Amtrak Opens State-of-the-Art Train Maintenance Facility in Seattle
Amtrak and partners on Oct. 23 cut the ribbon on a new $250 million Maintenance and Inspection Facility in Seattle, designed to support the new Airo fleet that debuted on the Amtrak Cascades route last month. Delivered on time and $50 million under budget, the facility will open in phases through the end of 2026.
The nearly 100,000-sq ft building is the first maintenance facility of its kind for Amtrak, featuring three tracks for inspecting, servicing and performing heavy maintenance on a full trainset all under one roof.
Amtrak Executive Vice President of Capital Delivery Laura Mason said: “This new facility represents a major step forward for Amtrak and our customers in the Pacific Northwest. By providing our teams the modern tools and space to maintain an entire Airo trainset at once, we can work more efficiently while continuing our commitment to safe, reliable and comfortable service for the next generation of Amtrak Cascades customers.”
At approximately 700 ft long, the building can accommodate an entire Amtrak Cascades Airo trainset, enabling more modern and efficient maintenance. Amtrak’s legacy fleet of individual railcars must be moved in and out separately for maintenance at the existing facility onsite, a time-consuming and burdensome process that does not enable as efficient maintenance as this new facility.
Inside the maintenance facility, specialized equipment includes a drop table and split rail system, overhead bridge crane, monorail crane, sanding system and diesel exhaust system in addition to wayside water and air hose reels, sanitary and vacuum waste hoses, head-end power cabinets, and a fall protection lifeline system. The broader project also includes a new parking deck for employees and covered storage for maintenance materials.
Seattle is part of Amtrak’s broader investment in new and upgraded maintenance facilities across the country to support today’s fleet and the next generation of trains. These modern facilities allow full trainsets to be inspected and serviced together, helping reduce downtime, improve efficiency and keep trains ready for customers.
Major project highlights include:
- Two-level, 39,000-square-foot parking deck for employees and material storage
- 4,000 lf of rail
- 16,000 cubic yards of concrete
- 2.4 million lbs of concrete reinforcement
- 12 million lbs of structural steel
- 439 driven piles (11 miles in length)
- 132 drilled piles (three miles in length)
The new facility continues Amtrak’s long-term investment in the Seattle Rail Yard, following previous completion of other, smaller maintenance facility improvements, new administrative building space, and a car wash in 2013, 2019, and 2025.
