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    1. Rail

    WA: Amtrak Cascades ridership nearly reached 1 million passengers in 2024 — a 41% increase

    Feb. 4, 2025
    Amtrak continues to see post-pandemic growth in the Northwest, with ridership rising 41% last year on its route between Portland and Vancouver, British Columbia — which stops in Bellingham.

    By Robert Mittendorf

    Source The Bellingham Herald (Bellingham, Wash.) (TNS)

    Amtrak continues to see post-pandemic growth in the Northwest, with ridership rising 41% last year on its route between Portland and Vancouver, British Columbia — which stops in Bellingham.

    The Amtrak Cascades route carried 941,727 passengers in 2024, Amtrak said in a statement at its website.

    In its December service update, the Washington State Department of Transportation reported ridership of 739,000 passengers from January through September 2024, a 36% increase over that period in 2023. WSDOT said the addition of extra daily trains contributed to the increased ridership.

    WSDOT operates the Amtrak Cascades between Eugene, Ore., and Vancouver, B.C. The service is jointly funded and managed by WSDOT and the Oregon Department of Transportation, WSDOT said in a report at its website.

    "WSDOT and ODOT pay Amtrak to provide all aspects of the service. Amtrak Cascades operates on privately owned tracks; BNSF owns the tracks in Washington and British Columbia, Sound Transit owns a short section of tracks between Tacoma and Nisqually, and Union Pacific owns the tracks in Oregon. Stations along the Amtrak Cascades route are owned by a variety of entities, including WSDOT, cities, transit agencies, and railroads," WSDOT said.

    In 2023, Amtrak added a second daily train between Bellingham and Vancouver, B.C., on the Cascades route, according to previous Herald reporting.

    The Federal Railroad Administration earmarked nearly $50 million in December to support the proposed high-speed train service across the Pacific Northwest.

    In December 2023, WSDOT and Amtrak added two additional daily round trips between Seattle and Portland. These trains supplement the four daily round trips between Seattle and Portland already in operation, and the two daily round trips between Portland and Eugene, and the two daily round trips between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. The two new daily round trip trains are the primary reason ridership and revenues surged in 2024," WSDOT said.

    © 2025 The Bellingham Herald (Bellingham, Wash.).
    Visit www.bellinghamherald.com.
    Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.