In what’s being touted as a North American first, travellers on Amtrak Cascades trains from Vancouver to the U.S. Pacific Northwest will no longer stop at the border along the way. The company announced the change Wednesday, saying preclearance stations are up and running at Vancouver’s Pacific Central Station—meaning all necessary screening will happen prior to boarding, reducing travel time by approximately 10 minutes. “This is a historic moment for passenger rail in North America,” Roger Harris, Amtrak president said in a statement. “Launching the continent’s first rail preclearance facility reflects what’s possible when strong partners come together with a shared focus on the customer experience. This improvement makes cross-border travel faster, easier, and more seamless from the moment passengers arrive at the station.” The announcement noted that both Vancouver and Seattle are hosting World Cup matches in the coming weeks and said the move will make it easier for Canadians, Americans and international tourists to travel between the two cities. For more than a year, Canadians have generally been taking fewer trips south of the border amid “political tensions,” according to Statistics Canada. B.C. Premier David Eby was among the politicians who called for a boycott of cross-border travel in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war and 51st state remarks. However, the most recent available data—from April of 2026—showed the first year-over-year increase in travel to the U.S. since December of 2024. The percentage of Canadians making return trips that month increased by a 1.4 per cent, according to Statistics Canada.
