Passenger train connecting Vancouver to Seattle, Portland returning in September
The Amtrak Cascades passenger train is expected to resume operations between Vancouver and Seattle in September, for the first since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Amtrak previously said the trains wouldn't return to Vancouver until the end of the year, citing ongoing staffing shortages.
"Earlier plans called for a December return to Canada, but Amtrak was able to advance the schedule," the company wrote on Twitter.
Cascades connects 18 cities down the west coast of Canada and the U.S., reaching as far south as Portland, but service into British Columbia has been suspended since March 2020, when the border was closed to non-essential travel.
Vancouver passengers were eventually given the option of boarding a bus and connecting onto the Cascades in Seattle. It's unclear whether people who have purchased bus tickets for this fall will be given an opportunity to take the train instead.
The service boasts "spectacular" views of forests and ocean, along with a bar car, hot food and free onboard Wi-Fi.
"Rail travel frees your eyes from the road, providing more opportunity to enjoy the beautiful Pacific Northwest scenery," reads the Washington State Department of Transportation website.
Prior to the pandemic, about 159,000 people rode the Cascades between Vancouver and Seattle annually.
Earlier this year, Washington state officials approved US$150 million in spending to study the possibility of building a high-speed rail service from B.C. to Oregon – a project that could eventually replace the Cascades, but is expected to take decades to build and estimated to cost at least $42 billion.
A previous business case analysis on the possible rail line, released in 2019, estimated it could zip people between Vancouver and Seattle in under 60 minutes.
With files from The Associated Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
WHO likely to issue wider alert on contaminated cough syrup
The World Health Organization is likely to issue a wider warning about contaminated Johnson and Johnson-made children's cough syrup found in Nigeria last week, it said in an email.
WATCH Video shows dramatic police takedown of carjacking suspects chased through parking lot north of Toronto
Police have released video footage of a dramatic takedown of a group of teens wanted in connection with an attempted carjacking in Markham earlier this month.
Canada, G7 urge 'all parties' to de-escalate in growing Mideast conflict
Canada called for 'all parties' to de-escalate rising tensions in the Mideast following an apparent Israeli drone attack against Iran overnight.
'It was all my savings': Ontario woman loses $15K to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
Families to receive Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
After COVID, WHO defines disease spread 'through air'
The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time on what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.