STANWOOD — This city will soon get passenger rail service for the first time since 1971.
The Stanwood station is under construction, and Amtrak Cascades could be making stops there later this year.
The Eugene, Ore., to Vancouver, B.C. rail route already carries about 775,000 passengers per year, said Kirk Fredrickson, a project manager with the state Department of Transportation.
He said 5,000 riders per year are expected to board at the Stanwood stop. The nearest Amtrak Cascades stops now are in Mount Vernon and Everett, Fredrickson said.
The Great Northern railroad stopped in Stanwood before 1971, but the city lost that service when Amtrak began operating, according to Frederickson’s research.
Stanwood’s new station will consist of a platform covered with canopies. There will not be an enclosed building, but a restroom may be added if the budget allows, Fredrickson said.
The platform and canopies, plus stormwater detention ponds and nearby street improvements, should be complete by mid-November, he said, and rail service should begin soon after.
Burlington-based construction companies Interwest Construction Inc. and Fisher & Sons, Inc. are working on the project.
• Elliott Wilson can be reached at 360-416-2147 or at .

