The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced the award of grants for two Washington State Department of Transportation rail programs. The Amtrak Cascades and the Cascadia High-Speed Rail programs were each awarded $500,000.

With these awards, both programs are designated as national rail corridors and are now part of the federal funding pipeline for future intercity passenger rail projects. These initial $500,000 grants provide funding to develop scopes, schedules, and cost estimates for preparing a service-development plan for each corridor. 

WSDOT submitted the Amtrak Cascades grant application in conjunction with the Oregon Department of Transportation. It will support preparation of an integrated service-development plan for both states that creates a blueprint for improvements over the next 20 years. 

The Cascadia High-Speed Rail application supports planning for a separate rail corridor connecting Portland, Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., with hourlong trips between each city.

The Cascadia mega-region is experiencing considerable growth, with three to four million more people expected by 2050. By studying the viability of a high-speed train system, the region can determine the best ways to address transportation and other related quality-of-life issues for future generations.

“WSDOT is very pleased to receive federal support for both important passenger rail programs,” said Washington Transportation Secretary Roger Millar. “These two complementary systems would connect with one another to transport people efficiently, reliably and in environmentally friendly ways. We’re planning improvements for current rail passengers, as well as envisioning an even more robust system in the future.”

WSDOT also applied for a $198 million federal-state partnership grant from FRA to support the Cascadia High-Speed Rail program. This application was not funded in the 2023 federal funding cycle, as FRA chose to award funding to projects ready for construction.

However, Washington, Oregon and British Columbia plan to move forward with the analysis using existing state and provincial funds and will continue to coordinate with FRA on federal funding through the CID program.