Amtrak's $8 Billion Trains Can't Compete with SeaPort's Speed
Amtrak is set to launch its new $8 billion Airo trainsets on the Cascades route, but SeaPort Airlines claims it's just a money-sucking exercise in futility. The airline operates out of Seattle's Boeing Field and offers flights from Seattle to Portland and Spokane, with travel times cut by over half compared to Amtrak.
According to Kent Craford, founder and CEO of SeaPort Airlines, 'I love the train, but not if I have to get somewhere. Or by a certain time.' He claims that Amtrak's new trains are just the same old slow travel on freight train tracks, burning passengers' time for three-and-a-half hours to travel 120 miles.
SeaPort Airlines has been operating from Boeing Field since it was founded on the principle of saving its customers' time and money. With no public subsidies required, the airline uses existing infrastructure to launch efficient and time-saving service. In contrast, Amtrak's new Airo trains will require billions in public investment and ongoing subsidies.