Amtrak

Are you kidding me? The Amtrak service between portland and Seattle is horrible. Today I’m sitting on the train waiting for people to arrive via BUS from Eugene. The train is now 40 minutes late departing and the wifi is not working. The food is horrible. There is NO security. It is time to overhaul train service in America. This is sad.

Customer service sucks & that’s putting it lightly. They have you stand in line an hour to board after your 2 ½ hour layover!
Then I guarantee if you call, you will not get an answer!!!
Horrible service

I’m scheduled to take the Starlight train to Seattle and the train has been delayed. This is the second time in a row I’ve had to wait over 2 hours for a delayed train with Amtrack. They are sure consistent with wasting my time. I wouldn’t have a problem with a 30 – 40 min delay but over 2 overs is a huge time killer and gets me into Seattle incredibly late. Staff is quite unapologetic and of course no reimbursement for their incompetence.

Their policy regarding unaccompanied minors is onerous and and stupid. I have to arrive 60 minutes early with my 15 year old, have them interviewed, and wait at the station until the train leaves?
I can’t send my 12 year old with my 16 year old even though she could drive?
Also, you have to call them on the phone to book travel for unaccompanied minors age 13 – 15 instead of using their website like it is 2015.
By contrast Greyhound has a much more reasonable unaccompanied minor policy (with regard to ages, at least).

My first experience on the Amtrak was not the best. It took us about 5.5 hours to get to Seattle from Portland as we had multiple delays due to construction, behind freight trains, and leaving late. I will probably take the Bolt bus the next time I go up there.

Disclaimer to all «non-​Yelpers»: the 3 star rating is officially described as «A-​OK!» by Unilocal.3 stars is not a bad rating.
I am sitting in the Pacific Parlor car of the Coast Starlight as I write this review. My wife is downstairs in our sleeper room, a Superliner Roomette. It is the «economy class» sleeper car. The «Deluxe Bedrooms» have a private lavatory and shower. Ours is shared. For a 30 hr ride from L.A. to Portland, this is sufficient. The room is cozy. Small and a bit dated, but clean and functional. Particulars on the room can be found on any number of blogs and websites, so I won’t go into them here.
The weather was clear and gorgeous, so the views today were FANTASTIC! We spent the majority of our day in this parlor car. Whether one is after food/​drink, social interaction, or just a calm spot to sit and enjoy the scenery, the parlor car is perfect.
We took both meals today in the park or car, as well. The other option was the dining car, but I have eaten in that car before. The Pacific Parlor car has a separate menu only available for sleeper car passengers. That’s right, I enjoy feeling uppity sometimes.
Anyhoo, the food was fine. Fine dining it is not. But it is definitely edible, and if I may say so, pretty darned tasty. One can do far worse, I assure you.
Staff. I read many bad (and some good) reviews about the Amtrak staff. I will start my critique with this statement: Amtrak is a crappy company. It shows through with their crummy website, senseless pricing, and antiquated infrastructure. That said, all the staff we encountered were perfectly fine. My wife and I are real people. So is the Amtrak staff. Nannette, in the parlor car, has worked for Amtrak for over 25 years. She is not a pretend-​bubbly waitress. She is a real-​life lady who deals with the same thousand stupid questions every day… just like everyone else. My wife and I had a lovely conversation with her after her shift was over tonight. We very much enjoyed it. Our attendant, Jesse, is very professional, very courteous, and very helpful. We really haven’t interacted with any other staff members, but they have all seemed fine.
A few tips:
1. Leave tips. Remember to bring cash for gratuities. Tipping in advance is not a bad plan.
2. If you have a sleeper car, bring an air freshener and some flushable wet-​wipes. The air re circulation system on the train is a bit funky, and the toilet seat is sometimes too much of a moving target for some passengers.
3. Set your expectations accordingly. This is Amtrak, not a cruise ship. Don’t take anything personally, and have a sense of humor!
For the record, we would definitely take this trip again.

I like the train in a lot of ways.
I also dislike the train in a lot of ways.
Pros:
The train is a really beautiful, comfortable, relaxing ride. The train itself is clean and nice inside. The conductors are friendly and helpful. The views from the train are outstanding. Yes. The train is more expensive than the bus but gets you to your destination a lot faster. Not faster than a plane but faster than the bus.
Cons:
The food and drink on the train are not only expensive but unless you’re sitting in the dining car you’re eating prepackaged food like the stuff from 7-​Eleven, only very, very expensive. A 12 oz. Soda and a Croissant with Ham and Cheese will cost you about $ 8.00.
My biggest pet peeve is the time I took my Son to the train for departure to Seattle. We we’re running late and missed the final boarding call. We were told that 5 minutes before the scheduled departure time you can NOT board the train. That would be fine with me if the train left on its scheduled time. We noticed that even after we we rescheduled and took our time getting back to the car, that about 30 minutes had passed and our train was still sitting in the station. Why couldn’t we be escorted out to train? My Son would have let you search all his belongings to get on that train.
Lucky for us. My Son is a very mature and calm person. I would have freaked out if it were my situation but as my Son would say, its not a big deal.

I love traveling by train. I wish I could afford my own rail car I would live on it! Right now I’m headed from Pdx to Sea and I just adore the view of the Puget Sound as we approach Tacoma.
Glass of wine and some cheese and crackers from the bistro car and I’m feeling like a queen. I have made this trip a dozen times and have never had so much room to myself it’s only about ½ full today.
I usually just sit in coach but if it’s available and a decent price I splurge for a sleeper car. They are barely bigger than a closet but it’s the privacy you pay for… and to be able to lay all the way down. I did this from Seattle to Portland after a long weekend of parties and that little bed was heaven!
I like to bring headphones to drown out the sounds of other people eating at our seats… or just hang out in the bar car. I once rode Amtrak from Pdx to NYC and having a sleeper car was so awesome. Three days and three nights that was a real adventure.
Ok. Back to my fantasy that I’m heading to hogwarts.
Wish we could get a better rail system in this country and support high speed rail. Maybe some day.

It was my first time doing the Seattle to Portland run and it was a great experience. Things ran a little behind schedule going up but the crew worked hard to make up time. Our car was clean and modern and it was nice to shift gears into vacation mode and not fight hot summer traffic. Coming home things were right on time leaving Seattle and we got back to Portland about half an hour early, which was a nice surprise on Sunday night.
If they could eleminate a couple stops and shorten the trip by about 30 minutes it would always be a no brainer to take the train. I also really want a sub four hour Portland to Bend train. A guy can wish!

Woo-​woo! All aboard!
When I hear the sound of a train rumbling by, when I hear the invitation to hop aboard, I’m filled with happy feelings of nostalgia.
My dad also loves trains too and when I was a little girl he would take me, my brother and sisters to visit train shows. Also as a child, our family took the train cross country to visit our relatives on the east coast. I loved every minute of being on that magical train.
In France, I took the TGV (Trains à Grande Vitesse) which is the high speed train that travels at speeds of about 200 MPH. Riding on a TGV is really, really cool. The scenery just flashes by and you can’t quite get a good look at anything, but you don’t care because you are riding on a badass TGV! Come on America, build a damn TGV already!
Here I am today, back aboard an Amtrak train, headed north to Olympia, Washington. I’m lulled into relaxation mode by the rhythmic sound of the rails. I feel like a little kid again.
I need to do this more often. Trains are cool. Trains RULE.
2014 — Review # 31

Lovely train station. The Inside is beautiful.
Really nice out side, you immediately walkout side and you’re in the pearl district (I think)
Really easy getting your checked items also.

We Americans are probably the worst in investing and then using long distance rail travel… Although I have used various rail services in Europe, I ave just started to use rail to get up to Seattle and Vancouver for both Business and Pleasure.
The train is a cheaper, comfortable and a more relaxed way to travel the PNW and frankly, if you can arrange your meetings, travels around train schedules. not less convenient. The total time to Vancouver BC from Portland is around 8 hours. If you drive it’s about the same and customs wait time can be unpredictable.
No, this isn’t the EuroStar or the Thalis from Paris to Amsterdam… but the train is clean enough and for about $ 60 round trip more. business class is a bt more comfortable and roomy.
I’ve used Internet and skyped whilst on the train.
Now for twice the cost you can fly and cut your total travel time in half (accounting for check in customs etc.)
But if you can be productive virtually, take the stress out of travel… and take your sweetie on a virtually lost travel option, get a beverage. relax and watch the scenery go by.
Also.Amtrak Customer Service (phone –on line)… Is awesome! Fast. thorough and super friendly…

The train was on time and the staff at the station was really nice. Checked our bags in for free before we went to portland. It was $ 4 for them to hold each back so checking it in was a better deal. This gave us a chance to walk to Chinatown to get some lunch. Chinatown was only a couple blocks always and the station is also next to the Seattle Seahawks.

The majority of the time, the train from Portland to Seattle is fast, comfortable, and hassle free. There is a little monitor showing your rapid progress north, and you can get on the wifi easily to get some work down.
Then, there is the more familiar (yet rarer) experience, when you aren’t told that your journey is going to take almost 3 hours longer, that is, until you are 10 minutes into your journey and can’t turn back. And the wifi is down. And the overhead monitors aren’t functioning. It is like a horror movie, and everyone around you has a zombie glare going on.
Unless the roads are absolutely impassable, I’d recommend driving or Bolt Bus over the Amtrak. If you can’t find any other way to get to Seattle, then, I guess the train is ok.

Since Amtrak requires a domicile, I’ll pick Portland’s Union Station. You can’t seem to review Amtrak for a specific train line, while in transit between stations.
This review is for my last trip aboard them, on the Cascades service between Portland and Seattle, aboard their single-​level car combine. For some reason, I had to go to Seattle and didn’t have a car at my disposal. Greyhound was out of the question. I had done that once in my life and thought I’d pass! The whole experience was great — from arriving at Union Station, to boarding, to the smooth ride, to the views, and to the arrival into Seattle’s station about 3 hours later.
With respect to the trip, the passengers were very civil and in a good mood, as some were actually going to Seattle for a mini-​vacation and using the train, the conductor was humorous, and the views alternated between forests, river crossings, and, upon arriving to Tumwater and Olympia, views of Puget Sound. The only surprise was the Tacoma station, which seems like a whistle stop more than a full-​fledged train station and from which the Tacoma Dome can be seen. (Incidentally, the Tacoma Dome may be seeking a sponsor to pay for a rehab and could be renamed. Shucks.)
Kudos to Amtrak for their overnight California service, to and from Portland. If not opting for a sleeper, the seats and legroom in the seating areas on the bi-​level cars are so ample and comfortable, that it’s a great ride either way.
My thought is that America needs high-​speed trains as well as the trains we currently have, which have a lot of personality and make getting there part of the fun.

Took Amtrak’s Cascades service recently from Portland to the Seattle area, and although the locomotive sputtered along, stopped, and had to be restarted at least 3 times, resulting in at least an hour’s delay by the time I got to the Seattle area, it was still a pleasant, comfortable, unhassled experience.
Seating in business class was spacious and individually ticketed, with power ports at every seat, plenty of baggage storage, and free wi-​fi (assuming that the locomotive was up and running to provide power to the entire train). Any passenger car, or the dining car, allows gorgeous views of incredibly lush, green Pacific Northwest scenery rolling by, with the crossing of the Columbia River a particular highlight. The dining car itself had a good variety of choices, ranging from local PNW beers to (microwaved) burgers and Ivar’s clam chowder.
Overall, an incredibly civilized experience that, time allowing, sure beats dodging traffic on freeways or braving unpredictable, temperamental crowds at airports.

I wish the airport was more like a trip on the Train. I am in love with this travel mode! I may never drive to Portland again.
Amtrak Cascades trip to Portland was seamless! (I have heard this is not always the case but I was lucky then!)
We booked our reasonably priced off-​peak coach seats on the train and brought our bikes to Portland for extra $ 5! We rode our bikes to the station and had our weekend worth of clothes in our panniers.
The train seats are large and comfortable and no seat-​belts! Bathrooms between every car and your free to roam about. The staff is friendly and the bistro car served snack foods, beers, wine or liquor minis. Free wifi the whole way made a stress free mode of travel that I will definitely take this trip again soon!
SEA to PDX Baby!

Amtrak Cascades to Seattle
One of the main reasons we ended up taking a trip to the Pacific Northwest was for this train trip and for the scenery. It is a very enjoyable and relatively inexpensive way to get from Portland to Seattle. Reserved business-​class seats and asked to sit on the waterside both of which were easy and superefficient. Scenery was indeed extremely beautiful, and we were lucky with our weather being in mid-​October. The challenge was the actual train itself we had many breakdowns along the way. What should’ve been a 3 ½ hour journey ended up being over six. I must say there’s worse places to be stuck than along the Oregon coastline in a bar car having a cocktail. Overall as annoying as the stop was I would say the experience is absolutely worth it. We saved money in every city not driving a car, the experience of being on a train was excellent, and the scenery is unbeatable.

Not a bad way to save some money and a bit of the headache of a long drive. I just recently took my first train ride to and from Seattle. Going there we left on time, had a pretty easy ride and I even had some dining car food which was not bad at all. I was definitely impressed that the prices were not ridiculous like when you fly and they nickle and dime you for everything. The train personnel were even cracking me up doing the announcements with some humor… bravo seriously, nice to remember the train conductor is a human.
The trip back was delayed but I must say that it could have been way worse and they were doing all they could to get everyone either on buses to get to Portland faster or fix the train itself for those of us willing to wait.
We will definitely take the train again!

The first time I was on a commercial train in the US, I was about 8, and we were on a family ski vacation, taking the (then) mighty Empire Builder from Minnesota to Montana. At the time, I recall my father telling me the reason we took the train, is he wanted us to have that experience «before it disappeared.» Apparently he could see the future of train travel in the US, and the type of service we experienced on those family trips certainly has become a thing of the past.
Back in those days, Amtrak was all about service, and we had a personal porter that attended to our needs in our sleeping compartments, and the train had both a «bar car» and a separate dining car, where meals were prepared to order, food was served with silver, china, and crystal by white gloved servers.
Nowadays…not so much.
We were taking the Cascades Limited from Portland to Seattle for a short biz trip, and while overall service was perfunctory, and the trip was more relaxing than driving, and one can work via free wifi, the «dining service’ has turned into a self-​serve counter offering the equivalent of airline meals, at restaurant prices. The upside for those who partake, is beer and wine is available; you can eat and drink in the dining car, or take your food to your seat.
Sidebar: one wonders why the same security precautions that are so important at airports aren’t in place on trains? No security, no baggage checks, no ID requests.
We had a cheeseburger, cheese tray, wine, some salty snack mix. Sandwiches, pastries, salads and snack items like hummus were also available. The cheeseburger ran $ 6, wine was $ 14 for a split.
The cheeseburger was a microwave affair, and really not so bad. By coincidence, our new best friend seatmates on the return trip had the cheeseburger as well, and she pronounced it «better than a gas station burger» (under her breath) and that’s exactly how I would have described it, and of course set us off on a long discussion of both ‘gas station’ burger and sandwiches.
It’s a step up from the 7-​Eleven «Big Az» burger, and was ample in size, beefy, on a very soft bakery roll. The fact they could get a hamburger roll out of a microwave to taste and feel like that was the most interesting aspect of my sandwich. I didn’t make note of the manufacturer, but for a nuked burger, it’s a respectable offering.