Dive Brief:
- Amtrak will debut two of its new Airo trainsets in the Pacific Northwest on Wednesday to serve the Cascades route between Vancouver, British Columbia, Seattle and Portland and Eugene, Oregon.
- Eight train sets are on order for the route. The first two train sets, each with a capacity of over 300 seats, will operate four daily trips.
- Eighty-three Airo train sets, manufactured in the U.S. by Siemens Mobility, are expected to replace older equipment on at least 14 intercity routes in the eastern and western U.S. The Northeast Corridor is next in line to get the trains in 2027.
Dive Insight:
Ridership on the 467-mile Cascades route topped 950,000 in fiscal year 2025. The service is funded by the Oregon and Washington transportation departments and ticket sales. The states contract Amtrak to operate the service.
“Oregon continues to reach record train ridership, and we are proud to partner with Amtrak to bring their new trains to the Pacific Northwest,” Chris Warner, interim director of the Oregon Department of Transportation, said in a statement.
Capable of speeds up to 125 mph, the new trains are more fuel efficient and feature improved customer amenities, according to Amtrak. The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funded the new train sets. “This is an important milestone not only for Amtrak Cascades customers, but for Amtrak’s broader effort to modernize and expand passenger rail across the country,” Amtrak Interim President Byl Herrmann said in a statement…