Amtrak Cascades service returns to Vancouver for first time in years
A cross-border passenger train connecting Vancouver to Seattle has entered Canada for the first time in years.
Amtrak Cascades service to Vancouver was suspended early in the COVID-19 pandemic, but returned to the city Monday on a new schedule that includes a single daily round-trip.
The train currently departs Seattle at 7:45 a.m. and arrives in Vancouver at 11:45 a.m., then departs Vancouver at 6 p.m. and arrives in Seattle at 10:10 p.m., with stops at five U.S. cities along the way.
But travellers can't take the Cascades directly between Vancouver and Portland as they used to, at least for the time being.
Trains from Vancouver arrive in Seattle too late to make any southbound connections, and trains from Portland arrive in Seattle too late to make any northbound connections.
It's unclear whether direct service from Vancouver to Portland will return. CTV News has reached out to the operator for more information.
Last month, Amtrak Cascades issued a statement promising a second daily trip to and from Vancouver would eventually be added when "staffing and equipment allow."
For now, there are three daily round-trips between Portland and Seattle, two daily round-trips between Eugene and Portland, plus bus service between Vancouver, Seattle and Bellingham.
Prior to the pandemic, about 159,000 people rode the Cascades between Vancouver and Seattle annually.
The service boasts "spectacular" views of forests and ocean, along with a bar car, hot food and free onboard Wi-Fi.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Breast cancer screening should start at age 40, Canadian Cancer Society says
The Canadian Cancer Society says all provinces and territories should lower the starting age for breast cancer screening to 40.
DEVELOPING Live updates as Stormy Daniels testifies at Trump hush money trial
Adult film star Stormy Daniels is on the stand a second time Thursday as former U.S. president Donald Trump’s hush money case continues in Manhattan. Follow live updates here.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
Ontario man frustrated after $3,500 paving job leaves driveway in shambles
An Ontario man considering having his driveway paved received a quote from a company for $7,000, but then, another paver in the neighbourhood knocked on his door and offered half that rate.
Why these immigrants to Canada say they're thinking about leaving, or have already moved on
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
BREAKING Sheldon Keefe out as head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Sheldon Keefe. The team made the announcement Thursday after the Original Six franchise lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Boeing 737 catches fire and skids off the runway at a Senegal airport, injuring 10 people
A Boeing 737-300 plane carrying 85 people skidded off a runway at the airport in Dakar, Senegal's capital, injuring 10 people, according to the transport minister, an airline safety group and footage from a passenger that showed the aircraft on fire.
Canadian-Israeli man shot dead in Egypt; claim links killing to Gaza
A Canadian man 'of Jewish Israeli descent' has been shot dead in the Egyptian city of Alexandria in a suspected criminal case, a security source said, while a previously unknown militant group said it carried out the attack in reaction to the war in Gaza.