(The following appeared on the Seattle Times website on November 20, 2009.)
SEATTLE — Expecting the busiest travel week of the year, the state Department of Transportation and Amtrak are adding more Amtrak Cascades trains next week. To accommodate more passengers, 10 trains will be added to the Amtrak Cascades route between Portland and Seattle.
From next Tuesday to Nov. 30 is typically Amtrak’s busiest travel period of the year, carrying more than 660,000 passengers last year nationwide.
In 2008, Amtrak Cascades carried 16,241 riders over the Thanksgiving weekend. The ridership over the five-day period contributed more than 27 percent of the total riders for the month of November.
The additional Amtrak Cascades trains will operate next Wednesday through Nov. 29. The schedule will be:
Wednesday, Nov. 25: Train 511 — Departing Seattle at 1:30 p.m.; arriving in Portland at 5:45 p.m. Train 514 — Departing Portland at 7 p.m.; arriving in Seattle at 11:15 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 26: Train 502 — Departing Portland at 9 a.m.; arriving in Seattle at 1:15 p.m. Train 505 — Departing Seattle at 8:30 a.m.; arriving in Portland at 12:45 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 27: No schedule changes.
Saturday, Nov. 28: Train 502 — Departing Portland at 9 a.m.; arriving in Seattle at 1:15 p.m. Train 511 — Departing Seattle at 1:30 p.m.; arriving in Portland at 5:45 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 29: Train 511 — Departing Seattle at 1:30 p.m.; arriving in Portland at 5:45 p.m. Train 512 — Departing Portland at 1:45 p.m.; arriving in Seattle at 6 p.m. Train 514 — Departing Seattle at 7 p.m.; arriving in Portland at 11:15 p.m. Train 515 — Departing Portland at 7 p.m.; arriving in Seattle at 11:15 p.m.
Regular one-way adult fares between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., start as low as $26, or between Portland and Seattle, $28. Visit www.AmtrakCascades.com, or call 800-USA-RAIL for reservations and information.