LONGVIEW — Eight new Amtrak Cascades trains will run through Kelso by 2025 in a multibillion dollar project to entice riders to travel by rail, not the highway.
The replacement fleet will include amenities such as Wi-Fi and individual power outlets and USB ports for each seat, as well as run two additional trips, according to Washington State Department of Transportation Rail Communications Manager Janet Matkin.
Kelso is one of eight stops on the Amtrak Cascades line that runs along the Interstate 5 corridor from Vancouver, B.C., to Eugene, Ore.
Washington and Oregon contract with Amtrak to run the Cascades line. Two other long-distance routes that run through Kelso — one to California and another to Chicago — are not part of the Cascades line and will not receive new cars, Matkin said.
Today, Kelso Amtrak Cascades riders can choose from three north or south round trips daily — one fewer than before the pandemic. The company plans to return to four trips, then increase to six, “when ridership allows,” Matkin said.
Adding more trips will accommodate business and recreational travelers looking to commute to Seattle or Portland by offering earlier and later times. Currently, trains depart Kelso for Seattle between 9:11 a.m. and 8:21 p.m. daily and from Kelso to Portland between 9:47 a.m. and 8:32 p.m. daily.
I-5 traffic
Matkin said the train is a more practical choice than driving. Technology upgrades will allow commuters to work on their way to and from the office. Cars also sell food, beer and wine riders can enjoy instead of sitting in freeway traffic.
“Driving on I-5 has become increasingly more frustrating,” she said. “This provides a much more viable and environmentally friendly option.”
People travel billions of miles on I-5 annually, according to the state, but the Department of Transportation does not publish online reports on the section of the highway that runs through Cowlitz County.
By comparison, pre-COVID ridership averaged around 26,000 at the Kelso Amtrak station in 2018 and 2019, but dropped to 8,000 in 2020 when the schedule was reduced to one trip, Matkin said.
According to the department, drivers along I-5 near Cowlitz County experienced increased delays from 2018 to 2019. Wait times for drivers south of Cowlitz County on the I-5, I-205 and State Route 14 corridors around Vancouver increased 19% in 2019 to 222,000 total delayed hours. People on those routes traveled a total of 701.7 million miles in 2019.
Funding
Amtrak reports a California company will build a total of 83 trains for a dozen different lines throughout the country for a total of $7.3 billion.
Matkin said a $37.5 million federal grant will cover part of the local Amtrak Cascades’ costs. Insurance settlements from the 2017 derailment of 13 Amtrak Cascades cars due to speeding in DuPont, Washington, also will contribute.
The current roughly 30-year-old cars will be replaced by the first trains off the assembly line, she added. Trains will include accessible features such as wheelchair lifts and a sound system that connects to hearing devices to block out excess noise.
