle miles traveled and reducing emissions.

We are still waiting for improvements such as minimum of 13 trains per day between Seattle and Portland and minimum of 5 trains per day between Seattle and Vancouver BC with reliable, shorter travel times. These goals must be realized within the next decade. With the climate crisis upon us, we cannot delay.

As you know, rail transportation uses only a third or less of any kind of power as compared with cars and trucks, and even when using diesel fuel, rail generates only a third or less of the emissions of comparable highway traffic per passenger mile, plus, we have the option to electrify our rail lines and yards and ports. Reducing transportation emissions is a crucial part of preventing worst case climate scenarios, and we are already behind schedule.

Please help our state address climate change with every means possible - by using our existing rail networks. If you have questions, please contact info@climaterailalliance.org.

Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely,

ADDITIONAL TALKING POINTS TO WRITE YOUR OWN LETTER:

The timeline for completing the Amtrak Cascades program is way too long. We need reliability and shorter trips and more trains asap.

By 2018 we were supposed to be doing 2.5 hours between Seattle and Portland, and 2.75 hours between Seattle and Vancouver BC. I don't want to wait another 20 years for this route to be effective.

I understand that WSDOT thinks 6 trains per day on the Amtrak Cascades is enough. It's not nearly enough. To be effective regional transit, we need at least double that number, and they need to be faster and on reliable schedules. We can be going 110mph on this route and we should. That will require investment and we should be getting federal money to make it happen.

Rail is a climate solution, and we need to do much better on improving our networks for near-term emissions reduction and energy savings.

We need better regional mobility. It's an equity issue too because about 25% of Washingtonians don't drive cars and need options. But our highways are congested and dangerous. Please fund better regional rail service - the Amtrak Cascades north-south corridor.

Encouraging more ridership will be economically and environmentally advantageous, and better utilizing our rail networks will mean a significant return on our investments.

Rail uses only 1/3 of any kind of energy and generates less than 1/3 greenhouse gas, as compared with equivalent highway transportation. We need to conserve where we can in seeking to electrify everything. Developing rail is a good way to conserve energy and also reduce emissions.