Transcript Slide 1

High Speed Rail on the Horizon
Scott Witt
Director
State Rail and Marine Office
Paula Hammond
Steve Reinmuth
Secretary of Transportation
Chief of Staff
State Public Transportation Partnerships
Conference
Westin Hotel, Seattle, WA
August 3 - 5, 2010
Program Vision
• Establish a dedicated high-speed track with trains
operating at up to 150mph, with 13 daily round trips
between Seattle and Portland.
– Currently, Amtrak Cascades operates four daily round trips
between Seattle and Portland at speeds up to 79 mph.
• Strategy:
– Employ a cost-effective, step-by-step approach
– Focus investments on projects that produce immediate
benefits, while laying the groundwork for the future.
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Service and Ridership
New ridership record for Amtrak Cascades in first quarter of 2010
– Increase of nearly 34,000 riders
over 2009, making it the largest
first quarter ridership since 1994.
– In February, ridership soared to
60,745 for the month for an
amazing 34 percent increase
over 2009.
– Growth due largely to the 2010
Olympic Games held in
Vancouver, B.C.
– March recorded the highest
ridership for the quarter at
67,039−an 11 percent increase
over 2009.
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Second train service to Vancouver, B.C.
• Demand for Amtrak Cascades train service to Vancouver, BC continues
to grow.
– Nearly 36,000 passengers rode the second Amtrak Cascades train
between August 2009 and April 2010.
– A total of 18,748 originated from Vancouver B.C. and 16,832 ended
their trip in Vancouver.
– Total ridership during the 2010 Olympics for both trains (February 11March 1) was 11,403.
– A total of 16 trains
completely sold out
during this time.
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Amtrak Cascades Annual Ridership (1993-2009)
Number of Passengers
900,000
800,000
Amtrak-Supported Trains
Oregon-Supported Trains
700,000
600,000
Washington-Supported Trains
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
-
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Washington State Funding
Past and Future
Operating
• $199 million from 1994 through 2008
• $29.1 million budgeted from 2009 to 2011
Capital
• $137 million spent from 1994 through 2008
• $139 million projected from 2008 through 2013
• Nearly $1.0 billion in capital and operating funds has been invested in
high speed intercity passenger rail in the Pacific Northwest Rail
Corridor since 1994.
• Washington State alone has invested over $331 million in support of
high speed passenger rail.
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ARRA High Speed Passenger Rail Program
• February 17, 2009 - President Obama signed into law the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) including $8 billion for federal
High Speed Rail funding.
• First major federal investment in High Speed Passenger Rail outside the
North East corridor.
• Eligibility limited to state transportation departments and Amtrak.
• The Pacific Northwest Rail Corridor (PNWRC) is one of the 11 federally
designated high speed rail corridors.
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Vision for High Speed Rail in America
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What is High Speed Rail?
Conventional Rail
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•
•
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Traditional intercity
passenger rail services of
more than 100 miles.
As little as one, to as
many as 7–12 daily
frequencies.
Top speeds of up to 79
mph to as high as 90 mph.
May or may not have
strong potential for future
high speed rail service.
•
Generally shared track
with freight trains.
•
Intended to provide travel
options and to develop the
passenger rail market for
further development in
the future.
Emerging High Speed
Rail (HSR)
•
Developing corridors of
100–500 miles.
•
Top speeds of up to
90–110 mph.
•
HSR – Regional
•
Strong potential for future
HSR Regional and/or
Express service.
Relatively frequent service
between major and
moderate population
centers 100–500 miles
apart, with some
intermediate stops.
•
•
Top speeds of
110–150 mph.
Primarily shared track with
freight trains.
•
•
Advanced grade crossing
protection or separation.
Some dedicated and
some shared track with
freight.
•
•
•
Grade-separated.
Intended to develop the
passenger rail market,
and provide some relief to
other modes.
Intended to relieve
highway and, to some
extent, air capacity
constraints.
HSR and Intercity
Passenger Rail (IPR)
HSR – Express
•
Frequent, express service
between major population
centers 200–600 miles
apart, with few
intermediate stops.
•
Top speeds of at least
150 mph.
•
Completely gradeseparated, dedicated
rights-of-way (with the
possible exception of
some shared track in
terminal areas).
•
Intended to relieve air
and highway
capacity constraints.
*U.S. Department of Transportation/Federal Railroad Administration High-Speed Rail Strategic Plan - April 2009
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Washington State High-Speed Intercity
Passenger Rail Proposed ARRA Projects
1.
Tacoma – D to M Street Connection
2.
Tacoma – Point Defiance Bypass
3.
Vancouver – Yard Bypass Track
4.
Cascades Corridor Reliability Upgrades - South
5.
Everett – Storage Track – WA
6.
Amtrak Cascades® New Train Set
7.
Kelso Martins Bluff – New Siding
8.
Kelso Martins Bluff – Toteff Siding Extension
9.
Kelso Martins Bluff – Kelso to Longview Jct.
10. Seattle - King Street Station Track Upgrades
11. Advanced Signal System
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Safety: A balanced approach
In 2009, Washington had five trespassing fatalities and one injury involving Amtrak
trains.*
• Education
– Public education campaigns targeting schools
community events and town meetings
– Reinforce and support Operation Lifesaver outreach
efforts
• Engineering
– Active warning devices at all road/rail grade crossings
– Upgraded traffic signals, wider lanes, and increased
turning radii
– Pavement markings and roadway medians
– Wayside horns
• Enforcement
– Enforcement emphasis patrols at key problem areas
* Source: Federal Railroad Administration Office of Safety Analysis
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The 5 Ingredients for High Speed Corridor Success
• Reliability
• Service frequency
• Journey time
• Accessibility
• Cultural acceptance
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State-Supported Amtrak Cascades
Reliability and On-Time Performance
Percent on Time
100%
2008
2007
Goal
80%
80%
60%
2009
40%
20%
0%
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
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Amtrak Cascades Service Block 2
Adds two round trips between Seattle and Portland
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State-Supported Amtrak Cascades
Farebox Recovery
FFY 2007-2009
100.0%
2007
2008
2009
80.0%
60.0%
40.0%
20.0%
0.0%
501
SEA-PDX
506
PDX-SEA
507
SEA-PDX
508
PDX-SEA
510
SEA-VAC
513
BEL-SEA
516
PDX-BEL
517
VAC-SEA
Trains 513 and 516 extended their route to Vancouver, BC in mid-August 2009.
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Moving Forward
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Work through the process
Demonstrate and report progress
Funding realities
Partnerships
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For more information
Please contact:
Scott Witt
360-705-6903
[email protected]
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