It’s been a long time coming, but a second daily passenger train between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., should start service some time this month.
Amtrak Cascades, which runs passenger trains in the Northwest, was ready to start the second round-trip train a year ago, but Canada’s insistence that the railway cover $1,500 (Canadian) a day in costs for customs staff in Vancouver derailed the plan.
That fee has been waived, at least for the next seven months, by the Canada Border Services Agency after pressure from train supporters and officials on both sides of the border.
The second train will run at least through next February’s 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver, when its ridership and costs will be reassessed.
For travelers, it will make day and weekend trips between Seattle and Vancouver — with possible stops in the Skagit Valley — more convenient. And the second train makes it much quicker and easier to travel between Portland and Vancouver, B.C., since the journey can be done on one train.
Trains will leave from Seattle for Vancouver at 7:40 a.m. (current train) and about 6:20 p.m. (new train) daily.
Trains will depart Vancouver at about 6:40 a.m. (new train) and 5:45 p.m. (current train). The trip takes about four hours one-way. For more information, go to www.amtrak cascades.com.
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