Long Range Plan for Amtrak Cascades

In 1991, the Washington State Legislature commissioned a study of high speed ground transportation. The comprehensive study recommended an immediate step of incremental improvement of existing conventional rail service preliminary to progressing to High Speed Rail with maximum speed of 150mph or more.

The legislature directed Department of Transportation to develop a plan consistent with the recommendation and implement it.

The result was the Long Range Plan for Amtrak Cascades, a comprehensive infrastructure and operating plan to incrementally produce

Hourly service between Seattle and Portland with two hour thirty minute travel time.

Bi-hourly service between Seattle and Vancouver BC with two hour forty-five minute travel time.

The plan includes rail freight improvements that facilitate reliable reliable operation of freight and passenger trains in a shared environment.

The main report contains an overview of the entire plan. The other volumes provide supporting detail.