Passengers line up at Pacific Central Station the Vancouver, British Columbia, for that afternoon’s Amtrak Cascades departure. The round-trip that includes this train is to be restored at the end of September. (Bob Johnston)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Amtrak will resume single daily round-trip Cascades service between Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia, on Sept. 26, two years after trains were suspended because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The first Cascades train to Vancouver will depart Seattle at 7:45 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 26, stop at five cities along the way, and arrive Vancouver at 11:45 a.m. A southbound train will depart Vancouver at 5:45 p.m. and arrive Seattle at 10:10 p.m. Amtrak says a second daily trip will added in the future “as Amtrak staffing and equipment allow.”
Amtrak had announced in May 2022 that service on the U.S.-Canada route would not resume until December 2022 [see “Amtrak Cascades service to Canada pushed back to December,” News Wire, May, 16, 2022].
In addition to resuming service to Canada, Cascades service includes three daily round trips between Portland, Ore., and Seattle and two daily round trips between Eugene and Portland, Ore., plus two daily buses between Seattle and Bellingham, Wash., and four daily buses between Seattle and Vancouver.
In addition to standard entry documentation required at the border, the Canadian and U.S. governments have these additional requirements:
• Travel into the U.S.: Non-U.S. citizen passengers must be fully vaccinated with a U.S. FDA or a WHO approved COVID-19 vaccine. See details on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security website.
• Travel into Canada: All passengers must use the ArriveCAN app before travel and wear a mask in Canadian stations and aboard trains while traveling through Canada. Non-Canadian citizens must be fully vaccinated and carry a vaccination record visible on ArriveCAN. See details on the Government of Canada and VIA Rail websites, and additional Cantrail thruway bus service Vancouver travel requirements.
Resumption of trains to Vancouver represents the second of three Amtrak services traveling to Canada, follows a restoration of service to Toronto announced earlier this year
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