A sudden national suspension of Horizon class rail cars has upended service on Amtrak Cascades, forcing some riders onto replacement bus service. The suspension applies to Amtrak’s entire Horizon fleet, which is affecting numerous routes across the country. Amtrak said in a statement today that inspectors discovered corrosion on several Horizon rail cars, which raised concerns with the aging equipment after speaking with the vehicle manufacturer.
Cascades service heavily relies on the Horizon rail cars, which provides 26 rail cars in the fleet. Two Talgo 8 series trainsets remain on hand, but only one of those trainsets is in working order, as the second trainset was recently involved in a very damaging tree collision and pending repair. As a result, only one daily Cascades roundtrip (Train Numbers 503 and 508) remains in service using trains, providing service between Seattle and Eugene. All other trips are being supplemented with bus service through Sunday, March 30.
What happens beyond March 30 is unclear.
“Amtrak is determining how to replace the grounded Horizon trains by redistributing other trains in its national fleet,” Janet Maktin, a Washington State Department of Transportation spokesperson, said in a statement. “Amtrak will notify the states of Washington and Oregon as soon as a plan is in place to move replacement trains to the Pacific Northwest.”
Historically, the Cascades service exclusively used Talgo trainsets. But in 2019, following the December 2017 derailment of a Talgo VI series trainset near DuPont, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a recommendation to cease use of all Talgo VI series trainsets as soon as possible over safety defects.
As a result of the NTSB recommendations, WSDOT discontinued use of the trainsets and took on the older Horizon rail cars as an interim solution. Cascades has new Airo (Siemens Venture) trainsets on order, which are supposed to be delivered and put into service starting in spring 2026. Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funded the Airo purchases for Cascades and nationwide — a first step in reversing decades of federal disinvestment in Amtrak service.
The Horizon rail cars were originally manufactured by Bombardier Transportation and put into Amtrak service in 1989. Bombardier later merged with Alstom, the manufacturer that Amtrak is now working with on the Horizon issues. According to Amtrak spokesperson Kelly Just, Amtrak is in the process of examining and developing plans with Alstom to resolve the corrosion problems. Rail cars won’t be able to be repaired at local Amtrak maintenance facilities, necessitating transfer to Alstom.
Amtrak has yet to say where the vehicle corrosion was first discovered and exactly how it poses a risk to vehicles, but there are reports of corrosion found on vehicles maintained in Chicago.
The decision to ground Horizon rail cars came on Tuesday, according to Just. That decision was made by Amtrak itself, in coordination with Alstom, in what Just called a “proactive move.” The Federal Railroad Administration was also notified and concurred with the decision.
Earlier this week, Trains.com reported that Cascades service was being impacted with train cancellations due to knock-on maintenance backlogs. That followed maintenance backlogs recently impacting Sound Transit’s Sounder commuter rail service. Amtrak denied any connection between the Horizon issue and local maintenance backlogs.
The Horizon rail car suspension affects numerous state-sponsored regional intercity passenger rail corridors across the nation under the Amtrak brand. Outside the Pacific Northwest, Amtrak’s Midwest services are the most exposed, with impacts to corridors in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota. But the ripple effect is also hitting New England’s Downeaster service.
The once daily Empire Builder service will continue to connect Seattle and Everett, but no Amtrak train service will run north of Everett for the time being. The once daily Coast Starlight service offers another option to travel south of Seattle.
While suspension of the Horizon rail cars is not yet directly cancelling Amtrak Cascades service, passengers will still be greatly affected in service quality. Amtrak is scheduling bus service, largely based upon passenger demand, and is honoring bike reservations onboard those vehicles. Passengers booked for business class will be downgraded to coach class, but will be refunded the service class price difference.
Buses operating between high ridership destinations may occasionally run express, such as directly between Seattle and Portland without intermediary stops, saving passengers some travel time. However, buses will be affected by local traffic conditions.
The crisis impacting several Amtrak corridors across the country is happening while the agency is undergoing a leadership transition. Reportedly, Trump officials pushed to oust CEO Stephen Gardner, who officially resigned last Wednesday, leaving Amtrak leaderless for the moment.
Stephen is a professional urban planner in Puget Sound with a passion for sustainable, livable, and diverse cities. He is especially interested in how policies, regulations, and programs can promote positive outcomes for communities. With stints in great cities like Bellingham and Cork, Stephen currently lives in Seattle. He primarily covers land use and transportation issues and has been with The Urbanist since 2014.