Amtrak Cascades service fully restored after 11-day disruption

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Amtrak Cascades lines are now fully up and running after all but one were suddenly removed from service eleven days ago.

According to Amtrak spokesperson Kelly Just, the service was restored and trains began operating on schedule Sunday morning.

“Eleven days is an amazing timeline,” she told KOIN 6 News. “We relied on our state partners from around the country to send their equipment to us. It’s been rolling in gradually on our long distance train, the Empire Builder, and we’ve been able to turn around the cars very quickly and then add them to our fleet and get them rolling.”

The old Horizon trains were originally removed from service due to corrosion concerns on the aging equipment, which originally went into service in 1989.

“It was spotted during a daily inspection in what they call the vestibule area, which is the portion that’s between the cars,” Just added. “And that’s also the area that’s most exposed to rain and ice and snow melt and salt.”

The resulting disruption affected service to 18 stops between Vancouver, B.C. and Eugene. Meanwhile, a total of 70 passenger cars across the country were affected, including 26 on the Amtrak Cascades route, Just said.

In the interim, customers were offered alternative transportation or the option to cancel their trip for a full refund or rebook at a later travel date without change fees.

Amtrak then began looking for replacement trains from out of state, releasing a timeline for their rollout on March 31.

In the meantime, Amtrak secured buses to send passengers to their destinations while they started looking for replacement trains from out of state.

Despite the service restoration, Amtrak noted there will be a limited number of cars on each train, with just two coach cars, 17 business class seats and a cafe car.

As a result, Amtrak suggests customers book their trips in advance.