Rode the Amtrak Cascades Train #505 today from Seattle to Portland. Hot mess. I'm literally hot in Car #7 as the AC is not working and the power outlets weren't working either. The Talgo maintenance person that was supposed to be on board called in sick today from what I'm hearing so staff were unable to fix this issue. I could tell the difference moving from one car to the other. The Seattle train station was quite disorganized with no public address announcements. The station agent did her best but with everyone crowding around her, it was difficult yo hear announcements. However, the scenery was amazing, there is an abundance of leg room and the train was close to on time. The Portland train station is right downtown so it's easily accessible to Max Light Rail and buses. A fair trip overall read more

Bought a business class AMTRAK CASCADE, all of a sudden the person named Chris R came to me, while I was eating the instant noodle. He said, "Second warning, the mask must be closed up to the nose, the next warning, your next station will be your stop". I am not sure what's going on, It was the first time he talked to me, and yet he told me that sentence. While being confused, I asked politely that this is the first time. He said the first one was when he announced it on the train announcement speaker. I am not sure if he either has a bad day, yet before clarifying the reason my mask was down, he immediately give judgment and even the last warning. The last time I ride the Starlight coach was a better experience than this. Please be careful when riding the Cascade Train business class, especially with Chris R. read more

Amtrak Cascades 517 Vancouver BC TO Seattle Washington to King STATION everything was great CS from Checking in at Customs to boarding the train. Requesting to sit with travel friend. Food excellent & reasonably priced. ARRIVING ON TIME. On Sat Jly 22, 2023. The return trip from King station Seattle Cascades 518 to Vancouver BC Jly 22 , 2023. Service was not as good. The good part was Janel in the cafe gave A+ CS for an excellent evening meal. We arrived in Vancouver after just over 4 hrs at 11:30 PM. When we arrived & were ready to disembark the staff gave no announcement why the delay. Then when he came no apology for the 11 min wait & made light of it that we would have to wait in line for customs. we got right in line & got through customs quickly. After a full day & long ride it was very disappointing to end with POOOR CS. When we boarded the train it was negative as he made no effort to help as we were attempting to find seats together with my travelling friend. on the 517 going to Seattle the service to help get our seats was good. The staff on 518 made a big deal of my going to the cafe about checking our tickets as we had missed our restaurant reservation because the cab reserved did not stop as we hailed it. It was a long walk in the heat & we were very hungry. He was very unhelpful & delayed me getting a meal. This trip 518 was below standard as the male staff made it more difficult read more

Rode a bus. It sucked. Seat 16 inches wide. Train cancelled. Put on another sucky bus. While waiting hours in PDX non-AC station, looked up their on time performance of 50% and that they have NEVER made their on time goal. read more

It's been a quite delightful journey, the Angus cheeseburger was a very nice the spirits and libations are a fair price, compared to spirit and many Airlines!. The views have been exceptional traveling from Vancouver Washington to Everett right now with an excellent view of Puget Sound , you'd never see from the highway or from many houses, oh my my, to die for! read more

Our train cancelled yesterday, after about an hour of us all sitting on the train. When they finally called it, they said they might be able to get us to a bus that would take us part of the way, but had no ETA on the bus or the train that would finish the journey. No back up plan. Left many of us stranded and struggling to find alternative transport. Tried calling Amtrak multiple times, but of course, long wait times. read more

What a dump. Outdated AF. Amtrak... put yourself together. Purchased a business class seat from Eugene to Portland for $48. Was a good deal, but wow was not expecting the dilapidated state that the taped up, ripped and moth smelling seats would be in. read more

Cinematic Mode set to the length of an extended version of a Peter Jackson film. With choo choo adventures in motion, dialogues expand character backstories while enjoying scenery that rivals Blackwater, Valentine, and New Hanover. Understandably quiet as the path to redemption is a shared experience, additional musical scores that highlights the western expansion moods would be a welcome addition. More importantly, living this beautiful graphic scenes in motion is not recommended for scene skipping. read more

Amtrak Cascades - Public Transportation Near Me - Seattle, Washington

This review is specifically for the Seattle-Vancouver train. I've taken this train a few times and there are definitely good and not so good. Looking for an inexpensive way to get to and from Vancouver? this is the way to go. I usually drive on my own, but every now and then I just want to relax and not have the hassle of worrying of driving in the dark/weather/etc. The train ride overall is comfortable and I appreciate that I can walk around throughout the ride. The onboard staff I have to say are super helpful and nice. PSA: Do not take the train if you are in a hurry. Driving or taking the bus takes less than 3 hours and the train takes more that 4. The reason is that there are multiple stops in between as well as usually a couple of unscheduled stops due to 'traffic' (yes, that happens on train tracks), or waiting for other trains to pass by (that happens too). A few months ago, I was about 30 mins delayed and this last trip was about 60 mins (plus __ mins at customs) delayed. All in all 5.5 hours for a one way ride. I could have driven to Vancouver and back in this time. (FYI this issue usually only happens when I go northbound but not southbound). That said, got some time to spare? It is definitely a scenic ride if you go during the day. Tips: - sit in the observation car! It's great for reading a book or playing cards with friends; - if you don't like travelling backwards like me, make sure you request for a forward facing seat when you check in; - bring snacks. The food is ok but very limited especially if you are trying to eat healthy read more

When traveling from Seattle to Vancouver taking the train is a must. We took the TRAIN AMTRAK CASCADES SEATTLE (KING ST. STATION) - DEPARTS ARRIVES (Mon Jul 16) 516 Jul 16, 2018, it was so beautiful! We traveled from Seattle to Vancouver it was a beautiful very scenic ride I felt like we were on the ocean is just amazing! Coming from the Midwest of course we appreciated the water and Mountain View's! The train itself is very nice clean well appointed Restrooms, the dining car had some fun little snacks I would definitely recommend, taking the train versus driving. Once we arrived in Vancouver customs was a very quick entry. The train station is located right across the street from the sky tram which takes you all over Vancouver. We met so many fun and interesting people along the way! I would Recommend double checking when you reserve that you're on the train they do have some direct buses that are also on the webpage so make sure you're on the train read more

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Two stars only because of scenery. The bistro car is cool, too. Our train was delayed a little over an hour and then experienced multiple delays on the way where we sat on the track stationary for one issue or another. The last time we sat on the track was 2 miles from Vancouver for an hour and a half while another train got moved. Roughly half an hour sitting on the train AFTER arriving just looking out at the station. A total cluster. All told, about 7 hours station to station (8 hours with initial delay). I highly recommend alternate transportation. Hitch hiking may be better. On the upside, customs had their act together. That part was about 15 minutes in line. I think it wouldn't be a terrible experience if you go into it expecting it to take all day and have nothing else planned. You can take food and drinks on. If you must go, pack out for the day, take good company/reading material, plenty of patience, and sit back and relax. read more

The ride from Seattle to Vancouver is amazing! Only about 30 minutes of the ride is scenic but we got to see over 20 bald eagles up close! (This was in May 2018). Everyone on staff was friendly and the train was well kept. They pass out customs forms before arriving in Canada and going through customs was super fast. I hate flying, so this was definitely time and money well spent to get from point A to point B! read more

Amtrak Cascades - Public Transportation Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Took the Cascades train from Seattle to Vancouver on 8/19/17, at 6:50PM. Bought tickets few weeks in advance online for a cool $34 each (SO cheap) for husband and I. We didn't want to deal with driving and I read that the views from the Cascades train were insane, so Amtrak was our best option! My parents did the opposite from Vancouver to Seattle but the train times didn't work out for them. They ended up taking a bus and ran into significant traffic plus they had to stop and wait for everyone at U.S. Customs, so if you have a choice between bus and train - def take the train! First off, the station in Seattle is GORGEOUS. Dripping in marble and sooooo clean, I loved it! Especially when compared with the drab Penn Station in NYC (ick). We got there at 5:30PM for the 6:50PM train so we could be first in line for seats. We made sure to request two seats on the left side of the train going North so we were along the coastline. Train came on time and boarding was quick and painless. The seats have seen better days, but overall it was a very comfortable ride. The sights however were AMAAAAAAAZING. We caught the sunset and it was unreal. There is something so romantic about trains and just losing yourself in the views. Really enjoyed our experience. Canadian customs in Vancouver was quick, but if you don't want to wait I'd spruce for Business Class seats as they get off first. Once out of the station, the cab line was redonks long but I hear Uber is finally coming to Vancouver later in 2017! Otherwise, there is public transportation not too far away either. We opted to wait in the taxi line since at that point it was close to 11pm and it was our first time in Vancouver. Loved our experience! read more

Went from Vancouver to Seattle today. Dirty seats and smelled like urine. As I walked upfront to get coffee I had to step thru urine because the bathroom had puddles of water and urine seeping into walkway that I noticed as I passed bye. Check in process went smoothly. Monitors ?? TVs never came on and no one ever came to our train to say hello or anything except customs. Never will I travel this way again. read more

I've taken the Cascades from Seattle to Portland about 16 times and from Everett to Vancouver about another 12-14 times. For the many math challenged people who have commented on flying being faster. From Everett to Vancouver it takes me 30 minutes on public transportation to get to the station, 15 minute wait for the train and 3 hrs 9 minutes to get to Vancouver then another 30 minutes to get through immigration and 10 minutes to get downtown. That's 30 + 15 + 189 + 30+ 10 which equals 274 minutes or 4 hrs and 34 minutes from my house to downtown Vancouver for $26. To fly the same route it takes me 90 minutes on public transportation to get to Seatac, 10 minutes to get to security, 30 minutes to get through security, 10 minutes to walk to my gate, 30 minutes to board, 66 minutes to fly to YVR, 30 minutes to deplane, 10 minutes to the Skytrain station and 30 minutes to downtown on the Skytrain for a total of 306 minutes or 5 hrs 6 minutes for $86 for the cheapest ticket. I didn't count the amount of time going through immigration just to give flying an edge which it desperately needs. You get a 23 inch wide seat on Cascades as opposed to 17.5 on the plane. You get 39 inches of legroom on the train as opposed to 31 on the plane. You get wifi that has worked wonderfully for me each time up to the Canadian border when it stops working. So to recap the train is 30 minutes faster, WAY more comfortable, the views are amazing and it costs $60 less! Why would anyone that wasn't math challenged ever fly between these cities? I've driven this route many times as well. Google says it takes 2 hrs 20 minutes to drive without including time crossing the border. I've never been able to do it in that. My fastest is about 3 hrs even and my slowest was 5 hrs due to a 90 minute wait at the border. It IS possible to drive faster than the train but it may also take longer too. Now most people think you only have to pay for gas to drive your car. If however, you use the true cost of driving and calculate based on the IRS or AAA's cost per mile you're looking at $75 to drive including the cost of maintenance, depreciation, gas, tires etc... The total cost of driving is nearly 4x that of the train. However, if you add more people to the car it doesn't get more expensive so 5 people in a car would be cheaper (if you don't count the cost of parking the car). The numbers for Seattle to Portland are similar with flying doing a bit better - Amtrak: 290 minutes, $30. Plane: 283 minutes, $86. The total time taking the train is within 7 minutes of the plane for $56 less and you get a big seat and wifi. Driving takes from 180 minutes to 300 depending on traffic. Total cost of driving is $90 per car. With four people driving is cheaper than the train. If the train is so amazing why didn't I give it 5 stars you ask? Because you can't reserve your seat online, the lineup process in both Portland's Union Station and Seattle's King Street Station is insane. Why make people line up 30 minutes before the train arrives when you don't have to do this in virtually every other country? Also the food in the bistro car leaves a lot to be desired. The cheeseburger isn't horrible, the mac and cheese is pretty decent and the Ivar's Chowder is very good. My last point is that there's only 4 Cascades trains (and one Coast Starlight) per day between the cities and they're often fully booked so frequency is a problem. There's two more Cascades trains coming next year so that will help. Overall, the train is by far the best way to get between these cities. It's cheaper, as fast and far more comfortable than cars or airplanes. Why didn't I compare the Bolt bus too? Are you freakin' serious? A bus could be free and still be a horrible experience. You have to wait for it on the street, it gets stuck in the same I-5 traffic cars do, the seats are uncomfortable, it's cramped, you don't get any food at all etc... read more

Totally writing this review while on the train because the free WiFi is awesome! Super easy to connect and it actually works (way more than I can say about the free "wifi" offered at my hotel). I'd 5 star the ride, with the exception that they're so quick to assign seats that we got stuck with the eastbound view rather than the ocean view (bummer). FYI I think the cart numbering is as follows: 1,2,5,6,9,10,13,14,17,18,21,22,25,26,29,30,33,34 = Westbound/Ocean view The other numbers are the stateside view. Book your rides early and you save 25% off your ride. read more

Fantastic train ride! You get the beauty of natural setting and the views outside the train, but you also get a comfy, fast ride. Taking the train is better than the bus and a trip from Seattle to Portland goes by fast if you're taking advantage of their WIFI. The four hour trip was perfect for getting some serious work done. In fact, the WIFI didn't fail me once! I was quite surprised with the quality and speed of the service. The trains are a teeny bit dated and things don't look or feel as new or as fancy as one would hope for in Business Class. But the affordability of the ticket and the chance to board first makes it all worth while. The train itself is pretty quiet and at least in Business Class, everyone is respecting each other's privacy pretty well. No one taking phone calls, no loud conversations. Just a lot of people on their laptops getting work done. Very convenient! I'll be taking the train to Portland more often now that I realize I can relax more if I don't drive myself or take a bus. read more

Poor service. Kicked me off the train for listening to music too loud. They could've just said to turn it off.

I took this train from Vancouver to Seattle. The train and seats were incredibly comfortable. The scenery on this trip were incredible. Plus, the border crossing was completely painless. I highly recommend this over flying. It might be a little longer of a trip, but so worth it. read more

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A friend and I decided to take the AM train from Seattle to Vancouver instead of flying or driving. We are both familiar with the northeast coast Amtrak service, and knowing that this is Amtrak as well, didn't really expect anything different. We loaded at the beautiful King Street Station in Seattle and left on time for Vancouver. Nothing really remarkable about this. We arrived on time in Vancouver. Nothing remarkable about this. The issues come from the actual trip. As others have stated, there is a hodgepodge of people who ride this train. Amtrak has no control over this whatsoever, so I don't discount for my fellow passenger. For the most part, our fellow economy seats passengers were unremarkable. The exception was the young boy who shrieked at his video game every three minutes, followed by his father hissing at him to be quiet every single time. The issue comes from the speed. Perhaps we are used to the DC-NYC-BOS route where the train more or less mirrors or shortens the driving time between the cities, even with the stops. I realize delays are inevitable, but this four hour trip (five with getting an hour early to the station in Seattle, as recommended) was way too long for the same trip that takes 45 minutes to fly or approximately 2.5 to 3 hour driving trip. As another reviewer stated- once we got inside/near Vancouver, we were going pitifully slow-- we both felt we could have walked faster than the train was moving-- and we had no delays at all! The inside of the train car we were on was a lovely 1970s tan brown color theme; but other than looking really outdated, it served it's purpose. On the other hand, it was a nice change from the ubiquitous blue scheme that is so prevalent in trains and airplanes these days. I am glad we tried this once, but once is enough. Unless the speed is increased to make it a viable rival to driving, I plan to stick with driving or flying between these two cities. read more

The Amtrak experience is a real mixed bag. On the positive side, it's a fantastic regional travel alternative when you're going anywhere along it's run between Vancouver BC and Eugene, OR. Much more civilized than driving (especially when you're having to deal with the traffic at the border crossing), and checking in is so much less of a hassle than flying. The scenery is wonderful as well. On the minus side the following issues detract from what could be a 4- or 5-star experience: 1) As other Yelpers have noted, the wi-fi is pretty bad. You get kicked off it a lot, which can be very frustrating. 2) Why you can't get your seat assignment when you purchase your ticket is beyond me. If they can do it on airplanes, what's the problem here? It's a bit annoying to have to queue up to check in and get a seat assignment. 3) The Bistro Car is a bad joke. The food comes aboard precooked and is quickly warmed up. As a result, you're basically getting overcooked TV dinners or soggy sandwiches, and all is terribly overpriced for what you're getting. What is truly hilarious is that if you order wine, the only thing they can offer you for a drinking vessel is a 12oz plastic beer cup! This is patently absurd. 4) The staff can be really hit and miss. On the trip up to Vancouver, the crew was really pleasant and professional. On the return trip, the Bistro clerk was borderline bitch (but to be fair, Amtrak in it's [lack of] wisdom sees fit to only staff one person in the Bistro Car, so this poor girl was positively overwhelmed during the predictable rushes. Meanwhile, the conductors spent much of the trip in the Lounge Car gossiping. Overall, when you have a choice (as you do when you're traveling south), take the Amtrak Coast Starlight for a vastly superior experience. Unfortunately, when heading to Vancouver, the Cascades is the only game in town. But there's still romance in train travel that even the Amtrak Cascades can't crush out of existence, and it still beats the hell out of driving. read more

Took Amtrak train from Vancouver to Seattle. What a mess. There is no seat allocation online, so you are getting seats after staying in line at the Pacific Train station. The line was long even when we came 1h before departure. We had seats in the coach 7, seats are uncomfortable, look dirty, you can smell urine from the toilet, we got to seat in the coach for 4 people (we were a party of 2, and shared the space), no leg room. The worst train experience even, will never take this train again. read more

I rode the 11:15 AM Cascades train from Seattle to Portland on August 27. The boarding process at Seattle was uncomplicated, a far cry from airport "security theater." The Cascades service (Vancouver-Seattle-Portland-Eugene, with bus connections farther afield) is operated with comfortable, modern Talgo equipment owned by the Washington and Oregon Transportation Departments, rather than Amtrak. There are two generations of Talgos in service; my train was one of the older group. Big windows are good for sightseeing, though curtains (which couldn't be pushed completely out of the way) partially obscured the view. The bistro car, near the front of the train, had only one attendant, and developed a bit of a line after departure from Seattle. There's an adjacent car with tables, but no waiter service. The only downside was timekeeping: the train left Seattle about an hour late, and did not make up time en route. One delay of a few minutes for a meet with a freight train. I'm told the 11:15 southbound departure, which originates in Vancouver at 6:30 in the morning, is particularly susceptible to delays. read more

Business class is roomy, and if you get to the station early enough you can choose a solo seat if you are travelling as such. Pre-assigned seats are nice, means you don't have to line up early to get a good seat. Attendents are pleasant, and the ride is pretty easy (although for men wishing to relieve themselves during travel will need to note which areas of the track the train moves fast and which slow - fast and curvy are not a mix that lends itself to the specific needs of the male riders in the restroom...). The wi-fi is pretty rough - do you emailing/syncing/replicating at the beginning or end of your trip, as the wi-fi gets pretty spotty in areas. I have not tried the food, but I hear it is good. Wonderful way to travel if you can afford the time - now if they'd setup Acela like service on the west coast, we'd have a superior option to flying. read more

Took the train from Portland to Vancouver, but my trip back the train tickets sold out from Vancouver to Seattle so I had to book a bus (through Amtrak) from Vancouver to Seattle and could catch the afternoon train from Seattle to Portland. I really like riding the train and witnessed staff working well with all the passengers and were very efficient. The station is beautiful and has plenty of seating. The train was clean, seats are a bit worn and the bathroom did smell of urine, but was tidy otherwise. I like that there are plugs in each seat to charge your device. When taking the bus you have to get off to go through customs at the boarder and when riding the train you can go through customs when you arrive at your destination. read more

Over the years I've used the Cascades Amtrak line to go to both Vancouver BC and Portland Oregon. Both trips offer some gorgeous views that you simply don't get to see whiel driver to either destination. I've always bought the Business Class upgrade because I like the assigned sitting, the slightly larger chairs and the minimal coupon for the bistro car. I would be giving this service Five Stars if the Wi-fi wasn't broken d. It seems that the Wi-fi signal was only unavaible to those in Business Class. I wouldn't mind it so much if they still showed movies while travelling, but since they seem to have taken away that amenity, I was concerned. I was became upset when I boarded the train three days later and nothing had been fixed. Sigh; very disappointing. read more

I'm a fan of Amtrak Cascades, having taken it from Vancouver to Bellingham, to Seattle, to Portland, and most recently this weekend to Olympia and back. The conductors are pleasant, and the journey is often on time and scenic. It's a civilised way to travel across the border and up and down the Pacific Northwest. Give it a shot. read more

I'm giving this train four stars even AFTER it was delayed for 2 1/2 hours as a result of engine problems. I have been on many of Amtrak's trains, both long distance and regional and the comfort level and design of this train is even better than the ACELA. At least this part of the country is doing some smart things with rail travel. The base of these trains are manufactured in Spain and are then sent on to Seattle to be fitted and finished. A win win situation. It looks kind of strange from the exterior with a funky looking fin and a tan/green paint job, but the interior is very well designed. The aisles are wide and the windows large. We sat at a four top that was very spacious. Doubt the seats were leather but they were super comfortable and spacious. The single seat configurations on the opposite side were a nice option. I so wish that could be a choice here in the Northeast. I felt like I was in first class, but nope just coach. Loved that the doors automatically opened and the food in the cafe car was levels above anything I have had on previous trips. Usually I don't purchase a thing, but we were hungry so we bought a turkey sandwich. It was perfectly acceptable, and even had cucumbers and lettuce. Of course we broke down in the middle of a zone with no cell service, but the crew was generous enough to let me borrow one of their phones to contact the person that was to meet us at the station. In the end we didn't need to be bussed, nor did we need a new engine. It was a wiring issue that was resolved once we limped into the next station. This of course, is not a common occurrence as a fellow passenger attested to. She travels this particular train all the time, and it had never happened to her before. I guess it was just MY bad luck......... read more

Disorganized staff assigning seats with paper and markers, don't know who is where, even with reserved seat. Stopped in Tacoma and never announced the stop. People had to ride all the way to Seattle and find how to get back to Tacoma. Seats broken, bathrooms broken. read more

Can't work - thank god I brought my Kindle. Had to take a quick overnight trip to Portland. Normally I would drive, but thought it would be nice to take the train so I could get some work done. WRONG! As noted by others, the Wi-Fi is terrible. I did a speed test while on the train. Download speed was .17 Mb/sec. Please notice the decimal point in front of the 17. Everything I do for my work is in the cloud and I need at least 1 Mb download speed to be productive, so I could not do anything but check my email from time to time. On the plus side, the price is right, seats are comfortable and the view just south of Tacoma of Puget Sound is wonderful. Bring a good book in what every format you choose or bring a neck pillow so you can sleep. Otherwise the 3.5 hour trip between Seattle and Portland will seem interminable. read more

I was doubtful the fare was worth the trip from northern WA to PDX, but I was pleasantly surprised. Comfortable, smooth, incredible views and the best part is the free wifi & electrical outlets! read more

Loved everything about our round trip from Seattle to Portland and back, so nice to not have to drive! Very helpful Conductor Frank was full of historical knowledge of the rail line and very entertaining. Traveling by train is so relaxing, the car was roomy, clean and quiet. The views out the window were amazing. If you have never taken a train before you should, it's the beat way to travel! read more

Dumpy/always under construction. Kind employees. Usually runs on time. Not a bad way to get from SEA to PDX though the Wifi is pretty haggard. The food and drink options are pretty great. read more

Pleasant way to go to PDX without having to put miles on your car and still enjoy a great view! It takes a little bit longer than driving, however, it's a great way for the community to travel from Seattle to Portland. I highly recommend it especially if you're just going for the weekend. Plus: Why not just drink the whole way down and back. :) read more

I booked the Cascade train in business class from Seattle to Vancouver as a treat to my mom since her 75 years old birthday is coming. The fare is nearly 3 time higher than coach at the time of booking. One month before the trip, Amtrak emailed me that there are no business class on that train, so they refunded me total of $69 for 3 people's train fair. And refused to give the 15% senior discount. Since it is a late change, all the upper deck seat have been taken and we only got lower level of the coach train. So we paid premium and got the worst seat of the train. read more

Beautiful ride almost the entire way from Seattle to Canada. read more

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Amtrak Cascades is my preferred transpirtation method when visiting Seattle. I have taken the Cascades between Portland and Seattle 6+ times in the last two years. The interiors from a "niceness" factor are as good or better than the airplanes between PDX and SEA. The onboard cafe has adaquate food and drinks. Seat spacing is much better than a plane. Being able to get up and walk around or sleep is superior to driving. Of my 6+ trips, I only remember one being seriously delayed. Overall the riding experience is superior to other choices and similar time to driving. The price can be as cheap as $52 round trip, more than a bus, more than gas when driving, but far less than a plane. If there is a group of people, clearly driving together will cost less. Cascades takes a little longer than driving, but not much longer (30 minutes or less) or if traffic is bad it is even faster. Compared to flying the station experience is much nicer in many ways: no security lines, can safely arrive 20 minutes before the train departs and still board, closer to my destinations. In other ways (that don't really matter due to the above) the station experience is worse: lack of charging ports, no restaurants, and quiet areas. read more

Fairly good experience on the train from Seattle to Centralia. The train was surprisingly on time, which has not been my experience with previous Amtrak trains. Unfortunately the wifi did not work at all. Unbelievable that Amtrak can't figure this out after 5+ years of claiming to have wifi. A much more relaxing experience than driving though with some very scenic views to boot. read more

On train 505 going from Seattle to Eugene on 1/1/19, there was no running water in the Bistro and thus no food service. In consolation, they offered complimentary snacks, which consisted of out-dated (expired 3 months ago) pretzels, granola and a cookie. For 5 hours, that was it. There was none of the chips, pre-packaged pastry, cookies, bottled drinks, etc that are always available on the train. None of that required running water or hand washing, so why not give us some variety? Then, the plug-ins for electronics were all "out". No explanation, just they were out. So, phones and laptops were dying. On the 508, return train on 1/7/19, they train stopped twice for dumb reasons, in the middle of nowhere. And we got later and later. But when we stopped in Portland, they gave the usual 15 minute "walk around and stretch" break, instead of making any effort to make up lost time for a "baggage door that appeared to be wiggling, so we have to stop to fix it". Why is it that a train that runs the same routes every week NEVER get to their destinations on time? It's not like they hit traffic or the rain slows down the driving conditions. if I didn't have to go this direction too many times a year and tire of driving after 10-15 tips, I would NEVER take Amtrak. read more

Glad we took the train; really glad we were in the area the day before and checked on what to expect and how early we should arrive for our 7:45 AM train. STRICT baggage policy on weight; we knew ours were a bit over the 50 pound limit and no options. We got another bag and lightened the others. Allowance if two checked bags per passenger. We arrived at the station at 6:40 AM, not many folk there; red cap helped with bags and checked them in; no waiting in line; well worth the tip. We were traveling business class and check in was a snap; Len for coach was very long and folk; if traveling coach get in line for check in as soon as you arrive. Overall a very efficient process and the Amtrak conductors are a very happy group! Trip was fine, some nice scenery. Bistro car is basic co consider brining your preference in food or snacks. The dining car was a great place to sit and see the sights. Arrival and cross boarder formalities; passport check happens on the train prior to going across the boarder, customs, happens at the train station. Overall good trip, good value suggest business class. read more