SEATTLE — Almost two years after halting the service because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Amtrak has begun preparations to restore Cascades operations to Canada from Seatttle.
Last week, Amtrak posted a notice on the Facebook page dedicated to the Cascades service informing customers that they might see Cascades trains running between Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia, as crews make requalification runs. “It’s an important step toward re-establish train service later this spring,” the post notes. “Once we have an exact date, we’ll let you know.”
Amtrak has been operating multiple bus round trips between Seattle and Vancouver since late 2021, but the lengthy rail shutdown reflects U.S-Canada border restrictions that have been in place since March 2020. With the those restrictions easing, restoration of rail service is now a viable option.
What about Toronto and Montreal.
CL, Canada has 35,761 deaths from Covid according to recent data available online. The US is 8.97 times greater in population than Canada based on current census data from both countries. If the US did as good a job containing Covid as Canada has, it would have experienced about 321,000 deaths. Last week, the US had a moment of silence for 900,000 deaths caused by Covid. If the US had been as successful as Canada in controlling Covid then roughly 580,000 Americans might still be alive.
Canada followed the science and lived with comprehensive public health measures to control the spread of the virus. Canada also has much higher levels of vaccination than the US running around 80% for 2 doses nationally. A good chunk of the population has a booster shot as well. The reward for following the science and getting vaccinated is about 1/3 of the death rate experienced by the US.
In Ontario, a number of public health measures end on February 17th because of declining hospital occupancy for Covid in ICUs and wards. The vaccine passport ends March 1. Masking will still be in effect but I expect that will end some time in March except for schools. We can’t keep the public health measures in place to protect unvaccinated members of the population. Fortunately, most of the Covid now circulating in Ontario is the more contagious but less lethal Omicron variant.
We have all had enough of masks, distancing and staying home but we will accept a few more weeks of inconvenience if that’s what is need to finish off the pandemic.
Well put Roger.
The trains are bookable starting June 3, 2022.
Good to see it coming back soon. A lot of people aren’t ready to travel yet, but it will start to come back soon. BC has one of the highest vaccination rates on earth so it is very safe to visit. Thank you science!
Mr. Landey how can you prove that social distancing hasn’t saved thousands of lives. But science says it has. But you can have your opinion…..for what it’s worth.
Haven’t seen that “science”.
More and more people are coming to believe what I have 100% believed all along – that social isolation accomplished exactly nothing in containing the virus while creating huge amounts of harm.
The virus was present on both sides of the border. So why was the border closed? Insane.