PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Starting on Dec. 11, Amtrak Cascades will offer two more daily round trips between Portland and Seattle.
Both Pacific Northwest cities will have earlier departures in the morning and later departures in the evening.
Officials said the Washington State Department of Transportation and the Oregon Department of Transportation added these extra trains just in time to meet the demand for holiday travel.
“Many of our trains are sold out, so the addition of these two trains between Portland and Seattle has long been awaited by our customers,” WSDOT Rail, Freight and Ports Division Director Jason Biggs said.
For Portlanders, the earliest train leaves at 6:45 a.m. and the latest leaves at 7:25 p.m. For Seattle residents, the earliest departure is scheduled for 5:52 a.m. and the latest is scheduled for 7:50 p.m.
Now, Amtrak Cascades will have a total of 12 trains leaving from the two most popular cities on the Cascades route. Other stops include Tukwila, Tacoma, Olympia and Lacey, Centralia, Kelso and Longview, and Vancouver in Washington.
“This significantly increases capacity for riders traveling between the two busiest stops on the Amtrak Cascades route every morning and evening,” Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell said in a statement. “These cities along the I-5 corridor are interconnected, and growing fast – together, Portland and Seattle added nearly a million residents and 700,000 new jobs over the last decade.”
ODOT Director Kris Strickler added that taking the train to a certain destination is more eco-friendly than driving or flying, and cutting emissions is a prime concern for the agency.
Along with the two new round trips, Amtrak Cascades plans on modifying pre-existing train schedules as well.
Eugene’s northbound morning train will leave later in the day so passengers can travel all the way through Seattle. The railroad company will also offer later morning departures between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. Additionally, there will be earlier afternoon departures from Canada to Seattle and from Portland to Vancouver, B.C.
Tickets for the additional trains will be on sale this Friday, Dec. 1.
