The newest trains in Amtrak’s fleet, Amtrak Airo, will welcome their first customers tomorrow on the Cascades route. To celebrate the launch, Amtrak invited Seattle Transit Blog and other media organizations to tour and ride one of the new trains this past Saturday. The event kicked off with a marching band and speeches from leaders at Amtrak, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Washington State, and Siemens Mobility. After the event in Seattle, the train traveled south to Portland for another event before ending the day in Eugene.
Amtrak Airo trainsets consist of one locomotive, one Business Class car, one cafe car, and four Coach Class cars. The last Coach car also has a luggage compartment and operator cab. Compared to the current Amtrak Cascades rolling stock, these trains will provide a more reliable and comfortable trip for up to 317 passengers. While Amtrak Cascades has a 79mph speed limit for most of its route, Airo trains will reach their top speed of 125mph when they run on the Northeast Corridor staring next year.
Passengers can expect modern amenities throughout the train. Several information screens are located in every car to share details about the next stop, restroom location, and other announcements. Between each car, the vestibules are fully enclosed to prevent rain or snow from entering the train. Each passenger car has large windows next to every row and a manual shade for sunny trips.
Business Class
Business Class seats are located in the first car and have a 2-1 configuration. The Airo trainsets have 47 Business Class seats and 3 handicap spaces. Seat assignments are supported so Businesses Class travelers can guarantee seats next to their travel companions. There are three 4-seat tables, two 2-seat tables, and two adjustable table handicap spaces.
The seats not at a table each have a small tray table, large tray table, device holder, drink holder, coat hanger, and footrest. All seats in Business Class feature an adjustable headrest, reading light, 2 full outlets, and several USB-C charging ports.
All seats on the Airo trainsets use the bottom out recline technique. Rather than pushing the seat back into the next row, the seats recline by sliding the bottom of the seat forward to adjust the angle of the seat back.
Coach Class
Cars 3, 4, 5, and 6 offer seats in Coach Class positioned in a 2-2 configuration. Despite name screens located above every seat, Amtrak Cascades does not support seat reservations in Coach Class.
While narrower, each seat has a similar tray table configuration to a Business Class seat. Each pair of seats has 2 full outlets and 2 USB-C charging ports.
Restrooms
Each Amtrak Airo trainset has several restrooms located throughout the train. All restrooms are fully accessible and feature a mechanical sliding door (opened/closed with a button), touchless faucets, changing table, mirror light, and a small shelf for a purse or other personal items.
Accessibility
Amtrak has implemented a number of upgrades for passengers using mobility devices. Tables used by passengers in handicap spaces have an adjustable height. This allows passengers to have a comfortable experience regardless of the size of their wheelchair or mobility aid. In addition, ceiling reading lights have been added above handicap spaces to provide a similar utility as the lights mounted to every seat.
Cafe
The cafe car has been redesigned on the Airo trainsets. The cafe offers a selection meals, snacks, and drinks. On Amtrak Cascades, passengers can still enjoy Ivar’s Clam Chowder and sandwiches from Alki Bakery. The cafe car has a water bottle refill station and a few rows of seats for passengers to use while dining.
Bike Storage
Amtrak Airo offers a significant increase in bike storage over the older trains on Amtrak Cascades. Each Airo trainset has capacity for 18 bikes. Bike racks are located throughout the train and in the luggage compartment. In Coach Class cars, some luggage racks can be folded down for bike storage when needed. While bikes of all shapes and sizes are gaining popularity in the PNW, only bikes that meet Amtrak’s nationwide guidelines are permitted onboard. These guidelines include a 50lb maximum weight and 2in max tire width. E-bikes are permitted as carry-on items.
Note: Amtrak is still updating its bike reservation system to account for the increased bike capacity on Amtrak Airo. As a result, reservations may still be limited to 6 bikes per train.
Operations
Starting tomorrow, Amtrak Airo trains will be used trips between Seattle and Eugene on trains 503 and 508 and between Seattle and Vancouver, BC on trains 516 and 519. A third Airo train is ready for service and will be kept in Seattle as a spare. During the first few weeks of operations, additional Amtrak staff will be onboard each trip to assist passengers and handle any minor technical issues.
Five more Airo trainsets will be arriving in Seattle over the next few months. Each train will need to undergo further testing and validation on the Cascades corridor before entering service. Amtrak expects all Airo trains to be in service on the Cascades route by next summer.
Correction: “The cafe car has a water bottle refill station and a few rows of seats for passengers to use while dining.” -> I asked the staff there and they said that the seats in the cafe car are normal coach class seating now which passengers may choose to sit in full time.
The seats in the cafe car are nonrevenue seats according to the guy in charge of Amtrak Cascades operations at WSDOT. They are intended for cafe patrons.
Side note, BNSF still isn’t allowing the Airo cab cars to lead, so the older NPCU will be on the train until BNSF gives its blessing.
The issue stems from the grade crossing circuit activations on the Airo that is having an issue with the crossings. It is the same issue with the Amtrak California and Midwest Venture cars.
How does that work? I thought the new trains didn’t have conventional coupling ability. Is this a matter of getting the BNSF engineers trained on the new equipment?
@Brian, haven’t seen your name for a while on the blog. Great to have you back!
Between cars it’s semi-permanent coupling.
At the front and back, it’s conventional coupling.
Despite Amtrak’s stated limit of 2″ wide tires, the bike racks used in the coach cars support tires up to 3″ wide. Source: https://vtbikesolutions.com/products/the-mountaineer-mountain-bike-rack
Since the racks are in the cabin and passengers will presumably be carrying their bikes on, it seems that it will be possible to transport modern mountain bikes and all-terrain bikes with >2″ wide tires.
During the open hour tours in Seattle on Sunday, our tour guide did say that assigned coach seats will be available in 2027 or so.
The last time I rode Amtrak to Portland, they were having problems with the air conditioning, and the train car was very hot. These new cars should hopefully fix it.
Presumably parts are more plentiful for new equipment.
Do these go faster than the old trains? 79mph doesn’t seem like much, so I’m guessing the old trains already hit that speed, but do the new ones accelerate faster?
I think I read the trains can do 125mph. But the BNSF track is limited to 79mph. The Talgos were able to operate at a slightly higher speed because of the tilt mechanism. I’m disappointed that the new trains don’t incorporate that sort of technology because upgrading the track isn’t going to happen. Any money there is will go into bypass routes that maybe shorten the trip but most importantly allow avoiding slowdowns from freight operations.
There’s not enough stops that faster acceleration will make much difference. Especially when it’s often a case of hurry up and wait.
The tilt mechanism allows for much higher speeds on curving track. It could never be utilized with the Talgos here because the locomotives used were too heavy.
The X2000 in Sweden cut approximately 2,hours off a 5 hour trip on a line similar to the Cascades. That’s what is possible with this technology if used properly.
I wonder why it’s called “tilt” which implies a fulcrum UNDER the object being made askew.
The Italians have the right word: “Pendolino”, a pendulum. The car bodies swing outward from the frames above the shared trucks.
A little more Old Guy Sundowning here: in 1989 I went to Spain for a “personal growth ” convention near Malaga. I rode the train from Madrid and followed along on a highway map that showed the railroad lines. My wife went a few days early to be an “assastant” at the training.
At one place the highway crossed over the trackway on an unusual bridge that I remembered.
After the seminar my wife and I rented a car to explore southern Spain and to get back to Madrid for return to the US.
Along the way I recognized the artistic bridge and wanted to watch trains. Luckily there was a road off the highway right at the end of the bridge, so we went down it. It crossed the tracks and then turned alongside them, so I followed it almost until it went under the highway bridge.
As good luck would have it, a Talgo came along in about ten minutes WHIPPING ALONG. As it was already in the curve, the cars had swung way out to the right of the train as it came around the curve from the north, then they swung down to vertical in front of us and then out to the train’s left as it went through the reverse curve. It was quite graceful to watch and as smooth as it had felt when I was on the train.
The ergonomic seats don’t look like they would be comfortable for short adults and children. They look less padded than current seats.
Also, how much narrower are the coach seats,? They almost look like airline seats. Amtrak has always touted how much more comfortable the seating is compared to airline seats.
Looking forward to comments once the cars become operational.