Two Siemens Airo trainsets will enter revenue service on Amtrak Cascades beginning Sept. 30, WSDOT announced. One trainset will run a Seattle–Vancouver, B.C., round-trip while another will serve routes south of Seattle; a third Airo recently arrived in the Pacific Northwest. Ordered in 2021 with IIJA funding, the Airos each offer more than 300 seats and are expected to ease capacity shortages caused by prior equipment withdrawals and maintenance issues.
First Siemens Airo Trainsets to Begin Amtrak Cascades Service on Sept. 30
The latest Airo trainset is the third of eight for Amtrak Cascades service in the Pacific Northwest. Sleeping car Pacific Bend brought up the rear of the train. Adam Reich
Two Siemens Airo trainsets will begin revenue service on Amtrak Cascades on Sept. 30, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) confirmed this week.
Service Plans and Testing
WSDOT's freight and rail planning manager, Jason Beloso, announced the start date at a meeting of the Puget Sound Regional Council's Transportation Policy Board. One Airo will operate a round-trip between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., while a second will be assigned to routes serving points south of Seattle. Test runs have been ongoing for several months, and a third Airo trainset arrived in the Pacific Northwest last week.
An Airo coach is displayed at the opening of Siemens' new production facility at Lexington, N.C., on April 3, 2026. Bob Johnston
Why the New Equipment Matters
Amtrak Cascades currently runs six daily round-trips between Seattle and Portland, Ore. (plus the Coast Starlight), with two services extending into Canada and two terminating in Eugene, Ore. Equipment shortages in recent years — including the withdrawal of Series VI Talgo trainsets and the removal of some Amtrak Horizon cars due to corrosion — left Cascades operations short of capacity and led to many sold-out trains, especially on weekends.
The Airo trainsets each offer more than 300 seats and are expected to relieve crowding. Five additional Airo trainsets are scheduled to arrive through 2026, increasing capacity and reliability on the corridor.
An Amtrak Cascades train passes the Steilacoom, Wash., depot on June 25, 2018. David Lassen
Background
The Airos were ordered from Siemens in 2021 with funding provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The order followed the Dec. 18, 2017 derailment of a Series VI Talgo trainset — an incident attributed to operator error — after which Amtrak committed to replacing the Talgos. WSDOT withdrew all Series VI equipment from Cascades service on June 30, 2020; two Oregon-owned Series 8 Talgo trainsets remained in operation under a reduced maintenance agreement as service recovered. Amtrak also reassigned Amfleet I coaches and café cars from other corridors to fill out consists until corrosion issues forced the withdrawal of some cars in March 2025.
Design and Production
While the Airo shares much of its carbody and cab-car architecture with Siemens' Venture trains ordered for California and Midwestern corridors, its seating, interior finishes, and café configurations have been specifically redesigned for Amtrak Cascades operations. An Airo coach was displayed at the opening of Siemens' new production facility in Lexington, N.C., on April 3, 2026.
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