Passenger Trains > What Date Will Amtrak quit Running on Point Defiance Line?

Has Amtrak announced when they will start running over the Sounder route between Nisqually and Tacoma?

A couple of friends and I are planning a trip to Seattle to watch the Mariners and make a last trip along the bay.

Thanks in advance!

Nomosantafe
Portland, Oregon
"Pacific Wonderland"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/18/17 14:36 by nomosantafe.

We've been told December.

Wow. I rode one of the Cascades way back in 2008 and thought it was a beautiful ride along the bay even if it did seam like it went out of the way. I won't be back in the area until late next year and was debating between Amtrak Greyhound of flying from Seattle to Portland, this may mean I have collect the new mileage.

How much time should this save the Cascade trains in general?

Jim

tq-07fan Wrote:
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> Wow. I rode one of the Cascades way back in 2008
> and thought it was a beautiful ride along the bay
> even if it did seam like it went out of the way.

The perception is accurate.

At the junction with the Point Defiance Bypass, a southward train is moving northwest. On the BNSF Point Defiance route, it then moves west, north, northwest, west, and southwest, and south, after which it joins the bypass.

From that point, the Point Defiance Bypass line runs west, south, and southwest, after which it joins the BNSF Point Defiance line.


>
> How much time should this save the Cascade trains
> in general?

10 min schedule running time.


In the future, there will be more as the west couple of miles are sharp curves with 30-42 mph Talgo speeds. Big Bucks are needed to fix that. The federal grant was Big Bucks, but not That Big.

TAW

I was the under the impression the Coast Starlight will continue to use the current routing?

Adam

AltiplanoRailtours1 Wrote:
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> I was the under the impression the Coast Starlight
> will continue to use the current routing?
>

Railfan Fantasy

TAW

AltiplanoRailtours1 Wrote:
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> I was the under the impression the Coast Starlight
> will continue to use the current routing?
>
> Adam

That would require Amtrak to maintain TWO stations in Tacoma, The present one just for the Starlight and the new one (Freighthouse Square) for everything else.