The ''Pacific International'' was a passenger train operated by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

between

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

and

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

. It was Amtrak's first international train service, operating from 1972 until 1981.

History

Arrival and departure board at King Street Station Seattle 1981

Amtrak did not retain any cross-border services when it assumed control of most intercity passenger trains in the

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on May 1, 1971. As part of its 1972 appropriation for Amtrak the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

directed that $2 million be used for the establishment of service to Vancouver,

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

(the '' Montrealer''), and

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(the '' Inter-American''). The Burlington Northern Railroad's ''

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'' had served the Seattle–Vancouver route up until the creation of Amtrak, and resuming service posed no significant challenges. The first ''Pacific International'', Amtrak's first international train, ran on July 17, 1972. The train was scheduled to connect with the

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–Seattle ''

Coast Starlight The ''Coast Starlight'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on the West Coast of the United States between Seattle and Los Angeles via Portland and the San Francisco Bay Area. The train, which has operated continuously since Amtrak's format ...

'' in both directions. Between October 1979 and April 1980 the southbound ''Pacific International'' began departing from Vancouver in the middle of the day and terminated in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

. On paper, the ''Pacific International'' should have been a success. Rail service had operated between Seattle and Vancouver for most of the 20th century. However, the train struggled to attract riders throughout its history. In 1975 the

United States Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States a ...

said it was the worst performer in the system, with a deficit of 47 cents per passenger mile. Critics of the train noted the influence of Senator

Warren Magnuson Warren Grant "Maggie" Magnuson (April 12, 1905May 20, 1989) was an American lawyer and politician who represented the state of Washington in Congress for 44 years, first as a Representative from 1937 to 1944, and then as a senator from 1944 to 1 ...

(D-Washington) in establishing the service. In early 1979, Secretary of Transportation

Brock Adams Brockman Adams (January 13, 1927 – September 10, 2004) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of Congress. A Democrat from Washington, Adams served as a U.S. Representative, Senator, and United States Secretary of Trans ...

proposed eliminating 43% of Amtrak's route network, and the ''Pacific International'' was on the chopping block. In the end Congress agreed to fewer, though still significant, cuts, and the ''Pacific International'' survived for another two years. Amtrak discontinued the ''Pacific International'' on September 30, 1981, as part of another restructuring. After its discontinuance Vancouver service did not return until the inauguration of the ''Mount Baker International'' in 1995. This route was folded into the ''

Amtrak Cascades The Amtrak ''Cascades'' is a passenger train corridor in the Pacific Northwest, operated by Amtrak in partnership with the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. It is named after the Cascade mountain range that the route parallels. The corr ...

'' brand in 1998, and still exists today with two daily round trips, one from Seattle to Vancouver and one from Portland to Vancouver.

Notes

References

* * {{Former Amtrak routes Former Amtrak routes International named passenger trains Railway services introduced in 1972 Railway services discontinued in 1981 Passenger rail transport in British Columbia Passenger rail transportation in Oregon Passenger rail transportation in Washington (state)