Amtrak relaunches service from Seattle to Vancouver, B.C.

Amtrak Seattle-Vancouver, B.C. route returns next month

The popular Amtrak Cascades Service that connects Seattle to Vancouver, B.C., will return on September 26.

SEATTLE - Amtrak on Monday restarted its Cascades passenger-train service between Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia, after a two-year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Service was resumed earlier than the previously-announced December date, expected due to a lack of personnel.

This comes on the heels of the Canadian government dropping its mask and vaccine mandates for travel, including foreign nationals. Those rules end Oct. 1.

Canada, like the United States, requires foreign nationals to be vaccinated when entering the country. No change in the mandate is expected in the U.S. in the near term.

Unvaccinated foreign travelers who are allowed to enter Canada are currently subject to mandatory arrival tests and a 14-day quarantine.

One roundtrip will be offered daily, with a second added later as Amtrak staffing continues to ramp up.

Amtrak suspended service on the route to Canada about two years ago when the pandemic started and the countries’ borders were closed.

Amtrak said this spring they didn’t have enough conductors, mechanics and service staff yet to operate the trains likely until December. Washington state officials said at the time they hoped the trains would roll again by summer or late spring.