Event Wrap-Up: 2024 Greater Northwest Rail Summit
For generations, railroads have been the lifeblood of the Greater Northwest, moving locally-grown goods, fueling economic growth, connecting communities and shaping a vast, interconnected landscape. Today, the legacy of the freight and passenger rail system has an opportunity to counter decades of underinvestment by leveraging the nation’s increased interest in the railroad. The Greater Northwest Rail Summit, held Oct. 8 & 9 in Spokane, WA, and co-hosted by the PNWER Regional Infrastructure Accelerator program and All Aboard Northwest, brought together industry leaders, rail experts and advocates to discuss the future of our region’s rail network – and ways in which we can work together to transform the system to better serve the customers and communities that rely on its service.
Funding The Rail Renaissance
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) passed by Congress in 2021 is bringing an unprecedented amount of funding to our region’s highways, bridges, transit, airports, and railroads. Rail is a critical component of the BIL’s mission, and the legislation has brought capital investments and carbon reduction to our supply chains, increased community safety and passenger rail services, and expedited the transfer of commodities to ports and global markets with lower costs and fewer emissions. As we enter this new era of federal investment, how do we ensure our region’s freight and passenger rail network advances while harnessing the full potential of federal funding and investment initiatives? Our answer: High Performance Rail.
What is High Performance Rail?
High Performance Rail accelerates partnerships between our region’s Class I (BNSF and UP) and short line railroads, Amtrak, Tribal nations, state DOTs, local communities, ports, shippers and logistics companies for joint investment. The partnerships will help eliminate bottlenecks, enhance inter and multi-modal transfers and connections and increase reliability. Learn more about High Performance Rail here.
Rail Summit Session Highlights
The Greater Northwest Rail Summit aimed to educate and align freight and passenger rail experts around the shared goal of investing in potential rail infrastructure projects in the Greater Northwest region. Explore rail summit highlights and recordings below.
Day 1
Rail as an Economic Accelerator: The rail summit kicked off with rail experts exploring how passenger rail service can catalyze economic development in rural communities. John Robert Smith, chair of Transportation for America and renowned national leader for restoration of passenger rail, highlighted the success of his hometown where building a $1.3 million multimodal train station resulted in $197 million in investment in downtown Meridian, MS. Similarly, rural communities along the historic Pioneer line, such as Caldwell, Idaho, serve as examples of a need to restore lines that connect residents to urban areas. Caldwell Mayor Jarom Wagoner shared that his city has been rapidly growing and holds great potential for tourism and economic development, but struggles to retain out-of-town visitors for more than one day due to limited transportation options. Investing in train stations and other transportation options in rural communities would increase economic development, support small businesses and mitigate population decline.
Renaissance for Passenger Rail across America: From Washington DC to Your Local Depot : Dr. Santiago Cruz-Roveda, supervisory transportation specialist at the Federal Railroad Administration, shared an overview of the Corridor Identification and Development (CID) program and relevant timelines for CID projects in the Northwest. Nicole Bucich, vice president of network development at Amtrak, added that intercity passenger rail projects will provide numerous environmental, economic and mobility benefits to communities along existing corridors, and offer riders traveling productivity – a valued commodity that driving does not offer.
Kirk Fredrickson from the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) highlighted that the state supported Amtrak Cascades route between Eugene, OR and Vancouver, BC is projected to hit 1 million riders by 2025. This route is also expecting thousands of new riders during the 2026 FIFA World Cup games. To meet this demand, WSDOT will deploy eight new trains and two locomotives by 2026 and hopes to establish increased passenger rail service, speed and reliability between Seattle and Vancouver, BC. Additionally, as early as spring of 2025, taking the Amtrak Cascades across the border will be 10 minutes faster due to preclearance at Vancouver’s Pacific Central Station, eliminating the need to stop for 10 minutes at the border.
Dave Strohmaier, chair of Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority (BSPRA), compared the difficulty of bringing back a long-distance passenger rail route to putting a man on the moon in 1969. The unique challenges facing the restoration of passenger rail service to the Big Sky North Coast corridor were made clear by Abe Zumwalt at David Evans and Associates, who is leading the effort to coordinate across the seven states, dozens of municipalities, Tribal lands, and multiple host railroads. These challenges were echoed by Bre Brush from the Office of the Mayor of Boise, Idaho, who spoke to the ongoing desire to restore passenger rail service on the Pioneer line between Portland, Boise and Salt Lake City.
Looking Ahead at the National Rail Network: During this session, experts examined the pace at which rail initiatives are approved and how we can leverage rail’s bipartisan appeal to enact positive change and drive progress. John Robert Smith noted that regardless of which party wins this upcoming election, there will be a change in administration, bringing new secretaries and department heads. He emphasized the importance of collaborating on a national level, while focusing on local initiatives. Neil Moyer, director of passenger rail for the Surface Transportation Board (STB), gave an overview of its involvement in intercity passenger rail. Nicole Bucich, Amtrak, highlighted several factors that influence the speed at which Amtrak can achieve its goals, including funding, inclusion of host railroads, and constructing multi-state agreements.
Green Farms to Green Ports: From agricultural producers to short line railroad operators, this session focused on how rail supports our regional supply chains. Experts discussed how short lines serve as critical corridors that support local economies, global trade and the success of our inland port authorities.
What are short line railroads?
Like the local streets that feed car traffic onto our highways, short line railroads act as the first and last mile of the national freight network.
Short lines take 1.1 million trucks off of Washington roads annually.
Rail is one of the most efficient ways to move freight but is underutilized, resulting in crowded highways and interstates. Matt Hoobler, assistant vice president for Watco, emphasized that by maximizing the potential of rail, businesses can achieve both operational efficiency and climate goals. He noted that many railroads still in use today are over a century old, highlighting the critical need to modernize this infrastructure and its value as a long-term investment. Representatives of inland port authorities and transload and intermodal facilities shared the challenges they face in meeting market demand and where they see private and public investments being placed in the near future.
Summit Town Hall: High Performance Rail Project Brainstorm:
High level visions must be accompanied by specific project ideas. Rail summit attendees were invited to share ideas and potential infrastructure projects that advance High Performance Rail in the northwest. View the ideas submitted by attendees here.
Day 2
Northwest Rail Networks and Port Terminals: Strategies and Partnerships: The rail summit’s second day began with a look at the state of public and private investment in our region’s Class I and short line railroads, inland port authorities, and seaports. While effective working relationships with local communities is critical for Class I railroads, Ross Lane, vice president of government affairs at Genesee & Wyoming, the largest short line railroad in the nation, shared that investment in aging infrastructure is critical to keeping our short lines in operation. A proposed tax credit program in Washington state is one solution, as well as dedicated funding at the state level that can be used as matching funds for federal discretionary grant programs.
While infrastructure is the first half of the equation, operating efficiency is the second half. Speakers reiterated that rail infrastructure, if properly invested in, will increase capacity and generate decades of opportunity.
Preparing Rural Communities for Passenger Rail Tourism: This session highlighted the powerful role rail tourism can play in local economic development as well as the challenges to building a sustainable tourism industry in a rural community. Panelists discussed how increased visitor traffic can boost local businesses, such as Court Edeburn, vice president of operations at Rocky Mountaineer, who estimates that the company’s luxury train experiences contribute 140,000 hotel stays in visited communities and around $250 million in GDP per year. Simply bringing trains to town, however, is not enough. Tom Martinelli, editor of New York By Rail, highlighted the need for last-mile transportation from the train station, hotel options, package deals and communication for visitors. By increasing the number of trains used for tourism, we can stimulate economic growth in rural communities while simultaneously raising awareness of trains as an advantageous mode of transportation in the U.S.
Town to Town: Knitting Together a Multi-state Rail Corridor: Restoring passenger rail service across multiple state lines requires immense cooperation and coordination. In eastern Oregon, Utah, and southern Montana, this is happening at the local grassroots level. Panelists shared their efforts to establish community support for passenger rail and move regional planning forward.
Lunch Plenary: Reauthorization - What’s next for federal passenger and freight rail funding?: During this session, participants heard messages from U.S. Senator Jon Tester and Missoula, MT Mayor Andrea Davis, who emphasized that the investments in railroads will have lasting impacts on families and communities throughout the Greater Northwest. Licett Garbe, representing U.S. Senator Patty Murray’s team, reiterated the importance of advancing rail initiatives and outlined their efforts at the federal level to secure proper funding for these projects. Andrew Johnsen, a seasoned rail policy expert with a decade of experience at BNSF, shared the history of federal rail investments in the Northwest.
Green Rail Infrastructure: Saving Salmon & Enhancing Air Quality: In this session participants learned about two types of rail infrastructure projects that enhance our environment. James Dorman at the Idaho Transportation Department shared an overview of the SR-53 Interchange project, a highway-rail crossing grade separation that will remove a conflict point and decrease congestion for both trucks and cars as well as passenger and freight trains.
Johan Hellman, executive director of public affairs at BNSF, shared an overview of the Meadowdale fish culvert project, which rebuilt a railroad bridge to allow improved fish passage and restoration of upstream fish habitat. U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell has been a champion of sustainability projects like fish culverts, which aim to improve salmon population in the Pacific Northwest. Upgrading key rail infrastructure plays a crucial role in the functionality and feasibility of rail as a long-term solution to a more sustainable future.
Passenger Rail as a Healthcare Lifeline: For many rural communities in the U.S., access to specialty healthcare remains a significant challenge, often requiring residents to travel long distances for basic services. This issue is particularly pressing for tribal communities. HollyAnna Littlebull explained that not having multimodal transportation options, such as passenger rail, makes it difficult for residents to reach metropolitan areas, the only places where many critical healthcare services exist.
A study co-led by Gleb Sych, a medical student at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences, further revealed that many individuals in these communities struggle because their only means of transportation to urban areas is by car. This reliance on personal vehicles can exacerbate health disparities and limit access to essential services, underscoring the need for improved transportation solutions that connect rural areas with necessary services.
Rail Advocacy in 2025: Input From All Corners: Policymakers from Washington, Oregon and Montana participated in a panel that underscored the need for a Greater Northwest Rail Caucus to facilitate cross-state collaboration. Washington Representative Andrew Barkis noted the challenges in securing funding, yet he emphasized that short lines remain an important investment in connecting local communities to ports and international markets. Policymakers also emphasized the importance of partnering with the private sector in generating productive conversations. By investing in the future of rail and encouraging collaboration between public and private entities across state lines, leaders can strengthen businesses and uplift communities.
Rail Summit Outcomes and Next Steps
This year’s Greater Northwest Rail Summit – the largest and most robust to date – brought together a diverse group of industry leaders, policymakers and advocates to discuss our region’s rail renaissance. With strong attendance and a packed agenda, the rail summit facilitated numerous meaningful conversations vital in shaping the future of the Greater Northwest’s freight and passenger rail network. The room’s collaborative and optimistic energy underscores the importance for continued conversations and partnerships – a hallmark of High Performance Rail.
This conversation doesn’t stop here – the following initiatives and projects were identified as some of the top priorities for the region over the coming year:
Short line railroad tax credit legislation in WA, OR and ID and expansion of the 45G federal short line tax credit
The Big Sky North Coast Corridor Identification and Development (CID) process
The Amtrak Cascades CID process
Investments in the Amtrak Coast Starlight and Empire Builder corridors
Restoration of the Pioneer line via an application for the next round of CID funding
Reauthorization of the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
Speaker & Attendee Appreciation
The Greater Northwest Rail Summit was made valuable from the energetic participation of the moderators, panelists and attendees who joined the conversation in Spokane and online. Discussions like these are a powerful force in driving progress, and we extend our gratitude to all who made the time to join us.
Additional Resources
View the rail summit agenda and speaker presentations here.
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