We Appreciate Your Support

Thanks to our supporters, we were able to raise $6,830.34 during our fundraiser in January and February. With matching, this brings $20,491.02 directly to All Aboard Washington. This money helps support our work to improve rail service throughout the state of Washington and bring it to more places. 

We rely on your continued support. Please make a recurring or one-time donation online at https://www.aawa.us/donate or by mail to:

All Aboard Washington
P.O. Box 70381

Seattle, WA 98127-0381

Your Feedback Needed on the Future of Amtrak Cascades

WSDOT is finalizing its Amtrak Cascades Preliminary Service Development Plan (SDP) as part of their planning process for improving Amtrak Cascades service over the next two decades. They are seeking your feedback on this plan before it is completed and submitted to the Federal Railroad Administration. Please submit your comments by April 18, 2024.

The plan and its appendices can be found on the WSDOT website at: https://wsdot.wa.gov/construction-planning/statewide-plans/passenger-rail-plans/amtrak-cascades-service-development-plan. Use the comment form on the website for your feedback or send it to  [email protected].

AAWA Continues Advocacy for East-West Train Service

From the Yakima Herald-Republic:

"Gary Wirt, a Yakima resident and board member of All Aboard Washington, said that Yakima’s inclusion in the latest Federal Railroad Administration concepts was encouraging, but future passenger service would ultimately depend on federal funding.

“It is possible that there may be some non-federal funding sources identified; however, the large majority of funds would need to be appropriated by Congress,” Wirt said in an email. The railroad administration is still discussing potential federal and non-federal funding sources, he said.

Wirt added that the study opened additional possibilities for rail service. An alternate route for Seattle-to-Denver rail service included passage through Yakima, though that was not the route the administration selected.

Wirt added that federal funding for rail service through Yakima to Seattle would result in improvements to rail infrastructure over Stampede Pass, near Interstate 90, which could allow more convenient local trains in addition to long-distance rail service."

Transportation to Health Care Survey

AAWA has provided technical assistance to this survey, which was initiated and conducted by the Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility and the Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences.

Improving Access to Specialty Medical Care: A Medical Provider Survey on the Impact of Restoring Passenger Rail Service in Central Washington

April AAWA Meeting Features Rail Artist J. Craig Thorpe

Our April 13 speaker will be J. Craig Thorpe, noted railroad artist and author of Railroads, Art and American Life: An Artist’s Memoir (Indiana University Press, 2023).

Over the course of Thorpe’s career he has worked for architects and landscape architects. For the last thirty years he has specialized in railway promotional art and illustration. Following the outline of the book, this presentation overviews Thorpe’s personal journey. It traces the development of his ideas and art commissioned by clients such as Amtrak and the White Pass & Yukon Route and other railways, rail suppliers, planners, museums and private collectors. Reprising elements of classic rail art, this body of work invites viewers to reconsider railroading and its connection to the broader culture. Says Thorpe, “If we really saw how railways could enrich the common good, we would not just call them ‘nostalgic,’ we would call them ‘essential’...and art brings this to life.”

The meeting will be held at the Capitol Hill Branch of the Seattle Public Library, located three blocks north of Capitol Hill Station on Link Light Rail Line 1.

Capitol Hill Library
425 Harvard Ave E
Seattle Washington 98102

Please note that this meeting will begin at 10:00 AM, due to availability of the library.

Register online at https://www.aawa.us/events/general-meeting-april-2024/ 

May AAWA Meeting and Auction

AAWA will be holding a General Meeting and Auction on Saturday, May 18 at 11:00 am at

River’s Edge Restaurant

4611 Tumwater Valley Dr SE

Tumwater, WA

Please join us.

Save These Dates!

Please put these dates on your calendar. 

6/8/24	AAWA General Meeting	TBD
7/13/24	AAWA Board Meeting	Zoom
8/10/24	Picnic	Lacey
9/14/24	AAWA Board Meeting	Zoom
10/8-9/24	Third Annual Greater Northwest Passenger Rail Summit	Spokane Central Library
10/12/24	AAWA General Meeting	TBD
11/9/24	AAWA Board Meeting	Zoom
12/14/24	Winter Gathering	TBD

 

As always, we wish you safe travels, and we thank you for your support!