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Cascadia welcomes new trains to Vancouver to Eugene route (www.cascadia-journal.com)
submitted 1 day ago by to c/fuckcars@lemmy.world
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The Urbanist got a look inside the ++of new Airo trains++ that will run on the popular Amtrak Cascades train route connecting Vancouver BC, Seattle, Portland, Eugene and cities in between. The shiny new trains go into service on Sept 30 and can hit speeds of 125 mph. They'll offer improved WiFi service, no-touch-control restrooms, and lots more seating capacity. The service, which is heavily subsidized by the Washington and Oregon departments of transportation, is a key climate-friendly transportation option for western Cascadia.

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[–] 4 points 1 day ago

That schedule is dumb. You have to commit to a bunch of times or no one is gonna use it.

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    [–] 3 points 1 day ago* (3 children)

    The tracks twist and turn so much, they rarely hit 40 mph currently. I'm doubtful that the speed is capable of improving that much.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 day ago (2 children)

    There's definitely stretches where the train can pick up a lot of speed and make up the time.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 day ago (1 child)

    I checked the estimates and it's still slower than driving the same route on I-5.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 day ago*

    Again, certain stretches. Eugene to Portland is just over 2 hours by train and just over 2 hours by car. Part of Washington when broken up are roughly the same on I5 as it is by train.

    The full length? Yes a car is faster from end to end, but then your in a car for 8 hours. A train is more comfortable. I'd rather be comfortable from for 9 hours end to end on a train, than a car for 8. And that's coming from someone that's regularly done multiple 16 hour drives for some vacations and has driven across the country.

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