Families travel for less on Amtrak Cascades.

When I was a kid, the only time we ever traveled as a family was to go visit my Aunt Jesse, who lived on the Olympic Peninsula. It was always a big event. We would load up the station wagon and away we'd go. The thought of traveling by train or airplane was just foreign to me at that age, we just didn't do it. We didn't even think about it. It's been a long time since then and I still haven't taken a long trip by train. 

Amtrak Cascades and Washington state wants to change that for families. According to bigcountrynewsconnection.com,
“Train travel has become more accessible and appealing for families and young adults with the introduction of free fares for passengers 18 years old and under on Amtrak Cascades trains in western Washington. This initiative allows young passengers to travel for free between any of the 12 train stations in the region.” 

This program is actually a first in the Amtrak National System. funding for the program comes from the “Move Ahead Washington transportation package and the state’s Climate Commitment Act.” Yeah, I know it's a mouthful. But it seems like a pretty cool program. When I was 17 years old, I was a pretty independent kid. I think I would have jumped at the chance to take a train ride for Free to Vancouver. From there I could just get on a bus and go to Portland, it would be fun. 

For the price of a bus ride from Vancouver to Portland, OR. I could see the Portland Trail Blazers play the Seattle Sonics. (Ohh yeah, I would have to get tickets for the game.) 

Children 16 and under need to be accompanied by their parents, adult tickets from Seattle to Vancouver cost $27.00. That's cheap.  

The goal of this program is to get an entire generation interested in train travel. It'll be interesting to see how effective it is.  

I hope they're successful. 

Amtrak Cascades Introduces Free Travel for Youth in Washington State | News | bigcountrynewsconnection.com
Amtrak Cascades (amtrakoregon.com)