FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION : PASSENGER RAIL

Washington's Role in High-Speed Rail

Along with Oregon , Washington State is one of two states encompassed by the Pacific Northwest designated high speed ground transportation (HSGT) corridor. Throughout the 1990's, the Washington State Department of Transportation has made sustained progress towards the implementation of HSGT in the state. In 1997, the FRA Commercial Feasibility Study concluded that options ranging from Accelerail 90 to Accelerail 125E would be viable in the Pacific Northwest. Current projects being performed by Amtrak and the State of Washington are leading to the implementation of such service. Since 1994, when the state of Washington began a lease on European Talgo trainset, service quality on the corridor has markedly improved, and train frequencies have increased. There are currently several projects underway to further decrease travel times, and to provide safer, more reliable, and more frequent rail service to the state.

Evidencing a significant and sustained commitment to the Pacific Northwest corridor, the State of Washington has invested $125.0 million through 1998 and is planning to invest almost $300 million in 1999-2005. Funds have been and will be directed toward both equipment acquisitions (new Talgo trainsets) and fixed facility upgrades (track improvements as well as development of station and equipment servicing facilities in Seattle).

Equipment Improvements: Talgo Train

Washington State has been demonstrating the Spanish-built Talgo in revenue service since April 1, 1994. The Talgo train tilts while traveling through curves and thus provides a more comfortable ride and potentially faster trip time than conventional equipment. After extensive on-site testing, the FRA granted a waiver allowing Amtrak to utilize the full extent of the Talgos ' unique tilting capabilities, thus increasing the maximum speed allowed around certain curves. As a result of these increased speeds and the subsequent improvement in equipment utilization allowed by the waiver, the number of daily Talgo round trips along the corridor increased from two to three in May 1998, and trip times between the endpoints of Seattle and Eugene, Oregon were shortened by up to twenty minutes.

Because of the dramatic increase in ridership and revenue that the Talgo service developed (an annual increase of over 30% for certain periods), the State took delivery of two custom-built Talgo trains (at $10 million each) in late 1998 for use in the Eugene, Portland, to Seattle segment of the Pacific Northwest Corridor. Amtrak placed these new trainsets in service in January 1999. Amtrak purchased a similar Talgo train in 1998 which is operating between Seattle and Vancouver, BC, and expects delivery of another in mid 1999 to add a second daily round trip between Seattle and Vancouver, BC.

Infrastructure Improvements

Track Improvements: In addition to acquiring new equipment, Washington State has also made significant investments in the track infrastructure of the Pacific Northwest corridor. The Washington State Legislature appropriated $42.6 million to the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) in the 1997-1999 biennium to begin track improvements. In its first track program, Washington State is working in conjunction with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway, which will contribute one-quarter of the total cost of the project. Amtrak is participating in an additional cooperative project to upgrade track and signals between Seattle and Blaine, WA, to initiate a second round-trip train between Vancouver BC and Seattle targeted for summer 1999.

Grade Crossing Improvements. Since 1993, the State received a total of $3,900,000 under FRA's specialized program for grade crossing hazard reduction on emerging high-speed railroads. With those funds, the State has closed or upgraded 19 public or private grade crossings, researched the application of positive train separation technology to the activation of highway/rail grade crossing signals, and purchased video monitoring systems.

Positive Train Separation. FRA made a grant of $750,000 to Washington to coordinate high speed rail requirements with the Positive Train Separation (PTS) prototype being developed jointly by Burlington Northern/Santa Fe (BNSF) and Union Pacific (UP) railroads in Washington and Oregon. PTS will use digital radios and computers on board each locomotive to automatically enforce safe operation. Mostly at their own expense, BNSF and UP set up prototype operations and tested the basic technology to verify the feasibility of PTS operation. The FRA grant provides resources to assure that early PTS design can be upgraded in the future for high speed passenger operations.

In support of the PTS project, FRA sponsored the successful conversion of a US Air Force Ground Wave Emergency Network (GWEN) transmitter site at Appleton, Washington, to provide inland coverage with differential Global Positioning System correction signals. The Appleton conversion effort has also served as a prototype for utilizing other GWEN sites for the planned Nationwide DGPS initiative.

For Further Information:

The information above is a summary from FRA's perspective of current high-speed rail activity in Washington State. For additional information, readers are referred to:

Washington State Contacts for High-Speed Rail and Maglev
Web Site http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/rail/
*Organization*	*Personal Contact*	*Topics*
WASHINGTON State Department of Transportation Public Transportation and Rail Division P.O. Box 47387 Olympia, WA 98504-7387	Ken Uznanski Rail Passenger Program Manager Phone: (360) 705-7905 Fax: (360) 705-6821 e-mail: uznansk@wsdot.wa.gov	Amtrak; high-speed and passenger rail service