10.02.24

King Street Rail Yard to Receive Major Upgrades, Allowing State-of-the-Art Trains to Service Seattle

Upgrades will remove final obstacle to Washingtonians enjoying brand-new Amtrak Airo trainset; Seattle will be first city in the U.S. to deploy Airo trains

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced that Amtrak will invest nearly $300 million in conducting major upgrades to the King Street Station rail yard. The project will support the introduction of new, state-of-the-art Amtrak Airo trains, which are set to enter service in 2026.

“These federal funds will enable Seattle to become the first place in America to host Amtrak’s new Airo trains, which will offer Washingtonians a more environmentally friendly and modern ride along the I-5 corridor. Building more capacity at Seattle’s King Street Yard will not only create full-time construction jobs, it means decades of jobs security for the dedicated train mechanics already working there,” Sen. Cantwell said.

Amtrak’s Airo trains feature redesigned interiors with improved comfort and accessibility, and will produce 90% less particulate emissions than their predecessors. They will also eliminate the need for engine changes at certain stations, resulting in reduced downtime at those stops. Seattle will be home to the first Airo trains in the country.

The King Street Coach Yard employs 135 mechanical workers, and the upgrade project will support 120 construction jobs.

In addition to supporting the new trains, the upgraded rail yard will enable modern, more efficient maintenance practices. Trains for the Cascades, Coast Starlight, Empire Builder, and Sounder routes are all maintained in Seattle. The renovated yard will operate without the use of fossil fuels for heating, allowing it to take advantage of the Pacific Northwest’s abundant renewable energy.

Thanks to Sen. Cantwell’s leadership, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provided $58 billion for passenger rail, including $22 billion for Amtrak – the largest bipartisan investment in passenger rail in history.

Following route cancellations during the pandemic, Sen. Cantwell urged the Amtrak CEO and director nominees to commit to the full-service restoration of the Amtrak Cascades route. Due to her advocacy, the Seattle to Vancouver, B.C., service has been open since September 2022. And in March 2023, Sen. Cantwell announced that a second daily trip was restored, bringing service back to pre-pandemic levels. Recently, in December 2023, Amtrak fulfilled another promise to Sen. Cantwell and added two more daily roundtrips between Seattle and Portland for a total of seven daily round trips.

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