Two brand new Airo trainsets have joined the Amtrak Cascades route, operating four daily trips between Vancouver, B.C., Seattle, Portland, and Eugene, OR, and marking the first introduction of Airo trains into passenger service anywhere in the country.
[Above photo by Amtrak]
The Airo trainsets are manufactured by Siemens Mobility Inc. in California as part of a $7.3 billion deal Amtrak signed with Siemens in July 2021 to build up to 83 new trains for deployment on various state-supported and long-distance routes.
The new Airo trains will operate at speeds up to 125 mph and offer “near seamless” transition between power sources to reduce time-consuming locomotive changes, Amtrak said, and are touted to be more fuel-efficient as well and produce 90 percent less particulate emissions in diesel operations. As additional Airo trainsets enter service, they will continue to expand across the route, ultimately replacing the existing fleet, Amtrak noted.
“The arrival of the new Airo fleet marks an exciting moment for the Amtrak Cascades and passenger rail in the Pacific Northwest,” said Byl Herrmann, Amtrak’s interim president, in a statement. “After extensive planning, design, manufacturing and testing, we’re excited to welcome customers aboard. This is an important milestone not only for Amtrak Cascades customers, but for Amtrak’s broader effort to modernize and expand passenger rail across the country.”
“Amtrak’s Airo trainset was developed for today’s travelers, with a focus on comfort, connectivity and convenience – a testament to Amtrak’s dedication to improving and expanding services nationwide,” added Sean Duffy, secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, in a separate statement. “This rollout represents hundreds of American jobs that poured countless hours into building trainsets that commuters and tourists will enjoy across the Pacific Northwest for decades to come.”
Designed specifically for the Pacific Northwest, the new trainsets offer more than 300 seats for customers and are painted in the signature Amtrak Cascades evergreen, cream, and mocha color palette, and are decorated with design elements inspired by the Cascade mountain range.
“These new Amtrak Cascades trains are a gamechanger for rail travel in the Pacific Northwest,” said Julie Meredith, secretary of the Washington State Department of Transportation. “They bring improved reliability, comfort, and amenities to one of the most scenic rail corridors in the country. We’re particularly excited to be the first in the nation to introduce these new trains into service.”
“We are proud to partner with Amtrak to bring their new trains to the Pacific Northwest,” added Chris Warner, interim director of the Oregon Department of Transportation. “Amtrak Cascades offers Oregonians and visitors a chance to leave I-5 traffic behind and enjoy some of the most beautiful scenery in the country. We look forward to welcoming the new trains and giving even more people the opportunity to experience passenger rail in Oregon.”
Amtrak noted that it has ordered eight Airo trainsets for Amtrak Cascades, along with two new locomotives and a spare cab car, with additional trainsets set to enter service through early 2027, ultimately replacing the existing Amtrak Cascades fleet.
The next planned Airo deployment is on the Northeast Regional, Amtrak said, where the first trainset has completed production and begun testing ahead of a planned service launch in late 2027.
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