WPSR WORKS TOWARDS A NETWORK OF SAFE, FREQUENT, RELIABLE ELECTRIFIED PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN WASHINGTON.

TRANSPORTATION NEWS

  • 🚆 WPSR and partners from the Climate Rail Alliance, League of Women Voters, Sierra Club, and Irthlingz sent a letter to leading Transportation legislators in support of a proviso for Rail Education. Read the letter here.

FACTSHEET

  • WPSR is the first Washington State health organization to support rapid transition to clean electric trains for daily transit and intercity movement of people and goods, excluding movement of toxic materials.

  • RAIL IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE: A Sierra Club report states two important elements of a strategy to achieve a climate emergency solution must be to devote all resources necessary for developing an extensive national rail network designed for fast, frequent, reliable freigh and passenger trains and To limit resources devoted to highways only to maintenance and repair, as devoting resources to adding highway capacity would be counterproductive.

  • DIESEL FUEL EMISSIONS MUST BE ADDRESSED: Diesel fuel is the primary source of PM 2.5 along the I 5 corridor from Everett to Olympia—a corridor that is already served by Sounder Commuter rail and Amtrak’s Cascades line. Rail uses only 1/3 the energy and produces only 1/3 the emissions of diesel trucks, per ton-mile of freight—even when powered by diesel-electric engines.

  • CLEAN & SAFE PUBLIC TRANSIT FOR ALL THOSE WHO WALK AND ROLL: 25% of Washingtonians—who don’t hold a drivers license—rely on safe and frequent public transit infrastructure. We works to ensure that everyone has access to equitable transportation.

    A robust public transportation system not only reduces the vehicle miles traveled per person (which ultimately reduces emissions) it also is good for our physical health!

  • WE NEED A MODE SHIFT TO TRAINS: Reliable, frequent service can encourage the extreme mode shift to trains that is necessary to address the climate emergency. Amtrak’s Corridor Vision details a nation-wide plan to make this happen. 

  • ELECTRIFIED RAIL IS THE FUTURE: Rail is electrified in much of the rest of the world, and is more environmentally friendly. This endeavor should begin with switching yards (where trains are ‘made up’), as these yards often use the oldest and dirtiest diesel engines;  causing asthma in populations close by

  • NO NEW AIRPORTS ON GREENFIELD SPACE IN WASHINGTON: WPSR opposes the siting of new airports on these greenfield spaces.  Airplanes require much more carbon-fuel energy than steel wheels on steel rails, spew PM 2.5 over homes, schools, and workspaces, and require extensive support infrastructure. Massive public opposition, including from the Nisqually Tribe, to a proposal to build a SeaTac-sized new airport in rural Pierce County, has effectively blocked efforts in the past. 

  • SWITCH FROM DIESEL TO ELECTRIC TRANSPORTATION: Global diesel demand has risen steadily, except for a brief drop during COVID pause. Since Washington law requires the reduction of Green House Gases, we strongly support a switch from diesel vans, trucks, and school buses to electric platforms to reach that goal. While ensuring that new cars sold after 2035 must be electric is a laudable goal, these vehicles still can cause congestion and traffic jams. A switch to electrified public transit is essential for our climate and health.  

  • NO MORE HIGHWAY EXPANSION: As the state works to reduce annual per capita vehicle miles traveled by 2050, the State Department of Transportation persists  in massive highway expansion, including elevating and widening I 5 over the Nisqually River, past Billy Frank Jr. National Wildlife Refuge. WPSR hopes for the revision of the 30 mph Dupont rail curve, a new fast rail bridge over the Nisqually River for Amtrak Cascades and Sounder extension, and a third track between Lacey and Centralia; to induce drivers off I 5 onto fast passenger trains.