OAKLAND — Additional Amtrak railcars — coming from as far away as the East Coast — have arrived in the Pacific Northwest as a substitute for Talgo railcars that are sidelined because of a maintenance issue, Amtrak said.
Motorcoaches are also available, with buses covering some of the scheduled train frequencies. New schedules will start Wednesday, Sept. 5.
“One of the advantages of Amtrak as an operator of state-supported service is a nationwide equipment pool with experts in operations and scheduling,” said Kurt Laird, the Seattle-based Amtrak District Superintendent. “We are working closely with the states of Washington and Oregon in order to restore frequencies using the substitute Amtrak railcars.
“We will experience some very busy conditions on these Amtrak trains and others around the country until the Talgo railcars are returned to service,” Laird added.
The substitute railcars do not have all the features and amenities of the Talgo cars, nor will they operate on the same schedules, so passengers should use the train numbers on the attached schedules when making reservations, buying tickets and checking the status of trains operating between Seattle and points south to Eugene.
Amtrak Cascades rail service from Seattle to Vancouver, B.C., continues to operate with its original train numbers and schedules using Superliner equipment. Motorcoaches will be provided for passengers traveling between Bellingham, Mt. Vernon and Everett to Seattle with separate motorcoaches between Edmonds and Seattle.
Amtrak Cascades is operated by Amtrak under contracts with the Washington and Oregon Departments of Transportation. Under contract, Talgo has responsibility for the maintenance of Talgo railcars and these maintenance operations are performed in Seattle.
Amtrak will be operating on the attached schedules at least through the semi-annual timetable change that is scheduled for Oct. 28, 2007.
— Special to Railfanning.org News Wire
