[NFBWATlk] New Accessible Amtrak Train Review

[dandrews920 at comcast.net]

From: Washington-County-Chapter <washington-county-chapter-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Patricia Kepler via Washington-County-Chapter
Sent: Sunday, September 27, 2026 8:50 PM
To: NFB of Oregon Washington County Chapter List <washington-county-chapter at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Patricia Kepler <pkepler at gmail.com>
Subject: [Washington-County-Chapter] New Accessible Amtrak Train Review

 

Hi all, I was invited to tour the new accessible Amtrak car today and was asked to share it here. This new car is getting a soft launch on the Cascade line starting this Wednesday, September 30. 

You can read more about the car here  <https://amtrakoregon.com/discover/airo-launch> https://amtrakoregon.com/discover/airo-launch .


>From Portland you can ride this car on the 11:15 southbound train and the 7:30 evening north bound trains.

Boarding the train in Portland is still a problem. Apparently they have recently updated the Eugene Amtrak station, so those boarding there will not have access barriers like we do in Portland.

Currently the steps for boarding this train do not have a rail and you go up 5 steps before you enter the train. The description scared me enough I ask to use the lift for boarding. However, Rhea could not be boarded via the lift, so an employee took her on to the train and I got her back once I boarded.

After touring the train, however, I chose to use the steps so I would be able to give a full report. There is no rail, but I was able to grip the wall of the train most of the way down. The last two steps were past the wall of the train. They still had to take Rhea down for me though.

 

Once on the train, I was totally impressed.

We first came to the snack car. There is a digital display menu on the wall with a QR code for scanning and there are actual print menus. Nothing in braille, but if you have a phone, or smart glasses you can get the information.

We then came to the bathroom. It is a single user bathroom. Rather than a door handle you will find a large round button to push to open the door. Once inside, you will find two buttons on the wall. The lower one shuts the door and the upper one activates the lock. When you are done with the bathroom you will have to push the button to unlock the door before pushing the button to open the door.

 

We then navigated to the business class section of the train. In this section you had very nice seats with arm rests and power supplies for your electronics between the seats. The seat I sat in had a table in front of it rather than the back of another seat. This provided a nice space for Rhea at my feet. I was told there were two tables like this in coach as well. I say this because one thing that is new with these trains is you can reserve the seat you want when booking your ticket.

 

The train cars felt wide open and spacious and the transition between cars felt smooth. I actually hadn’t noticed I had gone between cars until someone told me. Now this train was not moving, but I was told it had a very smooth ride. I have memories of multiple bruises from trying to navigate a moving train, so I am eager to see just how smooth it is. Right now this train has limited trips, but will soon be the the standard car for the Cascade line.

 

I am hoping to take a trip down to Eugene in the next couple of weeks on board one so will be able to share more if that happens.

 

I am happy to answer any additional questions folks might have.

 

Patricia & Rhea

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