December 26, 2025
AAWA Year-End Report
Happy Holidays from AAWA! As 2025 comes to a close, we want to share with you some of the successes your engagement and support have enabled this past year. We also look ahead at some exciting opportunities and news for 2026.
2025 Activities
Undoubtedly the largest success for passenger rail in Washington in 2025 was the passage of House Bill ESHB 1837: Establishing intercity passenger rail improvement priorities. This bill, pushed forward by our allies at the Rail Can’t Wait coalition, puts ambitious timelines on service improvement goals for Amtrak Cascades service between Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, BC. We support ESHB 1837’s service goals and will push for clearer funding to achieve these goals as part of our 2026 Legislative Priorities.
AAWA testified before the State Transportation Commission in February in support of leveraging Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to continue improving passenger service across the state, which we hope contributed to the conversation on improving passenger rail in Washington.
Throughout the year, AAWA has been engaged in local and regional rail advocacy and information sharing efforts. Our new online forum debuted as a place for members to find information and coordinate advocacy activities. AAWA was a partner of the 2025 Pacific Northwest Rail Summit in Portland. We supported the 2025 Week Without Driving by creating a digital guide for connecting between local transit, Amtrak Cascades, and Sounder in 20 locations between Bellingham and Portland. And Kirk Fredrickson from the WSDOT Rail, Freight, and Ports Division provided Amtrak Cascades updates during our 2025 annual meeting.
2026 Plans
All Aboard Washington plans for 2026 to be a year of foundational changes for both the organization and rail advocacy more broadly. As an organization, AAWA will seek to increase its organizing capacity and functional capabilities by articulating clearer duties for Board Members and action items for members and friends. In the broader context of the upcoming short session, our 2026 Legislative Priorities will focus on policy recommendations that lay the groundwork for larger conversations on funding in the years ahead, such as:
- Supporting re-starting service between Seattle and Chicago via Stampede Pass, as part of the Big Sky North Coast Corridor project.
- Supporting re-starting service between Seattle and Denver via Boise and Salt Lake City. One option for this route would serve the Tri-Cities and Yakima.
- Creating a State Rail Advisory Committee.
- Studying potential funding sources for passenger rail, such as expanding Climate Commitment Act funds to provide funding for approved Federal Railroad Administration Corridor Identification and Development (CID) projects.
- Supporting YVCOG’s application for a Supporting Investments in Economic Development (SEID) grant to study the creation of a new multimodal transit center in the Yakima Valley.
We will continue to engage in cross-state, bipartisan conversations and actions to advance these priorities and set the stage for larger funding conversations in 2027.
We will continue to deliver on our core mission of informing the public and our governing representatives about the benefits of passenger rail. AAWA will review and comment on the Puget Sound Regional Council’s 2050 Regional Transportation Plan. We will also consider embarking on another set of Train Treks in 2026 to further drive awareness and engagement in passenger rail advocacy across Washington.
Two major milestones for passenger rail transportation will be met in 2026. First, following successful testing in Colorado and the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak Cascades expects to put the first of its eight new Siemens Airo trainsets into service, modernizing the passenger experience for Cascades riders and increasing seating capacity to meet record ridership demand. Second, Sound Transit has begun pre-revenue operations of the Link light rail 2 Line across Lake Washington and is on track for an early 2026 opening. This service will come in time for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, during which Seattle Stadium and nine Fan Zones spread across Washington State will welcome visitors from across the world. Learn more about World Cup transportation options at Sound Transit’s World Cup countdown page, and from FIFA’s host city page for Seattle.
How you can help
Our organization’s successes depend on your participation - so thank YOU for making our work possible! There are many ways you can help our success continue into 2026:
- Join our board of directors! Review the position description here. Nominations will be voted on at our January 10, 2026 meeting.
- Become a volunteer.
- Discuss our 2026 Legislative Priorities with your elected representatives.
- Donate or become a member
- Work with AAWA’s many coalition partners, including
- Follow us on
Thank you again for your support! Please donate now to help us start 2026 full speed ahead! We wish you very happy holidays and safe travels.
Patrick Carnahan
Board Member
Charles Hamilton
Executive Director