Amtrack Train

Chuck Liddell Fan

Just wondering if anyone has taken the train up / down to Seattle as I was thinking of taking it this year (depending on if I can get badges etc)

Are the seats comfortable?
Since it seems to be quite a bit longer than driving (roughly 2.5 hours to drive to 4.5 hours by train) is it smooth enough or is there enough space to play a board game / mtg etc

Just curious what peoples experiences are with the Amtrack Train & if its worth splashing out the $ for it (will save on hotel parking) or if its not worth the $

tinedizzle

I live in Kelso, wa and have taken the train to Seahawks games, very comfortable seats. And there are certain seats that have a table. I road coach.

kestrelbee

I took the train from Vancouver and it was great. The seats were comfortable, there's a little cafe on board (the food's not amazing, but at least you can grab a snack and drink), the trip was scenic and we were able to play MTG and some other games to pass the time. The price was quite good as well - $62/person roundtrip. Depending on how far you are driving, once you add up gas and parking, it's not that much more expensive to take the train, and it's definitely less stressful than having to deal with regular border crossings.

Chuck Liddell Fan

kestrelbee wrote: »

I took the train from Vancouver and it was great. The seats were comfortable, there's a little cafe on board (the food's not amazing, but at least you can grab a snack and drink), the trip was scenic and we were able to play MTG and some other games to pass the time. The price was quite good as well - $62/person roundtrip. Depending on how far you are driving, once you add up gas and parking, it's not that much more expensive to take the train, and it's definitely less stressful than having to deal with regular border crossings.

Hey man, Thank you for the info!

We are both living in North Van so getting to a border crossing is literally a 25 - 30 min drive & both times we drove the wait at the border was pretty quick (Prime 12 we only could attend the Sunday so we drove down saturday during the day & last year we had a week in Seattle so we left on a monday)

I was just a bit taken back by the whole 4 & a half hour for a drive that takes 2.5 maybe 3 if you hit traffic / get lost etc.

The fact that there is space & its smooth enough so you can play MTG is a good sign though definitely and will help pass the time.

Laird

Couple things:

1) The train only travels twice a day to and from Seattle/Vancouver(6:40am/5:45pm down/6:50am/6:50pm up)
2)The best part of taking amtrak during labor day weekend is not having to sit in a giant ass line at the border either way.(Customs is done in Vancouver up and down, except for a short stop on the way to the USA where they collect your deceleration card. It takes all of ten minutes.)

Chuck Liddell Fan

deceleration card? I take it thats something you get with your ticket etc (they ask for your ID)

I noticed the time thing, I thought that the Monday was essentially lost by taking the train since we would have to leave at 6:40am but then I saw the 6:50PM one so its pretty decent.

In regards to the border crossing I think we generally fluked out since both times (coming & going) we had a 15 - 30 minute wait at the border and then (we used the truck crossing going both times, once on a return and the other time we used the Peach Arch I believe) but I know what you mean the wait can be crazy long.

I can't get over just how cheap it is to travel via train down to Seattle

kestrelbee

The declaration card is a card that you fill out stating that you're not bringing any fruit or bees or virus samples into the states. They give it to you to fill out at the train station and then customs comes on board and collects them when the train reaches the border. I think the only cheaper way to get down to Seattle is the Bolt bus, but then you are stuck on a bus for 3 1/2 hours. I'd rather pay the little bit extra and be comfortable.

Chuck Liddell Fan

kestrelbee wrote: »

The declaration card is a card that you fill out stating that you're not bringing any fruit or bees or virus samples into the states. They give it to you to fill out at the train station and then customs comes on board and collects them when the train reaches the border. I think the only cheaper way to get down to Seattle is the Bolt bus, but then you are stuck on a bus for 3 1/2 hours. I'd rather pay the little bit extra and be comfortable.

Yeah the Bus we don't have any desire to go on that, if that ended up being the only option we would probably end up driving lol

rileyper

Is anyone taking the trip from Chicago, I don't know if I want to be on the train for that long.

Chuck Liddell Fan

How long is the train ride from Chicago? saying that it is probably much cheaper than flying out from Chicago

LerlertHerb

Chuck Liddell Fan wrote: »

How long is the train ride from Chicago? saying that it is probably much cheaper than flying out from Chicago

From Chicago to Seattle the trip is 46 hours. It isn't necessarily cheaper. When I checked ticket prices in February ORD to SEA was $300 r/t incl. tax but prices go up and down all the time with planes. The train currently sits at $348 r/t incl. tax.

TristanP

I took a greyhound bus one year from Indianapolis to Seattle. Total time was something like 56hrs. This was back in 2000 spent a great deal of time listening to my discman and a blind guy using his electric razor to shave every 45 mins. I opted to work harder to afford plane tickets from that day forward.

TristanP

You may be interested in BoltBus it's a cheaper ride compared to the train. But the quality of people drops dramatically. https://www.boltbus.com/

sirmrej

The train from Chicago to Seattle is gonna be looooong. And probably more expensive. You wanna fly. Sadly. I love trains. But it's not worth it.

From Portland to Seattle or Vancouver to Seattle? No problem! It's a nice little jaunt. You can totally play board games etc. The seats are nice. I wish it had wifi, but other than that, yea! Go for it

adias.angel

LerlertHerb wrote: »

Chuck Liddell Fan wrote: »

How long is the train ride from Chicago? saying that it is probably much cheaper than flying out from Chicago

From Chicago to Seattle the trip is 46 hours. It isn't necessarily cheaper. When I checked ticket prices in February ORD to SEA was $300 r/t incl. tax but prices go up and down all the time with planes. The train currently sits at $348 r/t incl. tax.

Yea we look into this every year and the train is never a better deal. It's so nice to get up in the morning and arrive in Seattle before it's even their lunch time.

LerlertHerb

adias.angel wrote: »

LerlertHerb wrote: »

Chuck Liddell Fan wrote: »

How long is the train ride from Chicago? saying that it is probably much cheaper than flying out from Chicago

From Chicago to Seattle the trip is 46 hours. It isn't necessarily cheaper. When I checked ticket prices in February ORD to SEA was $300 r/t incl. tax but prices go up and down all the time with planes. The train currently sits at $348 r/t incl. tax.

Yea we look into this every year and the train is never a better deal. It's so nice to get up in the morning and arrive in Seattle before it's even their lunch time.

I agree except for baggage maybe. Amtrak allows each passenger to check two bags and carry on two bags free of charge. It might be more useful for say cookie brigade or over-packers like myself.

Lefuulei

One thing I'm noticing: does the amtrak train have any other stop in seattle than King street? Cause King street is far enough away from the convention center that you'll still have to take a bus or the central LINK (tram/light rail) up tot he convention center. So you'll have to add that cost into it all. luckily only a couple bucks one way or about $5 for a day pass(unlimited rides for the day)

Chuck Liddell Fan

I think it has a second stop in Seattle but I am not sure exactly where it is

Yeah I was factoring in those costs, I think overall it will be about even (i think you start to 'save' $ if you stay longer than 5 days due to the parking being $35 -$40/ day etc)

I'll probably go with the train this year to give it a whirl and it would mean that no one is driving so possible to play MTG game etc

kestrelbee

There's a second stop but it's only for the Amtrak buses. As for taking the central LINK to the convention centre, it was only a couple of dollars and took less than ten minutes.

RaajTM

I use to take train from Sacramento to Seattle the first couple of years.. two of those years had to upgrade to a small cabin. It'd take around 24 hours-ish to get there so around 4-5 hours on train isn't so bad at all. It was fun to try, but overall I just couldn't stand it anymore. There is also a lot of people playing table top games and card games so you will not be bored for that duration.

RaptorJesuss

Had a friend take the train up from California and he said he was bored to death and it took much longer than he expected.

minisplat

I happen to be a huge fan of trains, and though a lot of people find the long distance routes boring they can also be cool. Just be prepared - the train is slooooow. I've gone San Francisco to Seattle a couple times, and although it takes an extra day (it's a 24+ hour ride) I usually force myself to relax, which I'm terrible at, and just enjoy it. And yes, board games on the train is always a good idea!

Quintious

One thing to consider when training from the South up into Seattle, there are actually 2 different rails you can ride coming up here. One is very direct and more efficient (Cascades, I believe they call it). The other runs along the coast, is much slower and takes longer to get here, but the views can't be beat (I believe they call that one the Starlight line). They both cost about the same, if I recall properly - comes down to a matter of personal preference. Whichever one you choose, make a point to shell out the extra bucks for the VIP seating.

Lefuulei

Yeah I did some research and only found the Kings Street stop... Good luck to those training up!

kestrelbee

FYI to anyone taking the train from Vancouver...Amtrak has sold out of the cheapest tickets ($31, transferable, but non-refundable) for the morning of Thursday, August 28th. The next cheapest tickets are $53 (refundable).

Chuck Liddell Fan

Well we are waiting to see if we can land tickets to Pax first, I think when we were going we were going to head up on the wednesday to check in to the hotel and possibly hit up card kingdom + the cafe to grab some M15 boosters (Oh who I am I kidding, we would most likely grab a box each lol) and then craft or recraft our decks to be standard compliant and play some MTG for the rest of the day

RaajTM

Lefuulei wrote: »

Yeah I did some research and only found the Kings Street stop... Good luck to those training up!

Was reaaaal late in seeing your other post.. yeah Kings Street Station is pretty much end of the line for Amtrak at least those taking the Coast Starlight from the south. Also departs from here going back.. think there is two separate trains the go North and South between LA and Seattle about the same time.