Tagged: Amtrak Cascades

Climate experts have predicted a colder and wetter than normal winter on the way for Washington, thanks to a second year in a row of La Nina’s effects. 

While some people in the area will be happy about a surge in showers, a lot more are probably disappointed or worried.

The late train from Seattle to Vancouver, British Columbia, will no longer be coming to a stop.

The nightly service was scheduled to end on October 31, when Canadian officials said they expected Amtrak to start paying for the extra border staff it requires. The Canada Border Services Agency wanted $1500 a day to compensate for keeping patrol agents around later into the evening, according to Railway Age Magazine:

Neither Amtrak, nor the Washington State Department of Transportation, was willing to fund such a cost; CBSA responded by considering the second Cascades frequency a “temporary” service.  

Today is the deadline for Washington and other states to apply for a share of more than $2 billion in federal high-speed rail money that Florida rejected. State officials hope to use some of that money to tackle landslides that have made rail travel this winter unreliable.

Making headlines this morning:

• Investigation Begins into Port Orchard Shootings
• King County's 'Brightwater' Grinds Toward Completion
• All Aboard: Amtrak Ridership Gains in Northwest