Amtrak Cascades’ highly anticipated new Airo trains will begin carrying passengers this week, bringing more seating capacity and a host of modern amenities to the Pacific Northwest rail corridor.
During a “Meet the Fleet” event Saturday at Portland’s Union Station, guests got an early look inside the trains that will serve the commuter line running from Eugene to Vancouver, B.C.
Passengers will notice numerous upgrades. The trains feature larger windows, redesigned seats, new cafe cars and onboard Wi-Fi. Every seat has individual reading lights and power outlets, including USB-C ports. Fold-down tray tables are designed to accommodate laptops, phones and tablets, while adjustable cup holders can fit even the largest water bottles.
Accessibility improvements include wider aisles and larger restrooms with a 60-inch turning radius. Tray tables for passengers who use wheelchairs or other mobility devices feature adjustable heights.
“This is the first new regional-type passenger coaches that they’ve introduced since the AmFleet cars in the mid-’70s when I was in high school,” said David Fink, administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration. “I’m now eligible for Social Security, so that tells you that it’s been a while.”
The first two Airo trainsets, operating four daily trips, will begin service Wednesday, Sept. 30. By 2027, eight trainsets on the Cascades route will be replaced.
Nationwide, Amtrak is spending $8 billion on 83 Airo trainsets. The Pacific Northwest is the first region in the country to receive the new fleet.
Each Airo trainset has 317 seats, roughly twice the capacity of the old AmFleet line.
The rollout comes as Amtrak Cascades looks to rebound from capacity shortages caused by an aging fleet and growing demand for rail travel. Amtrak Cascades saw steady growth over the last few years and carried a record 993,000 passengers in 2024, a 33% increase over 2023. But ridership fell slightly in 2025, largely because of the reduced seating capacity when aging railcars were pulled for repairs.
“Train travel is really important in our region,” said Andrea Durbin, interim manager of the Oregon Department of Transportation’s Public Transportation Division. “It helps reduce congestion. It’s a good environmental solution, helping reduce emissions, but it also meets people’s needs.”
The Amtrak Cascades line is primarily funded by ticket sales, but the balance of operating costs is covered by the states of Oregon and Washington.
While the Cascades trainsets will operate on diesel power, versions of the Airo trains used on the East Coast will run on a hybrid system that uses both diesel power and existing overhead electric lines. Currently, Amtrak trains must stop to switch engines between diesel and electric portions of the route. The new Airo trains will be able to make that transition without stopping.
“That 45-minute engine change means that if you’re going from Richmond, Virginia, to Philadelphia, the train just doesn’t make sense because you end up (sitting) in D.C. for so long,” said Laura Mason, Amtrak’s executive vice president for capital delivery. “Being able to make that change at speed I think will open up all new routes and new connection, new origin destination pairs that will really change how people live and work on the East Coast.”
For Northwest passengers, however, the biggest difference may simply be comfort and seating availability.
It will still take roughly the same amount of time to travel between Portland and Seattle.
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