New Amtrak trains are finally headed to the Pacific Northwest, giving riders in Washington and Oregon their first major equipment upgrade in decades and potentially opening the door to much more frequent service between Seattle and Portland.
On the Seattle-to-Portland run, riders who normally crawl up Interstate 5 could get a cleaner, roomier alternative without spending more time than they would behind the wheel.
Here’s what to know
As Grist reported, Amtrak’s $8 billion Airo program covers 83 trainsets that will eventually serve more than a dozen routes, including lines in New England, Pennsylvania, and across much of the mid-Atlantic. The rollout is expected to begin, with the first eight sets going to the Cascades route connecting Seattle, Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, British Columbia.
Even with six stops along the way, the train between Seattle and Portland already takes about three hours and 30 minutes, which is roughly the same as driving…