For first-time riders, it’s something of a tease, raising expectations that the entire run south will be so scenic.

It starts when the southbound train rounds the bend at the end of the Foss Waterway. As it slowly builds speed, it puts the shoreline on display with views of Commencement Bay, the Narrows bridges and Puget Sound on the right. The only breaks are two dark plunges through tunnels at Ruston.

Once at Nisqually, the tracks head inland for the remainder of the run to the Columbia River.

If you’ve never taken this trip, do it soon. If you’ve done it many times and loved it, do it again. Because within a few years, Amtrak will surrender the route to freight trains.

Contractors for Sound Transit will begin work late this year on track and crossing improvements so the Sounder commuter train can reach Lakewood and Amtrak trains can bypass Point Defiance.

Once it’s completed, probably in 2012, all passenger trains will leave Freighthouse Square, cross Pacific Avenue and head through South Tacoma and Lakewood. Sounder trains will end at the proposed Lakewood Station on Pacific Highway Southwest near 47th Avenue Southwest, while Amtrak trains will continue through DuPont and meet up with the BNSF mainline near Mounts Road.

The cost is $60 million, not counting Sounder-specific projects like sidings and the Pacific Avenue crossing.

Chalk it up to progress. The change trades views for speed. The new route and faster speeds will shave six minutes between Seattle and Portland.

Kevin Jeffers, the rail engineering manager for the state rail office, said the goal is to reduce travel times so that business travelers, not just leisure travelers, will use the train. Currently, a train that is on schedule takes 31/2 hours between Seattle and Portland. The goal is to cut that by an hour.

“Over the years, we’ve gained 30 minutes,” Jeffers said. But that was accumulated through a series of small-time savings. The six minutes gained by the Point Defiance bypass is the largest single savings in the project’s history, Jeffers said.

And by taking a different route than freight trains, at least through Tacoma, Amtrak can put more runs on the tracks. The Nelson Bennett tunnel beneath Point Defiance carries only a single track, leading to scheduling conflicts with freight trains. Getting passengers off the route will allow increased freight service to and from the Port of Tacoma.

Progress comes at some cost. In addition to making the route less scenic, the change will bring additional noise and delays to South Tacoma and Lakewood. A handful of lazy freight trains roll on these tracks now. But once the improvements are completed and the Sounder service is extended, the tracks will carry 10 Amtrak trains at up to 79 miles per hour and 18 Sounder trains at about 45 miles per hour.

That troubles Lakewood officials, who worry about safety and traffic delays at 10 crossings. Sound Transit promises improved crossings and claims there won’t be a significant impact on traffic or noise. It agreed to install wayside horns (those that sound at the crossing and not from the engine) at 100th and 108th streets Southwest.

Still, reluctant neighbors like Scott Tveten aren’t convinced. His Glenwood Avenue property abuts the tracks south of the proposed Lakewood station. He worries about frequent, high-speed trains adjacent to where his kids play. And he thinks most people in the area don’t realize what’s happening, despite a mailing from the state.

“I think the state’s assessment of the situation blew off safety concerns, all to save six minutes,” Tveten said.

But he’s been told there is little chance of stopping this project. This train, it seems, has left the station.

Peter Callaghan: 253-597-8657

peter.callaghan@thenewstribune.com

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