Those who’ve been following my writing here at Daily Kos may be aware I’ve long been advocating for the railroads we need for the 21st Century and the challenge of the Climate Crisis. I’ve been working with Solutionary Rail for some time, and more recently with one of our climate allies, the Climate Rail Alliance. There’s an opportunity to provide public input at a critical time.
The Situation Overall
Rail is the “secret” weapon in the fight to cut greenhouse gas emissions driving global warming. “Secret” because too many people — including politicians — really know nothing about railroads and how much more we could be doing with them.
Just with the railroad technology we have today, we could cut transportation emissions by a huge amount simply by shifting as much freight as possible from long-haul trucking to rail as soon as 2030. That’s with conventional diesels. If we go electric with renewable energy, the emission cuts are even greater. (That clean power goes three times farther by rail than on highways.)
Ditto for passenger rail. Too many people seem to feel that A) if it’s not High Speed Rail (HSR), it’s not worth doing, and/or B) High Speed Rail is too expensive and just can’t work in America. We could do much more, more quickly by investing in the rail we already have, instead of spending decades building dedicated rights of way and all the supporting infrastructure HSR requires. (We also need to do something about the rail industry’s obsession with private profits at the expense of the public good — but that’s a topic for another post.)
Make no mistake. There is a role for HSR, but it does NOT replace conventional rail. The two aren’t competitors; they are partners — or should be. The advantages of HSR only work over a long distance — it’s not the top speed that matters but the average speed. An HSR train that has to make a lot of local stops is going to spend most of its time speeding up and slowing down, not at High Speed. Think what an airline flight from NYC to LA would be like if it had to stop at all the major airports in between — and if was also carrying freight.
The Situation in Washington State
The Climate Rail Alliance is focused on the Pacific Northwest because many of its key members live in the region, but what it is working towards also applies to the entire country. Washington State is getting attention here because under Governor Jay Inslee, the state is embarking on a massive transportation initiative which doesn’t quite add up: lots of money for something that will take decades to be realized, neglects immediate opportunities to make better use of existing rail infrastructure, and still embraces a car-centric highway transportation planning mindset.
Egberto Willies highlighted Inslee the other day for denouncing Donald Trump’s idiocy on climate. “We can’t wait for Donald Trump to figure this out,” Inslee said. “We don’t have time to mess around to wait for this knucklehead to figure this out. We just got to make sure he’s not in office.“
Inslee may be right about Trump, and right about the urgency of the climate emergency, but that doesn’t mean he’s entirely right about the best way forward. Inslee is promoting the Cascadia Ultra-High-Speed-Ground Transportation (UHSGT) Project. The Washington State Department of Transportation just issued a required report on it and is asking for public comment.
The Climate Rail Alliance has this to say about talking points for comments on the report; I’ve emphasized key phrases below:
- Cost estimates for the WSDOT 2023 UHSR report to the legislature have not been updated since the 2018 UHSGT Final report. The Joint Transportation Committee commissioned an Independent review from RSG, the consultant, which indicates that the cost of the project will be up to double the original estimates from WSDOT. Given the directive in RCW47.04.280 that updates to the legislature are to include policy recommendations that provide the most cost efficient scenarios to the public, lack of any discussion of project costs is a gross omission. A discussion of escalating costs should have been included in the WSDOT report given recent inflation and workforce issues seen in all other projects at WSDOT.
- A timeline has not been identified for the UHSR project. The only reference with a timeline for the project is the 2018 report done by WSDOT. This report cites the system being operational by 2035, which is clearly not possible. Timeline estimates have not been directly or specifically updated in subsequent reports including the June 30th, 2023 report. The legislature and the public deserve to know that this type of project requires a time commitment of many decades and that the system would probably not be operational until the 2050s as per the timeline we see with the California HSR project.
- Given the lack of route selection, the report should be clear about the uncertainties regarding timeline and costs. The RSG report makes clear that without a route selection there is so much project uncertainty that it is impossible to provide the public and legislature a good understanding of what the project is and what the public will be getting for their investment, aside from more consultant reports. The public and legislature need to know the risks before making more investments.
- The report indicates that WSDOT is visualizing the planning for the UHSR system as part of the I-5 corridor development and makes very brief passing mention of Amtrak Cascades development. All other countries with robust rail systems have robust regional passenger rail. Development of our regional Amtrak Cascades line should be central to the adding on of a UHSR system with limited stops. Extensive information about Amtrak Cascades needs to be included in all updates regarding UHSR. Amtrak Cascades could have double the capacity within 10 years if WSDOT would commit to building out the high growth Scenario in the 2019 Washington State rail plan. The public and the legislature need to know what WSDOT is planning for Amtrak Cascades and how that interacts with the UHSR project. WSDOT’s plans for Amtrak Cascades remain shrouded in mystery and lack of funding requests.
- Justification for UHSGT is to be competitive with air travel, but the report does not call out that Amtrak Cascades is already competitive with air travel (pg 31) and has potential to be much more so, i.e. let’s challenge the premise that a 1-hour trip between Seattle-Portland and Seattle-Vancouver is required.
- The report should include discussion of Climate goals set out by WSDOT including reduction of GHG and VMT. The report should be centered on interaction with regional rail and transit networks to have a specific focus on reduction of VMT. As written, it looks like there is no focus on reduced VMT - just driving to the one UHSGT station in the Seattle area.
- All the positive aspirations of UHSR can be more quickly and efficiently obtained through investments in upgrading the existing rail service, e.g. address unpredictable travel times, provide construction and operations jobs, stimulate business development and investment in communities served by rail, provide equitable and green transportation. Given the very very high cost of UHSR, alternatives to this project should be included in the report, especially what the High Growth Scenario for Amtrak Cascades can deliver with a much more certain timeline and cost estimate.
- All of the values depicted by the “North Star” description on page 4 of WSDOT’s Project Report can be met more quickly, more effectively, and for lower cost, by focusing on improvements to our existing Amtrak Cascades service, concurrently with critical integration with I-5 highway projects and multimodal program planning across all jurisdictions. These shared values and priority outcomes include: a) connecting the region, b) advancing racial and social equity, c) growing the economy, d) reducing emissions and building resilience, e) using resources efficiently, and f) bringing partners and people together. The UHSR program is unlikely to provide any of these outcomes within a relevant timeframe, and is a distraction from the urgency to move toward these outcomes. Proper strategic planning should identify the best direction toward realizing these core tenets. UHSR is not the best direction for this region at this time. Efforts should focus on updating the Long Range Plan for Amtrak Cascades (2006), completing a new Cascades Service Development Plan based upon a high ridership scenario, and completing it timely to receive federal funds for implementation. Planning should aim for completion of projects incrementally within a decade while service is operational, giving the maximum number of people the opportunity to use rail and transit options in preference to driving.
- WSDOT and UHSGT promoters have been funding and planning this project for about six years already but have produced nothing of substance. There needs to be more accuracy and transparency when making claims about the speed of travel, the timeline, the route, the communities it’s connecting, and the cost of the project when informing the public and the Legislature. For example, speeds for HSR cannot exceed 220 mph; 250 mph is a testing speed for Tier III trains. Washington is spending public money - over $100 million in state climate funds and multimodal funds - for this project that has no clear parameters. We would be better served to invest in rail that has near-term benefits.
The (Rail) Road Not Being Taken
There’s things in here that should trigger alarm bells, and they’re almost a textbook example of how the politics of getting anything done can end up sabotaging the end goal.
One is that there’s now Federal Funding available — and the temptation to use it in a way that scores the most points with the public for immediate political gain can overwhelm good sense. Promoting High Speed Rail — and making it extra special by calling it “Ultra” — all but guarantees overpromising and under delivering. But it’s good for headlines and photo-ops.
This is the kind of project that inevitably attracts outside consultants and contractors. They are attracted by the money spigot, and their interest is in cashing in, rather than actually making things happen. They produce study after study. As long as they can keep ‘good news’ flowing for the backers of projects like this and money flowing to them, actually getting things done can become secondary.
Another problem when states develop plans for rail is a lack of in-house expertise. State highway departments are full of people whose careers span the decades of boosting highways and airways; rail has been starved of resources and expertise. That has to change — especially when politicians come calling who know even less but what they hear from lobbyists and consultants.
UHSR is ‘sexy’ compared to putting money into boring old Amtrak and conventional passenger rail, and integrating it with other transport modes. Pushing for UHSR as a bright shiny object is easier than getting people to fund doing anything with conventional rail — especially if it means getting the cooperation of the freight railroads that own the tracks.
It’s not as though current Amtrak service is not getting some upgrades. New train sets are coming — like the picture at the top of this post. But more can be done. (Take a look at the pictures at the link; compare and contrast with airliner seating.)
This map of the Cascadia corridor shows the communities served by Amtrak. One of the things people don’t fully grasp about long distance trains is the importance of intermediate journeys. Not all passengers are going to ride from one end to the other — but many of them will make use of intermediate stops. A long distance route is also a route of shorter connections. UHSR would have to bypass stops to make full use of its higher speeds. Conventional rail would funnel people to those UHSR stops, and vice versa. The result would be synergy, not competition.
It should also not be overlooked that the Amtrak Cascades service shown here also ties in with Amtrak’s East-West connections, like the Empire Builder and South-North on the Coast Starlight.
Overall, dealing with the Climate Crisis is going to consume vast amounts of money. We can’t afford to ignore the most effective ways to use it — especially in the face of opponents who will be looking for every opportunity to call it wasteful.
There IS another Plan ready to go
The Climate Rail Alliance has been trying to get Inslee to acknowledge that Washington State already has a plan to upgrade existing service rail service in the Cascades corridor, and has had it for years. The cost numbers have been calculated, the infrastructure upgrades have been identified, the operating schedules have been determined, ridership projections are in hand — and it’s shovel ready now. It could be implemented in the near future, instead of 30 years from now. The report is here — a dropbox full of pdf files. The level of detail is comprehensive.
How does this sound?
In 1991, the Washington State Legislature commissioned a study of high speed ground transportation. The comprehensive study recommended [in 2006] 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.
See the BONUS link below to push for this to happen.
It is important to have long-range planning and execution to address climate. We’ve taken centuries to get to this point after all. But, we don’t have centuries to turn things around. We can’t afford to overlook what we can do now in the near future that will make a difference. There’s a place for HSR, but it’s not a magic bullet and it’s not the only thing we need to do or can do.
California HSR is getting attention, both good and bad, but things like electrifying this rail line are an example of what else needs to be done. Virginia is expanding conventional rail service in corridors that parallel major interstates, instead of pouring more money into roads. The Netherlands runs its electrified rail system by buying all the wind power it needs to match demand, while supporting other transport modes. Denmark and Germany are expanding existing HSR service by building a tunnel to make a more direct connection between the two countries. While England is expanding its HSR network, one of the effects will be to open up capacity on existing conventional rail lines.
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to dealing with the Climate Crisis, but we can make far better use of what we have — and that includes rail of all kinds.
If You live in Washington State and Would Like to Comment on UHSGT, here’s how:
The section up above quoted Climate Rail Alliance on the issues they’ve identified with the Cascadia UHSGT plan. They suggest the following:
On June 30th WSDOT submitted to the legislature a final Report regarding the Cascadia Ultra-High-Speed-Ground Transportation (UHSGT) Project. WSDOT is soliciting feedback on this report. The report is statutorily required and meant to update the legislature and other decision makers about the UHSGT project. CRA has concerns about the report and the project in general. We need our Washington members to please take this action asap.
STEP 1. Pick from the talking points below [see above] and fill out the WSDOT comment form (also located on the UHSGT Study at the very bottom, under the “contact” tab, look for the “survey” tab). Personalizing your comments will make them more impactful.
STEP 2. Even more impactful would be to send your comments to your State Senators and Representatives in an email. Educating our legislators is key to passing and funding good rail policy in Washington State. Find your district here. The email address formula for all WA state legislators is First.Last@leg.wa.gov. Your email Subject should be: Comments To WSDOT Regarding UHSGT Report. Open with a brief intro like: Please see my comments submitted to WSDOT via their survey form regarding WSDOT's Ultra High Speed Ground Transportation Project Report from June 30, 2023. Thank you for your attention.
Additional tips: Please link the REPORT somewhere in your email! You can sign off independently, or for Climate Rail Alliance, or other group. Optional: Please reply back to us when you’ve finished taking these actions.
There is no due date for comments, but having comments in ASAP will be helpful in getting our message across. WSDOT is in the budget planning process for 2024 as we write.
BONUS ACTION OPPORTUNITY
Climate Rail Alliance also has a web page all set up and ready to go to call for better Cascades Amtrak Service. They’d like to get at least 1,600 letters — they’re already more than halfway there. You don’t have to be a Washington state resident to weigh in if you make the point you want to have Amtrak as a way to get to the state, whether for business or pleasure. Still, it never hurts to let politicians know people who can vote for them are paying attention.
If you’re interested in other ways to make better use of rail in the region, Solutionary Rail has a plan to restore salmon fisheries on the lower Snake River by removing dams and using the existing rail network to replace grain traffic moved by barges.
We can do more than talk about the weather these days — we CAN do something about it.