WSDOT’s Preliminary SDP for the Amtrak Cascades service is open for public comment. Link to the plan is below. Comments by April 18.
The best of the alternatives is completely unacceptable. There is no attempt at effective speed increases. The top is 90 mph. Between Tacoma and Portland, there is a total of 60 miles between Tacoma and Portland that can accommodate 90 mph, but that is broken into 18 segments, the longest to which is 7.9 miles. That is a lot of acceleration (high fuel consumption) and braking (high maintenance) and many 90 mph segments so short that the trains will never hit 90.
Seattle – Vancouver BC 3h39m
Seattle Portland 3h5m
Neither is competitive with driving, the essential mode shift.
Read the report and appendices and flood them with comments.