Amtrak adding second round-trip to Vancouver. Here’s when

Rachel Showalter

Amtrak announced it will add a second round-trip to Vancouver, B.C., via the Cascades route to fully restore service to pre-pandemic levels, according to a news release from the office of U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell.

Riders can expect the second trip to begin on March 7.

The company also announced it will add more daily trips between Seattle and Portland. Beginning in the fall of 2023, Amtrak will increase the number of trips from four to six.

The Cascades route from Seattle to Vancouver, B.C., was suspended in 2020 due to the pandemic. Amtrak did not return services over the border until Sept. 26, 2022.

Amtrak planned to reintroduce a second round-trip service on the Cascades this winter after hiring more engineers, conductors and mechanical employees, Amtrak Vice President of state-supported services Ray Lang previously told The Bellingham Herald.

The single train currently operating on the route leaves Seattle at 7:45 a.m. and reaches Vancouver around 11:45 a.m., depending on delays. The only daily return train leaves Vancouver, B.C., at 5:45 p.m. and arrives in Seattle around 10:10 p.m.

Amtrak’s Cascade train passes White Rock, B.C., in September 2022. This week, Amtrak announced it will increase the number of daily trips between Seattle and Portland from four to six beginning in fall 2023.
Amtrak’s Cascade train passes White Rock, B.C., in September 2022. This week, Amtrak announced it will increase the number of daily trips between Seattle and Portland from four to six beginning in fall 2023.

It makes stops at stations in Edmonds, Everett, Stanwood, Mount Vernon and Bellingham.

As of Friday afternoon, Jan. 13, Amtrak’s website was still only listing one round-trip train available for booking on March 7.

A one-way coach ticket from Seattle to Vancouver, B.C., starts at $45. Leaving from Bellingham, a one-way ticket to Vancouver, B.C., starts at $18.

Pre-pandemic, more than 750,000 annual riders utilized the route connecting the state of Washington, Oregon and British Columbia, according to the news release.

An Amtrak train rolls through Bellingham in 2022 on a test run for the Cascades train, which returned in September. This week, Amtrak announced it will add a second round-trip to Vancouver, B.C., beginning March 7, restoring full service on the Cascades line to pre-pandemic levels.
An Amtrak train rolls through Bellingham in 2022 on a test run for the Cascades train, which returned in September. This week, Amtrak announced it will add a second round-trip to Vancouver, B.C., beginning March 7, restoring full service on the Cascades line to pre-pandemic levels.

I rode the Amtrak Cascades train to Canada. You’ll want to get a ticket