WSDOT, along with partners Amtrak and the Oregon Department of Transportation, is celebrating 10 years of Amtrak Cascades intercity passenger rail service.

WSDOT began working with Amtrak in 1994 to support passenger rail service along the I-5 corridor. In 1999, the new Amtrak Cascades service debuted, providing intercity passenger rail service in the Pacific Northwest from Vancouver, BC to Eugene, OR. Amtrak Cascades service has grown to four daily round-trips between Portland and Seattle, with connecting service between Portland and Eugene and between Bellingham and Seattle, and one daily round-trip between Seattle and Vancouver, BC.

More than six million passengers have ridden Amtrak Cascades over the last 10 years, resulting in a 71 percent increase in ridership since 1999. In 2008, ridership reached nearly 775,000 passengers, making it the most successful year in the history of the service.