The SunBreak » train

Amtrak’s Extra Train to Bellingham Leaves Seattle at 8:15 AM

Michael van Baker — Fri, 31 May 2013 16:13:16 +0000

Anticipating increased demand while the bridge is being repaired -- a temporary replacement may come sometime in June, while a better fix could take until September -- the state has talked Amtrak into adding a roundtrip train daily between Seattle and Bellingham.

What if Amtrak Cascades Made Money? Lots of Money.

Michael van Baker — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 22:57:55 +0000

That's what the two most successful Amtrak routes have in common: They travel on NEC track that Amtrak owns and maintains, currently the only high-speed passenger rail track in the U.S. That's important because it upends the notion that a trip length of 400 miles is the primary limiting factor. The tracks, and who owns them, are, because that determines both maximum mph ratings and real-world reliability.

Washington State Weighs the Pros and Cons of Coal Exports

Michael van Baker — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 18:16:59 +0000

De Place argues that a state with a governor who has already made "some strong statements" about the need to phase out coal-burning plants (and who is, I note, familiar with tobacco company-style strategies) has already established a baseline for what's both moral and responsible when it comes to coal-generated electricity. The atmosphere not being a great respecter of political borders, he notes, it makes little sense to suppress greenhouse gas emissions in one spot, and facilitate the generation of even more elsewhere.