Traveling from Vancouver, British Columbia by Amtrak Cascades just got a little faster due to new United States customs prescreening protocols that went into effect Monday. Customs screenings are now being carried out before passengers depart Vancouver, allowing trains to avoid an additional stop at the U.S. border in Blaine. Consequently, travel time across the border should be reduced by at least 10 minutes.
Because of the new protocols, Amtrak is trimming scheduled travel time from Vancouver to Seattle to four hours and 15 minutes, down from the previous allotted time of four hours and 25 minutes. Northbound trains from Seattle have a shorter four-hour scheduled travel time.
For decades, U.S.-bound trains were required to slow on approach to the border and then halt upon reaching the Peace Arch Border Crossing in Blaine. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers stationed at the border crossing would then board trains to collect customs declarations and inspect travel documents and baggage of passengers, and on occasion conduct other searches that could further delay trains.
Under the new CBP protocols that went into force on June 8, Cascades passengers now complete all security screening, customs declarations, and travel document and baggage inspection at Vancouver’s Pacific Central Station prior to departure. That streamlines the preclearance process at the station where passengers had already been required to provide travel documents and have baggage inspections prior to boarding trains and where U.S. agents would clear trains for boarding and departure.
Amtrak has asked passengers to arrive an hour before departure at Pacific Central Station to complete the preclearance process and board trains. Border control security protocols also require passengers to be seated at least 15 minutes before departure so that trains can be properly secured.
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), which sponsors the Cascades services, is aiming to trim the southbound runs to four hours of scheduled travel time in the future. But for now, published Amtrak schedules are maintaining extra padding time.
Even short of longer term goals for time savings, the new preclearance protocols will benefit a substantial number of Cascades passengers. Approximately 149,000 Cascades passengers passed through Pacific Central Station alone in 2025, according to WSDOT, making Vancouver the third busiest destination on the Cascades service. Currently, two daily Cascades roundtrips travel between Vancouver and Seattle.
In time, further enhancements could reduce travel times to three hours and 36 minutes and increase service to six daily roundtrips under existing WSDOT proposals. Outside advocacy groups are pushing for bigger improvements that could trim trip times further, though state lawmakers have been slow to fund such ambitions, with the highway budget continuing to take home the lion share of investment.
U.S. border preclearance is common at major Canadian airports like Vancouver International Airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, and Montréal–Trudeau International Airport, but Pacific Central Station is the first Canadian railway station to fully benefit from it. Amtrak currently runs two other cross-border routes to Canadian destinations, with the Maple Leaf service to Toronto and Adirondack service to Montréal.
Amtrak and WSDOT have been pushing for customs preclearance since 2019.
In a statement on Wednesday, WSDOT Secretary Julie Meredith lauded the timing of the passenger and operational improvements.
“This is a milestone year for train travel in the Pacific Northwest. We’re pleased to offer Amtrak Cascades passengers a better cross-border experience, particularly as we welcome visitors from around the world as part of the international soccer games happening in both Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia this summer,” Meredith said. “In addition, we’re going to introduce new Amtrak Cascades trains later in 2026, with significantly more seats and onboard amenities. As a result, we’re anticipating record-breaking ridership in the year ahead and a bright future for rail travel throughout our region.”
Amtrak is hoping that the boost from World Cup soccer fans and new Airo trains helps push Amtrak Cascades past the one million annual passengers mark for the first time in its history.
Stephen Fesler
Doug Trumm
