AMTRAK - Train or Coach

[Piperpals]

Perhaps the answer is aready posted somewhere but does anyone know for sure if the Seattle to Vancouver route for the Amtrak is actually on the train or if it is a coach (bus) route. I think it is a coach but if you know for sure would like to know.

 

Putterdude??

 

Thanks

[yogi2929]

The answer is both. Northbound first and Southbound last are trains. The rest are motorcoaches. Did Southbound back in 2003 and had no problems. Crossing the border both you and your luggage need to get off the bus.

 

http://tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak

[zephyr17]

Train 510 departing Seattle for Vancouver at 7:40 am and Train 517 departing Vancouver for Seattle at 5:45 pm are the only trains. All others are Amtrak Thruway buses.

 

If those times work for you, go for the train. It is more comfortable and more scenic. If they don't, you are going to be on a bus anyway, I would recommend QuickShuttle, since that minimizes transfers.

 

www.amtrak.com/timetable/oct08/W32.pdf will take you right to a pdf file of the Amtrak Cascades schedules including all trains and Amtrak Thruway buses.

[dfitz]

Hi Piperpals ... are you over here helping me w/ my research ? :)

 

I'm going back and forth between Amtrak train and Quick Shuttle. Like someone else said, seems the train would be more scenic and there's the benefit of being able to get up and move about, and the train schedule works for us ... but is the scenic/comfort enough to override the convenience of getting dropped right at the pier?

 

At what point do you go through customs w/ the train? The benefit of QS is that they would drop us right at Ballantyne Pier, so we wouldn't have to deal w/ catching a cab from the station to pier. Is the train ride a lot better so that it makes it worth a possible hour wait (so I've heard) for a cab? I guess having passengers and luggage unload from the bus is why QS is a little longer travel time, and that could be yucky in bad weather.

 

Price and travel time for both train and shuttle are pretty comparable (the train is a little higher on the holiday weekend when we'll be traveling from SEA to VAC) ... too slight a difference to be a deciding factor.

[wrp96]

You go through immigration on the train itself so no possibility of delays at the border with the train unlike with the buses where you are at the whim of the border agents and traffic.

[scottbee]

Hi Piperpals ... are you over here helping me w/ my research ? :)

 

I'm going back and forth between Amtrak train and Quick Shuttle. Like someone else said, seems the train would be more scenic and there's the benefit of being able to get up and move about, and the train schedule works for us ... but is the scenic/comfort enough to override the convenience of getting dropped right at the pier?

 

At what point do you go through customs w/ the train? The benefit of QS is that they would drop us right at Ballantyne Pier, so we wouldn't have to deal w/ catching a cab from the station to pier. Is the train ride a lot better so that it makes it worth a possible hour wait (so I've heard) for a cab? I guess having passengers and luggage unload from the bus is why QS is a little longer travel time, and that could be yucky in bad weather.

 

Price and travel time for both train and shuttle are pretty comparable (the train is a little higher on the holiday weekend when we'll be traveling from SEA to VAC) ... too slight a difference to be a deciding factor.

 

You wont wait for an hour to grab a cab at the station. 5-10 minutes, tops. At Ballantyne when the ship unloads the waits can be longer, but not at Pacific Station. Last time I did it I walked right outside. The train station and [long distance] bus station in Vancouver are co-located, so it's a pretty busy happening place..

[zephyr17]

No problem getting cabs at Pacific Central station. There are always some out front when I come in on the train -- I usually ride it a couple of times a year just for fun. Ballantyne Pier is less than 2 miles away. A short, easy and cheap cab ride.

 

And Customs is a BIG advantage of the train...

[dfitz]

Thanks everyone, since it sounds like catching a cab won't be a problem, Amtrak will be our choice :)

[cookie54]

Do take the train. We have done both. When we took the bus, we had to unload our luggage, go through customs and put it back on the bus. (Granted, this was several years ago and it may have changed.)

 

When we took the train, we did not have to do that.

 

We are taking the train back to Washington when we arrive in Vancouver on May 5th after our cruise from San Diego.

[SeattleCruiselover]

Do take the train. We have done both. When we took the bus, we had to unload our luggage, go through customs and put it back on the bus. (Granted, this was several years ago and it may have changed.)

 

When we took the train, we did not have to do that.

 

We are taking the train back to Washington when we arrive in Vancouver on May 5th after our cruise from San Diego.

 

Nope, still the same, no change.

[dfitz]

After finally deciding to use Amtrak train to get back/forth from Sea to Vac, tried to make reservations this morning ... booked the train from Sea to Vac, but the train from Vac to Sea was booked. Luckily, tried again tonight and got 3 seats on the train back to Seattle.

 

I've emailed Amtrak with the following question, but wonder if anyone knows ... does Amtrak allow passengers to ck in luggage early?

Is it reasonable to think we can catch a cab from Ballantyne pier to train station right after disembarkation (around 8am), have the cab wait while we ck our luggage at Amtrak, then have the cab drop us at Stanley Park, rent bikes to explore the park, call cab for ride from Stanley park to train station? How much should we expect to pay for cab from Amtrak station to pier? from Amtrak station to Stanley Park? can we pay in US$?

 

Past cruises we've disembarked, and are driving away by 8am ... if we're off that quick on this cruise we'll have most of the day to explore Vancouver as our train doesn't leave til 5:45pm :) From what I've read on the boards, sounds like we can easily spend the day at Stanley Park.

[zephyr17]

You can have your luggage held by the VIA Rail Canada in the station for a couple of bucks for each piece, but you cannot check it directly. When you get back to the station, you retrieve your baggage, then check in for the train, go through US Immigration and check bags after you clear Immigration. The only drawback is I don't think the VIA counter opens until 9am or so.

 

At least part of the reason is you cannot check the bags until after you clear Immigration. The Immigration check is part of the train check-in process.

 

I'd have CDN for most of your day. although I understand that is problematic for the initial cab ride. There is a (costly) ATM in the station itself, and a VanCity ATM across the street under the Skytrain platform that does not charge any additional service fees over what your own bank charges for "foreign" ATM use. Most cabbies will take USD, but will only give you par. A lot of them take plastic, too.

 

It is less than 2 miles from Ballantyne Pier to Pacific Central Station. The cab should be around CDN $15 with tip.

 

There should be cabs available at the station (it is the intercity bus station as well as Amtrak and VIA), if it were you, I would not pay for the wait and just grab another cab. Also, public transit is VERY good in Vancouver and Pacific Central Station has a Skytrain station right across the street that takes you right downtown. If fact, you can get to Stanley Park without any transfers from right out in front of the station using the 19-Stanley Park bus that runs about every 15 minutes, and is about a 15 minute ride. The fare is CDN 2.50 each way per adult. You can get an all-day transit pass for CDN 9.00.

 

I go up to Vancouver a couple of times a year, and always use transit around town. It is very good (except for getting away from Ballantyne Pier).

 

http://www.translink.bc.ca

[dfitz]

Zephyr17, thank you for the detailed info :-) I called ViaRail today, the station doesn't open til 10:30am on Saturday, but from then on we can leave our baggage for a small fee. So, since we'll probably be ready to leave the pier by around 8am, debating if we should reserve a limo for a sightseeing tour until we can drop luggage at the station ... or is there somewhere near Ballantyne Pier or the train station where we could have coffee and a leisurely breakfast until we can drop luggage?

[zephyr17]

Hmmm, the hours on the VIA website show them opening at 8:15 am on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday:

http://www.viarail.ca/train-stations/en-station-vancouver-british-columbia.html

Their schedule is based on the VIA Canadian train, which runs 3 days a week, and the earlier hours correspond with the days that the Canadian arrives, which is scheduled at 9:40 am. Saturday is one of the arrival days. So they normally that would be one of the days they open earlier. It may that they are planning to shift schedules between now and when you are traveling.

 

Ballantyne Pier is in an industrial area and is also kind of hard to walk to and from (port security). Don't know of anything nice around Pacific Central Station. I usually don't hang around there, just get on the Skytrain. There is a McDonald's inside the station.

[dfitz]

Thank you zephyr :) I found out that the later Sat hours are Amtrak, but I spoke with a viarail person who said come on over to their counter and they'd probably be able to help if Amtrak couldn't ... said if I had a ticket through them, it would be no problem ... our tickets are w/ Amtrak. I've added the link you provided to my favorites.

[megr1125]

make sure you have something to do after you dump your luggage...the Vancouver station isn't very comfy (and the seattle station is WORSE.....NOTHING there to eat except vending machines....and get there early...i think they assign seats!)

 

IIRC ViaRail pretty much handles the bags and check in for amtrak.....(and that's good..some of the amtrak people are meanies!;))

 

it's a very scenic ride though........have fun!

[zephyr17]

The VIA counter will hold your luggage for a small fee, just tell them you will be on that day's Seattle Amtrak train (they won't hold luggage overnight). They'll tell you you'll have to pick it up by a certain time. Amtrak itself actually does not have ANY ticket agents there. VIA handles it all for them, so I think whoever you were talking to at Amtrak's national call center was talking through their hat (not for first time...).

[megr1125]

The VIA counter will hold your luggage for a small fee, just tell them you will be on that day's Seattle Amtrak train (they won't hold luggage overnight). They'll tell you you'll have to pick it up by a certain time. Amtrak itself actually does not have ANY ticket agents there. VIA handles it all for them, so I think whoever you were talking to at Amtrak's national call center was talking through their hat (not for first time...).

 

haha...maybe it was "julie?" sometimes she doesn't understand!!!

 

 

 

[btw julie is the name of the automated voice on amtraks phone....in case people don't know!;)]

[dfitz]

I did actually get a hold of a person ... but I trust the answers I can from people here much more :D So again, thanks for all the help!