Amtrak opens new Seattle maintenance facility ahead of 2027 schedule

Amtrak has cut the ribbon on its new 100,000-square-foot maintenance facility in Seattle’s SODO neighborhood, opening a building originally scheduled to debut in 2027.

The facility near Holgate Street is designed to streamline train cleaning and maintenance while giving workers an indoor space to complete the work. It is part of a $300 million expansion project and was designed to accommodate Amtrak’s new Airo trains, which debuted last month.

Former Amtrak CEO Roger Harris told KIRO Newsradio during construction in 2025 that the building would allow crews to maintain trains without splitting them up and moving them between buildings.

“You don’t have to separate the train, move it to a different building, put it back together, etc,” Harris said. “So it’s a much more carefully choreographed maintenance program.”

Inside Amtrak’s new 100,000-square-foot maintenance facility in Seattle’s SODO neighborhood. (Photo courtesy of Amtrak)

Indoor maintenance means less time in the rain

The facility allows crews to perform maintenance indoors around the clock, protecting both trains and workers from the Pacific Northwest’s weather.

“In the climate here in the Pacific Northwest, being able to put all the maintenance under cover 24/7 and have an air-conditioned work environment. It is also a substantially better work environment that improves worker productivity,” Harris said during the 2025 visit.

Harris explained that trains would come into the building every day or so for maintenance planned in advance. Keeping that work in one location is intended to make the process more efficient.

The Seattle facility is the first of six new maintenance yards Amtrak is opening around the country.

Building for Amtrak’s new Airo trains

The project required substantial groundwork before the maintenance building could take shape.

During construction in 2025, workers were removing 500,000 gallons of water from the site each day because of the soft, wet soil. That allowed them to install pilings extending 140 feet into the ground.

Harris, who was Amtrak’s president at the time of that visit, praised the progress on the 600-foot-long building.

“It’s really impressive, not only how much work has been done this quickly, but how large the facility is going to be,” he said.

The building was designed around the new Airo trains, which Harris said would offer passengers updated amenities.

“It has 5G Wi-Fi,” Harris said. “It has a modern food service car, modern seating, lighting, etc., so the entire customer experience is far more contemporary.”

Chris Sullivan is a traffic reporter for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here. Follow KIRO Newsradio traffic on X.

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