Amtrak Cascades Service discussion

[Septa9739]

This weekend Friday and Sunday are about sold out PDX-SEA. Saturday is not slow by any means. I know this is shocking information.

Time for another coach

 

[zephyr17]

This weekend Friday and Sunday are about sold out PDX-SEA. Saturday is not slow by any means. I know this is shocking information.

Time for another coach

Assuming Amtrak will cough some up. At least it's better than last year, when every Horizon consist one coach shorter then and there was one less SEA-PDX round trip (missing 517/518 last year). So that's 5 more coaches each way every day than we had last year (one coach down on the two Casacades Horizon trains last year, and three for 517/518 that wasn't running last year).

Hopefully more Horizons will free up from the Midwest as the Siemens Ventures enter service, then Washington DOT presses for them, and Amtrak keeps current on inspections of them.

 

[delayed Zephyred]

Loved the cascade train from PDX to SEA. Especially the futuristic bathroom and doors that automatically open and close quietly. Seats were comfortable in business class. Wished that the tables did adjust up and down and back and forth. Loved the mimosas and oatmeal. Access to the Metropolitan lounge in Portland too. The 3 dollar off coupon also.

 

[JayPea]

I rode the Cascades from Seattle to Portland Wednesday. It was my first time on the Cascades since 2017, and my first time on a Horizon car in business class and I loved the experience. My past experience in business class on the Talgos was that as a single traveler, I was always assigned a seat in the row that had one seat to a side. That single row, heading south, was invariably on the left side--away from the Puget Sound side. Ironically, this time, no specific seats were assigned, and the row of single seats was on the right side--now that Amtrak uses the inland route. Next month I am taking the Cascades, first class again, but going north from Portland to Seattle this time. I'm already looking forward to spending more time in the lounge in Portland than I did this time.

 

[zephyr17]

Amtrak crews no longer assign seats on the Cascades whether the train is one of the remaining Talgo 8s (500/505 currently) or a Horizon consist.

One question, did your Horizon BC have overhead luggage racks? Not all do. The lack of luggage racks and the much lower Business Class capacity of the Horizon consists left me distinctly unimpressed with BC on the Horizons. I no longer think BC on the Cascades is worth the extra fare on the Horizon consists, especially since it tends to be a lot more expensive than the Talgo runs because of the constrained capacity.

 

[JayPea]

This one did have overhead luggage racks.

 

[TheMalahat]

I assume the onramping of Ventures is still going very slowly? It seems like there should be a pretty healthy supply of single level equipment becoming available?

 

[jis]

I assume the onramping of Ventures is still going very slowly? It seems like there should be a pretty healthy supply of single level equipment becoming available?

Just because Ventures have been deployed does not mean that all the equipment they replaced become available for use. If their periodic maintenance (PM) is postponed pending whatever, they just get parked and cannot be used until the PM cycle is completed. We know that there is serious backlog in PM. Without seeing details of PM status we don't have enough information about what is really available.

 

[TheMalahat]

Just because Ventures have been deployed does not mean that all the equipment they replaced become available for use. If their periodic maintenance (PM) is postponed pending whatever, they just get parked and cannot be used until the PM cycle is completed. We know that there is serious backlog in PM. Without seeing details of PM status we don't have enough information about what is really available.

Is the period maintenance backlog from employee shortages? Other?

A shame to have more equipment at play and see it get parked despite demand existing.

 

[zephyr17]

Is the period maintenance backlog from employee shortages? Other?

A shame to have more equipment at play and see it get parked despite demand existing.

Well, if so they're in good company with Superliners and Viewliners that remain sidelined for the same reasons.

 

[Willbridge]

Here's a tally on the "new" through PDX>VAC train's PDX>SEA segment, showing fares available on Wednesday evening for the Sunday date shown. There was positive media coverage of the new service.

From PDX at 1505:
Mar 12 = $59/$87
Mar 26 = SO/SO
Apr 23 = SO/SO
Apr 30 = $66/SO
May 09 = SO/SO
May 21 = SO/SO
Jun 18 = $66/SO
Jul 23 = SO/SO
Jul 30 = SO/SO

 

[TheMalahat]

Just took my first post-Covid & Horizon equipped Cascades trip. I'm really not a fan of the Horizon equipment, to the point I'm pretty persuaded to fly in the future. However I'm really keep for the Airo, come on 2027!.

 

[zephyr17]

Just took my first post-Covid & Horizon equipped Cascades trip. I'm really not a fan of the Horizon equipment, to the point I'm pretty persuaded to fly in the future. However I'm really keep for the Auto, come on 2027!.

Well, the Horizons beat buses at least.

 

[Septa9739]

Now totally sold out for tomorrow all trains, both directions from Portland to Vancouver. Service is still available for Eugene-Portland. The Cascades has to be the most brutal state supported route in the country for getting a seat. I’ve suggested about the Airo‘s for the NEC being ordered too short and I think we’ll see the same out here. Six cars is not going to be nearly enough in the long term without additional frequencies and probably even still, especially to keep fares fair. This corridor has grown incredibly and it shows no signs of stopping.

 

[trimetbusfan]

Now totally sold out for tomorrow all trains, both directions from Portland to Vancouver. Service is still available for Eugene-Portland. The Cascades has to be the most brutal state supported route in the country for getting a seat. I’ve suggested about the Airo‘s for the NEC being ordered too short and I think we’ll see the same out here. Six cars is not going to be nearly enough in the long term without additional frequencies and probably even still, especially to keep fares fair. This corridor has grown incredibly and it shows no signs of stopping.

well, considering how short the horizon consists are, hopefully the airos are at least an improvement.

 

[jis]

Now totally sold out for tomorrow all trains, both directions from Portland to Vancouver. Service is still available for Eugene-Portland. The Cascades has to be the most brutal state supported route in the country for getting a seat. I’ve suggested about the Airo‘s for the NEC being ordered too short and I think we’ll see the same out here. Six cars is not going to be nearly enough in the long term without additional frequencies and probably even still, especially to keep fares fair. This corridor has grown incredibly and it shows no signs of stopping.

well, considering how short the horizon consists are, hopefully the airos are at least an improvement.

Also, just because the Cascade Airos are being ordered with a certain number of cars now, does not mean they have to be forever with those number of cars. Cars can always be added if needed. Brightline recently illustrated how that is done when they temporarily expanded a few train sets to 5 cars, from their normal four, by borrowing cars from other sets that were not being used at the time.

 

[Septa9739]

well, considering how short the horizon consists are, hopefully the airos are at least an improvement.

Most certainly. As I understand it, in several ways the Horizons are easily improved upon.

 

[railiner]

Something new on the Cascades Thruway route...
https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/new...tter [issue:53645%&utm_term=Smart Cities Dive

 

[TheMalahat]

I think this is the only active Cascades thread?

Anyways, service in / out of Vancouver BC is likely to be cancelled for the next couple days. Amtrak's dependence on Twitter has left me blind to what they've posted, but the rail bridge between New Westminster and Surrey was subject to moderate damage requiring repair before service can resume. Chatter on the local rail groups is that it couple be a couple days, and significant congestion will last for a couple days after return to service.

 

[GDRRiley]

Hopefully cascades will get some of the horizon cars previously stored that are expected to reenter service in the next year.

 

[trimetbusfan]

Hopefully cascades will get some of the horizon cars previously stored that are expected to reenter service in the next year.

They better… rumor is they are adding more service in October.

 

[IAlam]

Hopefully cascades will get some of the horizon cars previously stored that are expected to reenter service in the next year.

They better… rumor is they are adding more service in October.

That’s good to hear at this point there already is a substantial amount of equipment that’s been displaced. It shouldn’t be too difficult for Amtrak to slap the extra cars on an empire builder and send it off to the west.

 

[Matthew H Fish]

I think this is the only active Cascades thread?

I made a thread in "Where To Go, What To See" that is about areas reachable by transit from off of the Amtrak Cascades. It is not about the Amtrak Cascades, exactly, but I talk about how the frequency of the Amtrak Cascades...which soon will be increased...makes using it for multimodal journeys fairly easy.

 

[Explore]

What equipment is currently operated to Vancouver? If it varies, is there any consistency by train?

Thanks…

 

[sitzplatz17]

What equipment is currently operated to Vancouver? If it varies, is there any consistency by train?

Thanks…

I assume you mean Vancouver, BC? The Seattle, WA-Vancouver, BC route has been exclusively horizon sets since it resumed after the pandemic pause.

At the moment it’s usually a cabbage, half business/half cafe car, 3 coaches, and 99% of the time a WA state Charger loco.