A second daily Amtrak train between Seattle and Vancouver will be added next year, thanks to a breakthrough deal that should build support for more service along the route.
British Columbia will help pay for a passing track in Delta, which should help relieve a major bottleneck. Currently the 30 miles north of the border accounts for nearly half of the four-hour trip between Seattle and Vancouver. Shortening the travel time from downtown to downtown will make the train far more competitive with driving or flying, especially ahead of the 2010 Olympics.
Adding a second train will make it possible to do a round trip from Vancouver in a single day. B.C. said it expects another 50,000 visitors to visit Vancouver in first year of the additional train.
Separately, Amtrak said ridership on the Cascades service between Eugene and Vancouver is up, with revenue rising 18 percent in the last four months. Additional traffic should build public support for further improvements along the corridor.
What are the "on time" numbers for this train? I've ridden Amtrak elsewhere on the westcoast and it was sllllooooooowww and never on time. Ticket price was high too. Train not so fun.
Posted by: Anonymous | March 07, 2007 at 21:08
On-time performance of the Cascades trains average about 60 percent in 2006, according to WSDOT. "On time" is defined as arriving within 10 minutes of schedule. The goal is 80 percent.
Whatever you do, avoid the Coast Starlight train that goes to and from Los Angeles and is usually hours behind schedule.
Posted by: brad | March 08, 2007 at 10:26
I did Seattle-Vancouver BC this weekend, round trip, and we were on time both ways (within one minute).
Posted by: Ben Schiendelman | March 09, 2007 at 19:25
Kudos. This is a positive step. I'm surprised local government didn't propose a bullet train between the two cities. Seattle hotels would have benefited from such an idea. Unfortunately this is a bit late in the game. The instant Vancouver was announced as a site, local politicians and business should have been finding ways to capitalize on this international event.
Posted by: Joe | April 05, 2007 at 09:26