nerd

I think the world is flat. Turns out, we're both wrong!

LuvAirFrance

Sounds like a smarter policy than this Adirondack train. Wonder why a single travel service has variable approaches.

LuvAirFrance

OK, so it wasn't my imagination. I just did a fake search for a one-way trip to Vancouver from Minneapolis-St. Paul. What I got was


Seattle to Vancouver says "bus". If there's a train available, why is the only option given as "bus"?

darben

I get the following looking for MSP - Van

$210.00 estimated
7 Empire Builder

Service Alert
2011-09-16T23:15:00.000-05:00 St. Paul / Minneapolis, MN
St. Paul / Minneapolis
(MSP)
Departs: 11:15 PM
Fri Sep 16 2011
St. Paul / Minneapolis, MN (MSP)
Station News
Arrives: 10:25 AM
Sun Sep 18 2011
Seattle, WA (SEA)
Station News
PT49H35M Duration: 37 hr, 10 min
Amenities
[Checked baggage] [Lounge] [Dining car] [Onboard wheelchair ramp]


516 Amtrak Cascades

Service Alert
Departs: 6:50 PM
Sun Sep 18 2011
Seattle, WA (SEA)
Station News
Arrives: 10:50 PM
Sun Sep 18 2011
Vancouver, BC (VAC) Vancouver, BC
Vancouver
(VAC)

For YVR - MSP I got a choice of three
First was pure train from Vancouver to MSP via Seattle
2nd was same trains via PDX
Third was bus

AlanB

Because ARROW is programmed to give you the first possible connection first. That just happens to be a bus. However, if you're willing to wait around for the train until later that evening, you can connect with the train to VAC.

Of course the right way to test things and see if there were indeed trains running over the border would have been to simply go from Seattle to Vancouver and not complicate things with a departure from MSP. The State of Washington would also like to increase the number of trains and reduce, if not eliminate, the bus runs.

RogerD408

I don't know about the other trains, but VAC is the one and only stop in Canada. So it may be they are not worried about people jumping off the train before it gets into Vancouver. I'm sure if there is an unscheduled stop once over the border, unless a safety issue, you would not be allowed off the train and expect authorities to be on the spot quickly. Plus, we are talking about Canada where there are many unmanned crossings anyways.

AlanB

You are correct, the Cascades service is the only Amtrak service that does not make any other stops once over the border. Mind you there would be a few logical stops that it could make if they changed the procedures. But that's unlikely to happen. In fact Canada wants to stop doing onboard inspections entirely.

There are currently plans underway to reroute the Adirondack via a different line in Canada that would both eliminate the one intermediary stop in Canada, but would also see the train moving from Gare Centrale station to Lucien L'Allier station. Lucien has enough room such that a fenced in area similar to what one finds in Vancouver can be created and customs would now be done after detraining. We're probably at least a year or two away from seeing that happen.

As for the Maple Leaf there is simply no way to do the same with that train, since it is actually taken over by VIA Rail at the Niagara Falls, ON station and operated as a local VIA train to Toronto. However, it is my understanding that current SOP upon entering Canada is that all passengers are taken off the train with their luggage and brought into the station to clear customs & immigration. Returning to the US usually does not see everyone being taken off the train, although on certain occasions it does happen. But most times the US officials come on board to do things.

guv1976

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.601 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

The Adirondack has a scheduled stop between Montreal and Rouses Point, NY, at Saint Lambert; so an inspection point by either country at Montreal would not work on the route with its current stops.

I think there has been talk about putting the inspection point in Montreal (and possibly routing the Adirondack to a different station -- Lucien L'Allier), and eliminating the stop at Saint Lambert, but so far that has not happened.

bosnyc

Just out of curiosity, how does this happen? Does a VIA engine pull up and connect to the Amtrak cars to pull the train the rest of the way to Toronto? Is it just a VIA crew that boards and operates the Amtrak equipment?

AlanB

It's just VIA engineers and personel that take over the Amtrak train. The Amtrak employees all get off, even the cafe attendant who locks most of the cabinets & fridges. A VIA cafe attendant gets on with boxes of VIA supplies and sells from the cafe, using the convection ovens and one fridge. In fact it's the only time you can buy coke products on an Amtrak train.

Both the Amtrak crews and the VIA crews will accept tickets from either VIA or Amtrak for this run. In fact, if you're booking the entire run or any portion that crosses the border, you actually get two tickets. One for the Amtrak crew and one for the VIA crew.

guv1976

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.601 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

"In fact it's the only time you can buy coke products on an Amtrak train."

Doesn't the Downeaster sell Coke products? I thought that its food service was not catered by Amtrak.

LuvAirFrance

I think it extremely peculiar that two searches at the Amtrak site result in different results. You did go to Amtrak, not some consolidator, right?

fairviewroad

It could be the train was sold out on the day you checked?

Anyhow, you can just go to the "timetable" page and look at the timetable for Amtrak Cascades:

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/Conten.../1237405732505

nerd

Two different searches resulting in different results? How very peculiar!

When AlanB refers to ARROW, he is referring to Amtrak's reservation system.

LuvAirFrance

I looked up both the Starlight and the Cascades. Most departures to Vancouver go by bus. There are a couple that involve the train. I didn't put any time constraint in, so they should have shown up. If I were to do the whole trip by train, I'd need to make separate reservations, one to get to Seattle, then one to get to Vancouver. Then I could do it. And the site informs you that you must supply security information just to make the reservation, including having the specific type of ID that Canada requires. That makes me somewhat puzzled that this Adirondack train had a problem. If the traveler was forced to provide the ID up front, why did a problem arise during the trip?