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Amtrak now mostly busing passengers to and from Vancouver after corrosion sidelines railcars

Amtrak now mostly busing passengers to and from Vancouver after corrosion sidelines railcars

CBC31-03-2025

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Amtrak says buses are replacing most of its train service between Vancouver and U.S. destinations along its Cascades route, including Seattle and Portland.
In a notice posted to the company website, Amtrak says its had to remove 26 passenger cars from the Cascades route after recent inspections found issues with corrosion.
"Amtrak has determined its fleet of Horizon trainsets will immediately be taken out of service, due to identified concerns with this aging equipment," reads the alert.
"Until further notice, buses have been chartered as substitute transportation for most scheduled trains."
CBC News has reached out to Amtrak for comment.
The Cascades route has 18 stops, including its northernmost terminus in Vancouver and southernmost in Eugene, Ore.
Only one trainset remains in service, according to the company, mostly operating between Seattle and Eugene.
Across its entire operation, Amtrak is removing a total of 70 of the Bombardier-built passenger rail cars due to corrosion, and says it is "determining how to replace the grounded Horizon trains by redistributing other trains in its national fleet."

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Flair Airlines to close crew base at Waterloo region's airport, will still fly in and out of YKF
Flair Airlines to close crew base at Waterloo region's airport, will still fly in and out of YKF

CBC

time30-05-2025

  • CBC

Flair Airlines to close crew base at Waterloo region's airport, will still fly in and out of YKF

Social Sharing Flair Airlines will close its crew base at the Region of Waterloo International Airport this fall but says it will continue to operate scheduled flights to this community. In a statement to CBC News, Flair's vice president of commercial, Eric Tanner, said the airline is currently taking "proactive steps to strengthen its business in the face of ongoing macroeconomic pressures." The crew base will close on Sept. 3. The base is similar to an office located at the airport where pilots and flight attendants would begin and end their shifts. "Flair remains the largest carrier at YKF [the airport code for Region of Waterloo International Airport] and will continue to operate scheduled flights in and out of the airport," Tanner's statement said. "The closure of YKF's crew base is not tied to any layoffs. Our inflight and maintenance teams will still have roles within Flair. Our maintenance base will remain vital and operational in YKF." The airline plans to expand into new charter operations that will "bring stable, guaranteed revenue." Tanner said the "strategic shift requires us to reallocate aircraft and reduce our scheduled passenger service after the summer peak." CBC News has reached out to the Region of Waterloo for comment on the closure of Flair's crew base. Flair first signed a deal with the region to fly out of YKF in February 2021. But the airline saw staff shortages and cancelled flights in 2022. In January 2023, the airline cancelled service to Montreal from the region and in March of the same year, the airline had four leased Boeing 737s seized — including one at the region's airport — over a commercial dispute. In April 2023, Flair Airlines told local media it planned to ramp up service to Waterloo region, but the increase would be slower than they had initially planned. But the airline also helped the Region of Waterloo International Airport reach a record number of passengers in 2023 and 2024. In January, the region said 523,210 passengers travelled through the airport in 2024 for a 17.9 per cent increase over 2023. Some of that has also included passengers for WestJet flights and people who check-in for Air Canada flights in Waterloo region before taking a designated bus to Toronto's Pearson airport.

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