Tom, I have read several published reports that say Amtrak will move over to the ex - NP Prairie line once ' upgrading ' is complete. But as you mentioned, Sounder only plans on running as far South as Lakewood ( so far ); so who pays for ' upgrading ' the remainder of the line ??? Although Amtrak trains using the Prairie Line will avoid congestion @ Point Defiance, they will have to go up & down the 2.8% Gulch along South Tacoma Way and deal with many street crossings along the line. And how will Amtrak deal with the back up moves between Freighthouse Square & the current Amtrak depot ??? Also, will Amtrak / WSDOT receive a refund for monies they spent on the new curve @ D St in Tacoma ??? This curve relocation is a perfect example of BNSF putting one over on Public Transit officials. Tens of millions of dollars were spent to buy property & rebuild the curve @ the West end ( South end timetable ) of the Amtrak depot to reduce curvature, all of which reduced running times by 2 minutes !!!