EVERETT — Nicole Shelly wanted to avoid highway traffic on her recent trip to visit her fiance. So the Whidbey Island resident chose to travel to Portland by train.
“I used to live in Oregon so I would ride the train to Mount Vernon from Portland,” she said. “Riding the train is better than sitting in traffic.”
The more than five-hour trip allows her to grab a coffee and read, Shelly said.
For Kent Rogers of Ferndale, taking a train to Seattle for a weekend getaway with his wife, Virginia, is “the only way to go.”
“No traffic, stress free. It’s nice,” Rogers said. “Beautiful views. We’re just looking out the window most of the time.”
Those same sentiments are shared by many who choose to ride Amtrak Cascades, according to Vickie Sheehan, spokeswoman for the state’s Department of Transportation.
Too much road congestion, the high price of gas, airline restrictions and a comfortable ride to cities between Vancouver, B.C., and Eugene, Ore., are all reasons more people rode Amtrak Cascades last year than ever before, she said. In all, 838,251 passengers took the train in 2010. The total is a 10 percent increase over ridership in 2009. Ridership from October to December was 202,675, making last year’s fourth quarter the highest it has been since 1994.
The high ridership numbers at the end of the year happened despite mudslides that typically force a 48-hour moratorium on train service when they occur, Sheehan said. Several routes also were affected by mudslides last week.
The system isn’t perfect, Sheehan said. The reliability and frequency of the trains sometimes do cause problems for travelers who need to find last-minute transportation when a train is late or not running at all.
Still, she said, comments from riders have been mostly positive.
“First-time riders who have never been on a train try it and they find out how easy it is, how comfortable it is and they tend to want to do it again,” Sheehan said.
Amtrak Cascades operates three daily round trips between Portland and Seattle; one daily round trip each between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., and Portland and Vancouver, B.C.; and daily service between Seattle and Eugene, Ore., from Portland. Fares run from about $36 to $79 one way.
Service to Vancouver, B.C., during the 2010 Winter Olympics in February contributed to the record ridership, Sheehan said. A second daily train to Vancouver, B.C., began in August 2009 to offer more travel options during the Olympics, and more than 138,000 riders went to or came from Vancouver, B.C., in 2010. The second train is scheduled to remain in service through October, Sheehan said.
The increase in ridership aboard the Amtrak Cascades is recognizable to conductor Brad Davis.
“This is the craziest train on the system,” Davis said as he counted tickets Friday to find out how many people would be traveling to Portland.
Davis, who has worked for Amtrak Cascades for more than three years, said he has noticed more people riding the train since the Olympics. The train also is a popular mode of travel for people who are heading to football games or other events in Seattle, said Crystal Clayton, a chief onboard supervisor.
First-time rider on Amtrak Cascades, Shea Carpenter of Bellingham, was heading to Portland on Friday to attend a conference. Now she looks forward to her next train trip. What helped her decide?
She listed some: Not having to drive, scenic water views, a chance to read, and some decent coffee and a bowl of hot clam chowder in the dining car.
“The rock of the train is so relaxing,” she said. “I think it’s therapy for people. Stressed out people need to come ride the train.”
Sheehan said she expects the number of people who ride Amtrak Cascades to continue to grow. The state’s Department of Transportation plans to use $782 million received in federal Recovery Act funds last year to improve rail lines, reduce freight and passenger train congestion and expand Amtrak Cascades service.
“What that’s going to allow us to do is to make improvements and add two more round trips between Seattle and Portland in 2015,” she said.
Amy Daybert: 425-339-3491; adaybert@heraldnet.com.
Want to take the train?
For Amtrak Cascades fares and schedules, go to AmtrakCascades.com.
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