Amtrak wants to $200M to improve Seattle's railyard

Amtrak says it will improve its train yard in Seattle’s SoDo neighborhood over the next couple of years. The company says the goal is to improve service for riders and safety for workers.

Seattle’s rail yard in SoDo is about to get some updates and that could mean faster travel times along the West Coast.

Amtrak is replacing its fleet of passenger cars with new, faster ones.

Right now Amtrak passenger cars can travel along the Cascades route at about 79 miles per hour. In a couple of years, they’ll run trains that can go up to 125 miles per hour.

The Amtrak Airo trains are set to debut on the Cascades line in a couple of years.

But first: Tracks and other equipment need to be updated.

In Seattle, Amtrak says it will spend $200 million to get the rail yard ready for the new trains.