posted
Yay! With importunations from both sides of the border, I gather the Canadian government has finally agreed. But what a pain to have to wait till the last minute to find out it would continue. I hope Amtrak didn't print up all their new schedules yet.
yukon11 Member # 2997
posted
Hurrah! Well, at least the 2nd Cascade will run until Oct of 2011.
Actually, considering the inconvenience of the #517 train (leaving Vancouver at 5:45 PM). I would pay an additional $20 to keep the #513 (morning train leaving Vancouver at 6:40 AM) train running.
If they cannot maintain two trains after Oct of 2011, I would even go for just having one morning train between Seattle and Vancouver and one morning train between Vancouver and Seattle.
Richard
notelvis Member # 3071
posted
Presumably if only the morning departure was maintained in either direction, Canadian Customs could handle both trains with a single shift.
sojourner Member # 3134
posted
5:45PM is a little late, but it's good for making the connection from the Canadian. OTOH, one even more often wants a train that gets into Seattle early enough to continue on to Portland or the Empire Builder, so that one isn't obliged to overnight in Seattle. So I like having both!
notelvis Member # 3071
posted
I think that if coming off the Canadian and boarding the evening Cascade I would be inclined to detrain in Bellingham, WA, spend the night, and then continue southward to Seattle in the morning.
I've done the overnight layover in Seattle two or three times now......plus another in Portland. I'm ready to try something 'different' and having the second Vancouver-Seattle frequency makes this possible.
palmland Member # 4344
posted
That is good news, but I thought the evening train from Vancouver was great. When we rode it, the dinner was outstanding, especially when viewed from one of the tables for two on the water side. Do they still offer evening sit down meals? A quick cab ride had us to our Seattle hotel at a decent hour.
sojourner Member # 3134
posted
They did not offer full dinner the 2 times I rode it, Palmland, but that is not for a couple of years.
Keep in mind that right now, until Oct 2011 at least, they are still keeping the evening train (no idea re dinner on it) and the morning train through to Portland . . . it would be ideal if they keep both. David (notelvis) was just speculating about possible future plans, and I mentioned why I liked each.
yukon11 Member # 2997
posted
Another thought:
If they can't keep 2 trains, in each direction, running after Oct, 2011, and have to go with one train in each direction, why can't they consider a continuous train from Eugene, Oregon to Vancouver, BC and vice versa?
Train #500 now leaves Eugene at 5:30 AM. It arrives in Seattle at noon. It could continue on to Vancouver and probably arrive in Vancouver around 5:00 PM or 6:00 PM. Train #513 leaves Vancouver at 6:40 AM. It goes to Seattle and continues on to Portland, arriving in Portland at 2:55 PM. Why not extend it to Eugene..it probably would arrive in Eugene around 6PM?
I guess an argument against such an idea would be based on the idea that the Amtrak Cascade is a commuter train. However, they could fill in the gap with additional tains if necessary.
posted