OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Washington will get nearly 600-million dollars to improve Amtrak rail service along the I-5 corridor. Meanwhile Oregon will get just a fraction of that. The Obama administration announced the federal grants [today] Thursday. Olympia Correspondent Austin Jenkins explains what it will mean for rail travel on the West side of the Cascades.
Listen here: Rail Money
Oregon had applied for two-billion in federal high speed rail dollars. The goal was to add trains between Portland and Eugene and reduce the trip time to less than two hours. But with only a couple of shovel-ready rail projects, the state was awarded only 8-million dollars – most of it to upgrade Portland's Union Station. By comparison Washington will get 590-million – about half of what it applied for. Governor Chris Gregoire calls it a historic jolt that will create 65-hundred jobs and improve Amtrak service.
Chris Gregoire: “Taken together this work represents a big step in building our 21st century transportation system. Hopping on a train from Seattle to Portland will be convenient and will be reliable as an alternative to driving our congested I-5.”
[One major improvement that's in the works: a faster, straighter route between Tacoma and Dupont, North of Olympia. Currently the trains follow the Puget Sound coast line.] Gregoire says the goal is to add two more trains between Seattle and Portland for a total of six daily roundtrips. I'm Austin Jenkins in Olympia.
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