Report from Spokane Summit
The Third Annual Greater Northwest Rail Summit in Spokane was very well-attended, with 170 people joining us in person and remotely.
The All Aboard Northwest and PNWER RIA team extend our gratitude for your participation in this year’s Greater Northwest Rail Summit. It was a pleasure to have you join us — in person or virtually — and we hope you found the discussions informative and the networking opportunities valuable.
This year’s Summit expanded its focus beyond passenger rail to discuss how an improved rail network in the Greater Northwest will benefit movement of both people and goods. The ideas and perspectives shared will undoubtedly help drive the future of High Performance Rail in the Greater Northwest, and we’re excited to continue collaborating with you to build this momentum.
The Summit was planned and organized by a team including AAWA and All Aboard Northwest Co-Executive Director Charlie Hamilton, together with staff from the Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER).
A few highlights of AANW’s participation from the two packed days:
- Updates from Amtrak, the Federal Railroad Administration, the Washington State Department of Transportation, and AAWA member Abe Zumwalt on plans for expanded service in the Cascades, North Coast Hiawatha, and Pioneer corridors.
- Brainstorming sessions on how additional service can be created.
- A discussion regarding the benefits of rail tourism including Bill Jenkin of Prosser Vineyard.
- A panel on making rail a healthcare lifeline, led by AAWA memer Dr. Breck Lebegue and including AAWA Board Member Gleb Sych who presented on his research conducted on our behalf in 2023, along with HollyAnna Littlebull from the Yakama Nation.
- AAWA Government Affairs Director Luis Moscoso led a panel discussion with legislators from throughout the region, including Washington state representatives Jake Fey and Andrew Barkis.
THANK YOU TO OUR SUMMIT SPONSORS!
- PNWER Regional Infrastructure Accelerator
- All Aboard Northwest
- David Evans and Associates, Inc.
- KLJ Engineering
- Quandel Consulting
- Big Sky Passenger Rail
- All Aboard Washington
- Savage Services
- CHCS.com Internet Development
- AORTA - Association of Oregon Rail and Transit Advocates
- Columbia Strategic Consulting Group
- Washington Public Ports Association
- The City of Yakima
- Breck Lebegue MD MPH
Videos and presentations from the summit are now available on the Agenda pages of the Summit website at https://nwsummit.org/ Thanks to everyone who helped out and attended.— we hope to see you at future events!
We’d love to hear from you! Please fill out this form to share feedback or ideas for future rail summits.