Riding the first train from Seattle to Canada since the pandemic started

The Amtrak Cascades train route from Seattle to Vancouver, B.C. resumed this week for the first time in more than two years. While the border has been open to cars and buses for months, Monday’s train trip was the first since the pandemic began.

Just before 7 o’clock on Monday morning, Teedie Kagume was chatting with other passengers waiting inside King Street Station in Pioneer Square.

“Very, very excited,” Kagume said looking out the window at the train. “It's such a pleasure to have it running back.”

Kagume lives in Paul River, British Columbia, and has been taking the bus back and forth between there and Seattle since the pandemic started. But nothing compares, she said, to the train ride that hugs the coast all the way up to Canada.

“Being so close to the water and looking at the marine traffic…that is very exciting.”

Other passengers at King Street were also eager to enjoy the scenic ride north.

People lined up early with tickets and passports in-hand. Suzan Schneider from West Seattle was headed to Vancouver for the week with friends. The group originally booked bus tickets.

“But then we heard that it was changing to the train so we swapped out our tickets for the train,” Schneider said. “Super excited that we got to do this.”

The mood aboard the first ride was jovial. Amtrak crew members took photos of a packed train car. Passengers were given Amtrak mints, key chains, and luggage tags to commemorate the ride. At one point, an overhead announcement came on to help first-time riders figure out which side of the train would have a view of the water during the ride.

The first trip did have a couple of hiccups along the way, though. The café car initially couldn’t process credit cards when passengers were eager for coffee, but employees eventually got it working.

Like with most travel these days, there was some waiting around. The four-hour trip was delayed in both directions due to freight traffic and a raised drawbridge on the Fraser River near Vancouver. Passengers like Kagume said they didn’t mind spending a little more time next to the water.

An Amtrak spokesperson said Monday’s train was nearly full, close to pre-pandemic numbers. Most passengers boarded in Seattle but others joined in Everett and Bellingham.

The train service is offering a daily, round trip to Canada that leaves Seattle at 7:45 a.m. and returns in the late evening.