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NEED HELP-Seattle to Vancouver

teacherman

By teacherman,
in West Coast Departures

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Putterdude

Putterdude

Posted
Posted
True dat. But the 2nd train isn't really relavent to cruisers staying in Seattle wanting to get on a ship in Vancouver as it is an evening train. You gotta take the first train to make it in time.

 

Actually it is very relevant as many people come on the second train and spend the night or a few days in Vancouver or again stay a few days post cruise and depart on the early train.

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KAYEF

KAYEF

Posted
Posted

Quick Shuttle is THE way to go for NO hassle at either end and NO lugging your luggage around.

When your ship docks, it will be RIGHT THERE..................at Canada Place it was the first thing we saw when we exited the ship. They checked their manifest, told us we could board, and put our luggage underneath..............faster than walking off the ship.;)

The "buses" are VERY comfortable tour buses.............we had tons of legroom.......smooth and quiet.

If you purchase your tickets online, you have a discount.

You don't have to find transportation TO the train to either way.........

they are right there.

No, I dont work for them; I just use them.

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Urban trekker

Urban trekker

Posted
Posted

Me thinks that the provincial government will step up to the plate with some sort of revenue sharing with the feds to pay for the border fees - the province because it needs support because of the HST mess and the Feds because they want to win the next election.

 

That`s all from this political soapbox this rainy morning - now back to our regular programming - whatever that is.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

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Putterdude

Putterdude

Posted
Posted
Me thinks that the provincial government will step up to the plate with some sort of revenue sharing with the feds to pay for the border fees - the province because it needs support because of the HST mess and the Feds because they want to win the next election.

 

That`s all from this political soapbox this rainy morning - now back to our regular programming - whatever that is.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

 

I'm with you, I think it will get resolved whatever the underlying motivation to do so. I just don't like it categorized as a border fee though...however there is a cost of providing this service and I alluded to passing the cost on the passengers much like they do with airfares and Scottbee picked up on that. I think it would be wrong to just pass it on to the second train though and would suggest that it should be applied to both trains?

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scottbee

scottbee

Posted
Posted
True dat. But the 2nd train isn't really relavent to cruisers staying in Seattle wanting to get on a ship in Vancouver as it is an evening train. You gotta take the first train to make it in time.

 

It's completely relevant. Unlike the morning train, it actually starts(ed) in Portland, meaning it passes with 2 miles of Seatac airport, and the Tukwila station. Which means it's extremely easy (and cheap) to get to from the airport.

 

How does :

1600: arr SEA; transfer to Seattle hotel; 0700 dep for Vancouver

work out any differently than

1600: arr SEA; catch evening train; transfer to Vancouver hotel

 

 

Either way you arrive in Seattle the afternoon before your Vancouver cruise departure, and spend one night in a hotel.

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Casagordita

Casagordita

Posted
Posted
Quick Shuttle is THE way to go

 

 

Interesting...I would prefer to go 1,000 miles on a train, anywhere, anytime, than 100 on a bus--because of the space, the amenities, the ability to get up and walk around, the ease of being social with other passengers, and just the whole atmosphere of a train trip. This particular train route is far more scenic than anything you'll see from I-5 in a bus. And I've taken it several times, and never found handling luggage, getting through customs and immigration, or getting to the stations that onerous.

 

But that's just me. I think, in the end, it really does come down to personal style and preferences. As they say, YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary!)

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zephyr17

zephyr17

Posted
Posted
I'm with you, I think it will get resolved whatever the underlying motivation to do so. I just don't like it categorized as a border fee though...however there is a cost of providing this service and I alluded to passing the cost on the passengers much like they do with airfares and Scottbee picked up on that. I think it would be wrong to just pass it on to the second train though and would suggest that it should be applied to both trains?

I don't know, I am not optimistic. They've been negotiating literally for months, and basically finally gave up. CBSA ended up doing a take it or leave it. Neither Amtrak nor the state of Washington (which sponsors and subsidizes the Cascades train) is going to pay the fee. I think it'll be up to the BC provincial government to step in, or lose the service. Nobody's been proposing passing it on to the passengers. Maybe they should.

 

As to why the "first" train (510/517) doesn't pay the fee, I guess provision for a fee just wasn't in the agreement under which they started that train in the late 1990s, so they can't change their minds now. Just a guess. If somehow they were able to demand a fee for that one, we'd probably lose it too.

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zephyr17

zephyr17

Posted
Posted
but the downside is when you get to the Vancouver train station, you will be in a "caged in" platform area and customs officials will unload 1 car at a time, meaning if you are in the back of the train, you could wait up to an hour to get off

 

That is really no different from a airline passenger debarking into a secure international arrivals area for customs inspection. In fact, that is exactly what it is. A secured area for international arrivals. Perfectly normal.

 

They keep you on the train and let you off a car at a time so you don't have to stand up in line for all that time. It is for comfort more than anything else. The people in the last cars on the train would normally be the last in line either way, except for those who might decide to sprint down the platform, elbowing others out of their way. So the time spent waiting for customs clearance is no different whether you waited in line, or waited onboard, you just get to wait in somewhat more comfort.

 

And you can "jump" the line by getting a business class ticket for an extra $12. The business class car is the one closest to the station, and the first one to debark.

 

Finally, I ride that train frequently, and have been in all different cars, including the last one to be allowed to debark. The latest I have ever been out on the street in Vancouver has been 12:05, 30 minutes after arrival.

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Putterdude

Putterdude

Posted
Posted
I don't know, I am not optimistic. They've been negotiating literally for months, and basically finally gave up. CBSA ended up doing a take it or leave it. Neither Amtrak nor the state of Washington (which sponsors and subsidizes the Cascades train) is going to pay the fee. I think it'll be up to the BC provincial government to step in, or lose the service. Nobody's been proposing passing it on to the passengers. Maybe they should.

 

 

The spin that we got last night was that is "isn't over until it's over" but you may be entirely correct...what leads me to think that something will/may happen is the fact that money is being spent on the Customs facility and I think someone is just waiting for the other to blink first. As you know there are no CBSA people at the station full time so they have to send officers over for whatever time it takes, they are saying the cost is $1,500 each time. Someone has to pay it...DHS has a fee for clearing US bound pax at YVR, why not a $10pp user fee at Pacific Central Station? Nobody should squeal too much...I think.

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Mingus

Mingus

Posted
Posted
That is really no different from a airline passenger debarking into a secure international arrivals area for customs inspection. In fact, that is exactly what it is. A secured area for international arrivals. Perfectly normal.

 

They keep you on the train and let you off a car at a time so you don't have to stand up in line for all that time. It is for comfort more than anything else. The people in the last cars on the train would normally be the last in line either way, except for those who might decide to sprint down the platform, elbowing others out of their way. So the time spent waiting for customs clearance is no different whether you waited in line, or waited onboard, you just get to wait in somewhat more comfort.

 

And you can "jump" the line by getting a business class ticket for an extra $12. The business class car is the one closest to the station, and the first one to debark.

 

Finally, I ride that train frequently, and have been in all different cars, including the last one to be allowed to debark. The latest I have ever been out on the street in Vancouver has been 12:05, 30 minutes after arrival.

I totally agree.

We took the train this past May, after a Vancouver to Seattle one night cruise. It was way more comfortable waiting in your seat than to stand in line with everyone. You don't always have to pay for business class to "jump" the line......just choose your seats in the forward cars.

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CupKayke

CupKayke

Posted
Posted

ANOTHER question...

For those of you who have taken the train at 7:40am from Seattle to Vancouver... would you recommend doing~so on the same day the ship departs?? I am one of those that would never fly-in the same day... but what about this?? Is the train fairly reliable?? The cruise we are looking at isn't scheduled to leave Vancouver until 5pm.

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zephyr17

zephyr17

Posted
Posted

Train 510 (the 7:40 am out of Seattle) is very reliable. It originates in Seattle. BNSF does a good job of dispatching for it. In the winter, there are sometimes problems with mudslides, if that happens, they just call out the buses, but in the summer that is not a problem. I wouldn't hesitate to take it for a same day cruise. I ride it fairly frequently and the latest we've ever been into Vancouver has been about 1 hour late, got in about 12:35 or so, and that was only one time.

 

It is a short run with no extended station stops for crew changes or servicing, so there are NO smoke stops and smoking is not allowed onboard.

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  • 2 weeks later...
scottbee

scottbee

Posted
Posted
Any idea of taxi fare from the Amtrak station in Vancouver to Canada Place?

 

$10-12 from Pacific Station. Alternately you can cross the street from Pacific Station to the "MAIN ST/SCIENCE WORLD" Skytrain station (elevated/subway trains) and ride to WATERFRONT STATION for $2.50/ea. At Waterfront, follow the signs and the escalator plunks you about 150ft from Canada Place. But really for $10, and there's probably 2 of you anyway... May as well grab a cab.

 

(photo of Pacific Station, taken from Skytrain @ Main St station -- ahh the daily commute)

pacificstation.jpg

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Mingus

Mingus

Posted
Posted
By way of a "heads up" if nothing changes it is entirely likely that the afternoon train northbound and the morning train southbound will not operate after October 31st. The Canadian Customs is taking the position that they have to send a special crew to clear the train and they don't have the budget to do this. In the meantime improvements continue to be made to the customs facilities at the train station. My guess is that customs is positioning to have a fee collected by Amtrak from each pax much like airlines do and it will be business as usual but stay tuned.

Great news......the second train has been extended for one more year :)

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Amtrak+train+gets+year+reprieve/3675533/story.html

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