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Siemens Charger Tests on Cascades


The Siemens Charger test program in the Amtrak Cascades service corridor continued through February. Illinois DOT (IDTX) 4611 is positioned on the south end of a Talgo trainset at Seattle’s King Street Station on February 22. The SC-44 diesel will operate in push mode to Vancouver, B.C., then pull the train back to Seattle. Washington DOT has eight units of its own on order.


PHOTO BY DAVID HONAN


in 2004 as an alternative to a much more expensive system proposed in 2000. The system was opened in 2010 and uses six diesel light rail vehicles to handle just under 3,000 riders per day. Capacity is the limiting factor, and the system is in the midst of an $85 million upgrade to add cars and sidings.


Capital Metro has recently dusted


off plans for its proposed Green Line, running over a 25-mile freight line between Austin to Elgin. The expan- sion is projected to cost as much as $460 million and was first proposed about ten years ago. A big hindrance to any Capital Metro


expansion plan is a state law requiring Austin area voter approval for any passen- ger rail project. A second law requires that no line extension of the system is to be more than 12 miles long. Recently, two Austin Democrats filed identical bills, one each in the state senate and house, that would require voter approval only


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