Amtrak Guest Rewards - New Empire Builder stop opens next week in Leavenworth, WA

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Copy/News_Release_Page&c=am2Copy&cid=1189639716475&ssid=180

Leavenworth is a big tourist destination. This stop should do well if marketed properly. One problem is that the west-bound train leaves around dawn, making it a less-than-attractive option for weekend visitors from Seattle.

Leavenworth has a website for the project (http://www.iciclestation.com/index.shtml).

The press release in alanh's link states the code for rail service is LWA vs the LEV currently in the system for Thruway service. A dummy booking for October (from Spokane) shows that the LWA is not a valid station and LEV still offers Thruway service only. Probably have to call for this one.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9000/4.6.0.167 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

:cool:

Have heard interesting things @ this town- a quaint little german town :p

Does this slow down that journey at all?

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9000/4.6.0.167 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

:cool:

Have heard interesting things @ this town- a quaint little german town :p

Does this slow down that journey at all?

I believe the tracks the EB uses already go through the town, so there shouldn't be any rerouting involved. A stop should add no more than 6 minutes to the train's run--2 minutes for slowing down, 2 minutes for the stop, and 2 minutes to speed back up.

I believe the tracks the EB uses already go through the town, so there shouldn't be any rerouting involved. A stop should add no more than 6 minutes to the train's run--2 minutes for slowing down, 2 minutes for the stop, and 2 minutes to speed back up.

I haven't seen the new schedule yet but I'm guessing you could do this stop without adding any overall time to the Empire Builder's end-to-end run. For eastbound trains, it should be possible to make up those 6 minutes during the long "meet-up" stop in Spokane. For WB trains, there's probably enough padding in the schedule as it approaches Seattle to make up those 6 minutes.

This article was written several weeks ago, but it's an interesting take on the new Leavenworth service on the Empire Builder. The author makes some good observations about the service, both pro and con. The "con" is mainly the schedule. I also didn't realized the station was a mile outside of town, but there does appear to be a cheap shuttle service available. ^

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/outdoors/2010155461_nwwtrain29.html?cmpid=2628