High fares and sell-outs on Cascades

[ChuckL]

Cascades 519 handles checked baggage to Seattle from Vancouver. However, Vancouver is unusual in that you cannot check it early because the baggage must be with you during the US Immigration inspection immediately prior to boarding, plus the station is not staffed by Amtrak personnel. Baggage check is done trainside by the Amtrak train crew after US Immigration.

However, VIA's baggage room will day check your luggage and hold it for a fee ($10 CAD per piece, IIRC). You will have to reclaim all your luggage from VIA and have it with you before lining up for check in and US Immigration inspection (one line, you check in, then proceed through US inspection). You should know check in closes 15 minutes before departure so US Immigration inspection can be completed before scheduled departure. At VAC, you should really arrive no later than 45 minutes before departure and preferably an hour (I always shoot for 4:30 myself). You will probably have to line up to retrieve your day checked bags from VIA, too. During cruise season you won't be the only one doing it.

There isn't much in the way of food in the immediate area of Pacific Central Station, there's an A&W on the other side of Main Street by the Main Street/Science World Skytrain station (there used to be one in station, but it closed). In any case, you really cannot bring dinner onboard, unless dinner is crackers and mozzarella sticks. Most freshly prepared food will not be allowed past US inspection and they'll make you toss it. If you try to hide it and get caught, you'll be in for a possible fine and a note on your passport record that will get likely you pulled into secondary inspections every time you enter the US for a long, long time. Most commercially packaged snacks are okay (not meat products, though).

I don't have the current Cascades menu. It is the National cafe menu with some additional items. The Ivar's Clam Chowder is one they always have, and that's great.

VIA waives the day check charges to hold baggage for 519 for those arriving on the Canadian in Sleeper Plus or Prestige classes, BTW.

Thanks Zephyr. I would have never thought about bringing food across the border. Being from Detroit, we often had dinner in Windsor, Ontario and brought our leftovers home. Never had any issues, but we won't tempt fate. Maybe we'll have breakfast at the Pan Pacific, have them hold our luggage, wander around the area and then claim our luggage and take a taxi to the train station.

 

[zephyr17]

Being from Detroit, we often had dinner in Windsor, Ontario and brought our leftovers home.

Betcha you didn't declare the leftovers

I am a frequent border crosser myself, both on the Cascades and in my own car. The inspection process on the Cascades is much more similar to an airport inspection than crossing in a car and can be more intrusive/intense than the officer at the booth at a highway crossing generally is. If you are carrying a bag of take out, you will be told to toss it.

Personally, I don't push the food rules at all (which are the same for any mode). The details are quite complex should you want to get into them (avocados are apparently okay, oranges are not), but a simple rule of thumb is packaged products are okay except meat, not commercially packaged, no.

I am a NEXUS member, and NEXUS members are expected to know and abide by ALL the rules without being asked or prompted. That is the "trust" part of "trusted traveler". I am anxious to protect my NEXUS card, it is just too damned handy. There are few quicker ways to have a NEXUS membership revoked than to violate the food/ag rules.

When in doubt, declare.

 

[zephyr17]

I found the current Cascades Bistro Menu. It is pretty much the same as the National Cafe menu, plus some local products like Snoqualmie Oatmeal, Ivar's Chowder and some local beers.

https://www.amtrakcascades.com/sites/default/files/national-cafe-menu-6-1-22.pdf

 

[flitcraft]

Good local beers on that Cascade Bistro Menu list--especially the Black Butte Porter.

 

[toddinde]

I prefer riding facing forward, but on a shorter run it’s not a big deal. In Europe, it’s par for the course and nobody thinks anything of it.

 

[zephyr17]

I prefer riding facing forward, but on a shorter run it’s not a big deal. In Europe, it’s par for the course and nobody thinks anything of it.

I prefer it myself, but can deal with riding backwards. I have a good friend who gets motion sick riding backwards, though. Not everyone can just shrug it off.

 

[Willbridge]

And for the same reason safer in a collision/derailment involving sudden deceleration too.

By coincidence I was sitting facing rear in the only time I've ever been on a train that was in a crossing accident. It was the most comfortable emergency stop that I've ever experienced.

 

[Willbridge]

Betcha you didn't declare the leftovers

I am a frequent border crosser myself, both on the Cascades and in my own car. The inspection process on the Cascades is much more similar to an airport inspection than crossing in a car and can be more intrusive/intense than the officer at the booth at a highway crossing generally is. If you are carrying a bag of take out, you will be told to toss it.

Personally, I don't push the food rules at all (which are the same for any mode). The details are quite complex should you want to get into them (avocados are apparently okay, oranges are not), but a simple rule of thumb is packaged products are okay except meat, not commercially packaged, no.

I am a NEXUS member, and NEXUS members are expected to know and abide by ALL the rules without being asked or prompted. That is the "trust" part of "trusted traveler". I am anxious to protect my NEXUS card, it is just too damned handy. There are few quicker ways to have a NEXUS membership revoked than to violate the food/ag rules.

When in doubt, declare.

I've been inspected for contraband food while driving across the border into Montana at backwater crossings. I suspect it gave the agents something to do. I had read the rules, so had no problem.

 

[railiner]

By coincidence I was sitting facing rear in the only time I've ever been on a train that was in a crossing accident. It was the most comfortable emergency stop that I've ever experienced.

IIRC, USAF transports have rear-facing seats for this reason.
Also, so do most airlines for their Flight Attendant seats…

 

[west point]

So, here we have a shortage of Coaches. Yet Amtrak is trying to fill coaches on the NEC with very low fares. The logic does not compute.

 

[Willbridge]

So, here we have a shortage of Coaches. Yet Amtrak is trying to fill coaches on the NEC with very low fares. The logic does not compute.

I've been checking and it looks as though the additional cars mentioned above have been added, because coach space is available on some trains each day. Some trains are even going for fares less than the top bucket. Business Class still is squeezed.

 

[Septa9739]

I think it’s a matter of equipment position. Certain NEC runs leave WAS or NYP at inconvenient times to balance equipment and better serve peak runs. To me it makes a lot of sense to sell cheaper fares on some of these runs as some of the trains are effectively deadheads anyway. I can tell you anecdotally the NEC has been very busy lately given the time of year. It’s like SEPTA offering off peak fares to try and lure people onto runs that support the big rush hour traffic.

 

[Haolenate]

Noob to the boards here, but grew up in Central Illinois & frequently took Amtrak to Chicago - are the Horizon cars on the Cascades the same we had in the midwest for years and years? I ask because when we had large school groups, the conductor (or car attendant) would let us flip the seats around in pairs of 4, wasn't sure if these Horizon cars are like that or not. Was sorta hoping to be on a Talgo train - booked on 517 in May to Portland from Van, figured it would make a scenic day instead of sitting in traffic enroute to SeaTac on FlixBus, then dealing with the airport.

I also assume Nexus doesn't do anything special for us in Van on departure, either?

Fare to Portland was QUITE cheap - only $51. Was expecting it to be a lot more. If we are in the older Horizon cars, then I'm definitely glad I didn't splurge on 'business class'.

 

[Anderson]

I think it’s a matter of equipment position. Certain NEC runs leave WAS or NYP at inconvenient times to balance equipment and better serve peak runs. To me it makes a lot of sense to sell cheaper fares on some of these runs as some of the trains are effectively deadheads anyway. I can tell you anecdotally the NEC has been very busy lately given the time of year. It’s like SEPTA offering off peak fares to try and lure people onto runs that support the big rush hour traffic.

This is likely to lead to a thread split, but...

Amtrak is also trying to drive up ridership, I suspect. There was one train ride I was on last year from...I forget if it was WAS-BAL or BWI-WAS (I think it was the former)...where Amtrak's fares were lower than MARC. I've seen the same thing on the Virginia trains a few weeks out, and VA has an explicit goal of pushing up ridership.

Also, though Amtrak didn't explicitly say it, this special coincides with the addition of an additional off-hour round-trip WAS-NYP: Northbound, 180 has been moved about an hour later (from 0430 to 0525) and 170 added at 0405; while southbound, 177 was added at 2205 (this latter bit was a glaring schedule issue - previously, the last SB Regional was 175, at 1940). They also seem to have slipped another Acela or two into the mix (last I checked I didn't think that Acelas were running after 175, but one might have; but 2175 (2105 out of NYP) and 2150 (0500 out of WAS) are also both back. There are still a few Regionals missing, but I don't have the energy to figure out what's still "missing" vs 2019/2020.

They're still down three Acelas (plus the non-stop, of course) vs the late 2019/early 2020 schedule:
-NB, the 1000/1100 trains have been replaced by a 1030; 1300 is completely gone; and the 1700/1800 trains have been replaced by one at 1730.
-SB, they're running an 0530 out of NYP (the previous earliest SB Acela was [generally] 0600) and there's a "missing number" here; 0800 is missing, as are 1200 and 1900.

 

[zephyr17]

Noob to the boards here, but grew up in Central Illinois & frequently took Amtrak to Chicago - are the Horizon cars on the Cascades the same we had in the midwest for years and years? I ask because when we had large school groups, the conductor (or car attendant) would let us flip the seats around in pairs of 4, wasn't sure if these Horizon cars are like that or not. Was sorta hoping to be on a Talgo train - booked on 517 in May to Portland from Van, figured it would make a scenic day instead of sitting in traffic enroute to SeaTac on FlixBus, then dealing with the airport.

1. Yep, same cars.
2. Seats are turnable (most Amtrak seats are, which the NTSB is not entirely happy about). They usually require a crew member to operate them, though, and conductors usually frown on people trying it DIY. Usually they are set up in push-pull service, like the Cascades, with half one direction, half the other and the crew doesn't turn them at terminals.
3. The remaining ODOT Talgo(s) are on the 500/505 pair last I looked. Doubt they'll show up on either the 516-519 or 517-518 Vancouver trains, ever.
4. NEXUS doesn't do anything for you in Vancouver, except not having to drag out your passport. I recall someone saying somewhere, they'll let you use the shorter BC check in/US inspection line with it, but I've never tried it.

 

[Haolenate]

zeph, thanks! A friend that drives UP trains along this sector said the same, and the scenery isn't all that south of Seattle (could be because he works that section?). Was hoping for checked luggage, but I guess these consists don't have a bag car (unless cafe/baggage horizons still exist). Happy to throw some money at Amtrak and enjoy the ride!

 

[zephyr17]

They do have checked baggage service. At Vancouver, BC, baggage check is done trainside by the Amtrak crew after clearing US Immigration inspection.

 

[zephyr17]

Confirmed sighting of a Talgo set running on 505 today. So still running on the 500/505 pair.

Saw it near Kalama driving back from Winterail.