Amtrak Airo Sneak Peak

Amtrak Airo trains offer a modern interior and spacious seating.

The newest trains in Amtrak's fleet, Amtrak Airo, will welcome their first customers tomorrow on the Cascades route. To celebrate the launch, Amtrak invited Seattle Transit Blog and other media organizations to tour and ride one of the new trains this past Saturday. The event kicked off with a marching band and speeches from leaders at Amtrak, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Washington State, and Siemens Mobility. After the event in Seattle, the train traveled south to Portland for another event before ending the day in Eugene.

Dignitaries pose with a new Amtrak Airo trainset. From left to right: CEO of Siemens Mobility North America Tobias Bauer, FRA Administrator David Fink, Governor Bob Ferguson, Amtrak Interim President Byl Herrmann, Amtrak Director Elaine Clegg.

Amtrak Airo trainsets consist of one locomotive, one Business Class car, one cafe car, and four Coach Class cars. The last Coach car also has a luggage compartment and operator cab. Compared to the current Amtrak Cascades rolling stock, these trains will provide a more reliable and comfortable trip for up to 317 passengers. While Amtrak Cascades has a 79mph speed limit for most of its route, Airo trains will reach their top speed of 125mph when they run on the Northeast Corridor staring next year.

Passengers can expect modern amenities throughout the train. Several information screens are located in every car to share details about the next stop, restroom location, and other announcements. Between each car, the vestibules are fully enclosed to prevent rain or snow from entering the train. Each passenger car has large windows next to every row and a manual shade for sunny trips.

Information screens provide key information at a glanceFully enclosed vestibules offer protection from rain and snowWindow shades can minimize strong sunlight on the trainBusiness Class

Business Class seats are located in the first car and have a 2-1 configuration. The Airo trainsets have 47 Business Class seats and 3 handicap spaces. Seat assignments are supported so Businesses Class travelers can guarantee seats next to their travel companions. There are three 4-seat tables, two 2-seat tables, and two adjustable table handicap spaces.

Business Class offers wider seats and a few more amenities than Coach Class.

The seats not at a table each have a small tray table, large tray table, device holder, drink holder, coat hanger, and footrest. All seats in Business Class feature an adjustable headrest, reading light, 2 full outlets, and several USB-C charging ports.

Large tray tableCoat hangerEach seat has a dedicated set of outletsSeat mounted reading light

All seats on the Airo trainsets use the bottom out recline technique. Rather than pushing the seat back into the next row, the seats recline by sliding the bottom of the seat forward to adjust the angle of the seat back.

Upright seat vs reclined seat in Coach ClassUpright seat vs reclined seat in Business ClassCoach Class

Cars 3, 4, 5, and 6 offer seats in Coach Class positioned in a 2-2 configuration. Despite name screens located above every seat, Amtrak Cascades does not support seat reservations in Coach Class.

While narrower, each seat has a similar tray table configuration to a Business Class seat. Each pair of seats has 2 full outlets and 2 USB-C charging ports.

Passengers can extend the table when neededEach seat has a tray table and lots of legroomThe power outlet is shared between both Coach seatsRestrooms

Each Amtrak Airo trainset has several restrooms located throughout the train. All restrooms are fully accessible and feature a mechanical sliding door (opened/closed with a button), touchless faucets, changing table, mirror light, and a small shelf for a purse or other personal items.

The fully accessible bathrooms offer a few upgrades to ensure a comfortable trip. Accessibility

Amtrak has implemented a number of upgrades for passengers using mobility devices. Tables used by passengers in handicap spaces have an adjustable height. This allows passengers to have a comfortable experience regardless of the size of their wheelchair or mobility aid. In addition, ceiling reading lights have been added above handicap spaces to provide a similar utility as the lights mounted to every seat.

Tables can be adjusted to match the passenger's preferred heightReading lights on the ceiling provide a personal light for handicap passengersCafe

The cafe car has been redesigned on the Airo trainsets. The cafe offers a selection meals, snacks, and drinks. On Amtrak Cascades, passengers can still enjoy Ivar's Clam Chowder and sandwiches from Alki Bakery. The cafe car has a water bottle refill station and a few rows of seats for passengers to use while dining.

FRA Administrator David Fink grabs lunch on the trainThe cafe offers quick snacks and full mealsAmtrak staff have already saved over 600 plastic bottles during testing. Bike Storage

Amtrak Airo offers a significant increase in bike storage over the older trains on Amtrak Cascades. Each Airo trainset has capacity for 18 bikes. Bike racks are located throughout the train and in the luggage compartment. In Coach Class cars, some luggage racks can be folded down for bike storage when needed. While bikes of all shapes and sizes are gaining popularity in the PNW, only bikes that meet Amtrak's nationwide guidelines are permitted onboard. These guidelines include a 50lb maximum weight and 2in max tire width. E-bikes are permitted as carry-on items.

Note: Amtrak is still updating its bike reservation system to account for the increased bike capacity on Amtrak Airo. As a result, reservations may still be limited to 6 bikes per train.

Bike racks in Coach cars can hold two bikesLuggage racks can fold down when the space is not needed for bike storageOperations

Starting tomorrow, Amtrak Airo trains will be used trips between Seattle and Eugene on trains 503 and 508 and between Seattle and Vancouver, BC on trains 516 and 519. A third Airo train is ready for service and will be kept in Seattle as a spare. During the first few weeks of operations, additional Amtrak staff will be onboard each trip to assist passengers and handle any minor technical issues.

Operator cab on Car 6

Five more Airo trainsets will be arriving in Seattle over the next few months. Each train will need to undergo further testing and validation on the Cascades corridor before entering service. Amtrak expects all Airo trains to be in service on the Cascades route by next summer.