Washington and Oregon receive first new Amtrak trains in decades

The Pacific Northwest will see new trains for the first time in decades, as Amtrak debuts eight new Airo trains on the PNW’s Cascades route. An Amtrak spokesperson said the company expects the Airos to reduce travel time on multiple routes and bring passengers increased reliability and comfort, Benton Graham writes for Grist. 

Airo trains can reach speeds of 125 mph and carry 317 passengers on the Cascades route — significantly more than the current trains — and will make it possible to have Amtrak trains running every hour through the Cascades route. Airo trains also produce fewer emissions than their predecessors and meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s strictest emissions standards for locomotive engines.

Amtrak will debut 83 new Airo trains this fall, starting with the PNW and eventually serving more than a dozen routes throughout New England, Pennsylvania, and the mid-Atlantic region.