Originally Posted by
mikeschu
Unfortunately the Cascades trip is going to be southbound from Vancouver to Portland. That's still worth the upgrade as it's a significant trip, but there probably isn't much of a difference going southbound in terms of clearing customs.
There are still two separate lines in the station in Vacouver, one for BC & one for coach. The BC line will be much shorter and again you'll still be first through customs. That means you'll be sitting in your seat on the train while the coach passengers are still trying to clear customs.
Originally Posted by
mikeschu
As of the current schedule the only northbound Cascades train to Vancouver will leave Portland a couple of hours before the Coast Starlight gets there. Thus, the last portion of an estimated 43-hour trip is by bus. I would prefer to go by train, and maybe they fix the schedule to allow for that, but I'm not expecting that to happen.
Yes, there is no connection between the Coast Starlight and the evening train to Vancouver; a bus connection is the only alternative unless one overnights in either Seattle or Portland.