(The following story by David Hogben appeared on the Vancouver Sun website on August 2.)
VANCOUVER, B.C. — Millions of dollars have been spent and the siding track has been in place for months, but the start-up date for a promised second Amtrak train linking Vancouver to Seattle remains uncertain.
Officials in Canada and the U.S. have confirmed the service will not begin until the Canadian Border Services Agency works out how it will handle additional incoming traffic from the U.S.
“We are working very closely with the Canada Border Services Agency, working back and forth on the details right now,” said Scott Witt, Washington state department of transportation rail and marine director.
B.C. Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon announced 17 months ago that the province was committing “up to a maximum of $4.5 million” towards the project.
“Government is partnering with private industry and Washington state on a project that ultimately will benefit all British Columbians,” Falcon said in a news release in March 2007.
“This project will boost tourism dollars, reduce traffic congestion and ease vehicle emissions on our major transportation corridors and at our border crossings,” the minister said.
The news release said the work on a railway siding near Colebrook Road, on the Canadian side of the border, would begin in the spring of 2007 “and the project is expected to be completed by summer of 2008.”
Numerous calls to the minister’s office this week failed to generate any comment or information about the project.
Even though B.C. taxpayers’ money is being spent on the project, officials south of the border were more forthcoming.
Washington state department of transportation marketing and communications manager Vickie Sheehan confirmed the siding necessary for the second train has been in place for months.
“It was completed in the spring,” Sheehan said.
The CBSA confirmed it is involved in negotiations, but offered little more information.
“The CBSA is currently in discussions with Amtrak with regard to expanding CBSA services to accommodate a second train, but it would be inappropriate to comment at this time,” media spokeswoman Faith St. John said.
“Discussions to provide CBSA services to new locations or to expand current services take into account human resources and the ability to provide security and services to the public,” St. John said.
Falcon’s news release last year stated: “In its first full year of operation, the second Amtrak passenger train from Seattle to Vancouver is expected to bring approximately 50,000 travellers to Vancouver, injecting an estimated $13.9 million into B.C.’s economy.”
Occupancy on the Amtrak Cascades route, running between Vancouver and Eugene, Ore, was 70,054 passengers in June, up 10.2 per cent from the same month in 2007.
Despite its popularity, the current Amtrak train between Vancouver and Seattle is often criticized because of its scheduling.
The train leaves Vancouver at 5:45 p.m. and is scheduled to arrive in Seattle at 10:05 p.m. The return trip leaves Seattle at 9:15 p.m. and is scheduled to arrive in Vancouver at 12:35 a.m.