STB Appoints Inaugural PRAC Members (UPDATED 4/2)
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) on March 28 named 21 voting members to the newly formed Passenger Rail Advisory Committee (PRAC).
Washington State Department of Transportation
Transit Briefs: Amtrak, NJ Transit
Amtrak to restore full service on the Cascade line to pre-pandemic levels. Also, NJ Transit expands Student Discount Program to include part-time students.
B.C., WSDOT Invest in Next Phase of Vancouver-Seattle-Portland High-Speed Rail Study
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and the Province of British Columbia (B.C.) are supporting the feasibility of a high-speed rail service connecting Vancouver, Seattle and Portland with $4 million in funding and a $300,000 investment, respectively, toward the next phase of the Ultra-High-Speed Ground Transportation (UHSGT) project.
Transit Briefs: Amtrak, LACMTA
Amtrak Cascades service to all cities north of Seattle, Wash., including Vancouver, British Columbia, will resume in September. Also, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) has released the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the extension of the L Line (Gold), known as the Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2 project.
Settled: Amtrak Cascades Derailment Case
A settlement has been reached more than four years after Amtrak Cascades train 501, on its inaugural Point Defiance Bypass run, derailed in DuPont, Wash., as it entered a 30-mph curve at approximately 79 mph.
Amtrak Service Returning to Point Defiance Bypass
Amtrak will resume Cascades service on the Point Defiance Bypass between Seattle, Wash., and Portland, Ore., on Nov. 18, nearly four years after an overspeed derailment stopped service there.
People News: Sound Transit, Quandel, Railroad Consultants
Seattle’s Sound Transit appointed a Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer; Chicago rail and transit firm Quandel Consultants elevated three employees to Senior Director roles; and Railroad Consultants, PLLC hired a Chief Operating Officer, based at its Murfreesboro, Tenn., headquarters.
NTSB: Inadequate planning, training caused Amtrak 501 wreck
Failure to provide an effective mitigation method for a hazardous curve and inadequate training of a locomotive engineer is what led to the derailment of an Amtrak passenger train that hurtled off a railroad bridge and onto a busy highway in DuPont, Wash., on the morning of Dec. 18, 2017, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
HSR in the PNW?
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is envisioning a 250-mph “ultra-high speed ground transportation system” connecting Vancouver, B.C.; Seattle, Wash. and Portland, Ore., with Seattle-Vancouver and Seattle-Portland travel times reduced to one hour each. Engineering and professional services consultancy WSP will be preparing a business case analysis for what WSDOT describes as “an international, public-private partnership of WSDOT; the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT); the British Columbia Ministry of Jobs, Trade and Technology; and Microsoft Corp.”
UPDATED DEC. 20: Overspeed cause of Amtrak Cascades fatal derailment
Three people were killed and more than 70 were injured as an Amtrak Cascades train derailed early Dec. 18 while traversing a curve leading into an overpass at Interstate 5 southwest of Tacoma, Wash., sending a locomotive and passenger cars crashing onto the highway below.