Edmonds WA to Vancouver BC

[CLF]

We will be boarding the Amtrak Cascade train in Edmonds WA, heading to Vancouver BC. The website says to arrive at least an hour early when going into Canada. I'm wondering what happens at this tiny suburban station that will take so long? Is there a TSA or passport screening? We won't be checking any luggage.

We'll be arriving by ferry, a short walk from the Amtrak station. If all goes as scheduled we'd be there 90 min. early. However, these ferries don't always go according to plan and sometimes they cancel boats at the last minute. The next ferry would arrive 30 min. before the train is scheduled to leave. Would they deny us boarding if we arrive 20 minutes before the train is due to depart?

 

[trimetbusfan]

We will be boarding the Amtrak Cascade train in Edmonds WA, heading to Vancouver BC. The website says to arrive at least an hour early when going into Canada. I'm wondering what happens at this tiny suburban station that will take so long? Is there a TSA or passport screening? We won't be checking any luggage.

We'll be arriving by ferry, a short walk from the Amtrak station. If all goes as scheduled we'd be there 90 min. early. However, these ferries don't always go according to plan and sometimes they cancel boats at the last minute. The next ferry would arrive 30 min. before the train is scheduled to leave. Would they deny us boarding if we arrive 20 minutes before the train is due to depart?

No, Edmonds is an intermediate station, so there is no point in getting there that early (and despite the station being staffed, all passport checks aren’t done until once onboard)

 

[BCL]

We will be boarding the Amtrak Cascade train in Edmonds WA, heading to Vancouver BC. The website says to arrive at least an hour early when going into Canada. I'm wondering what happens at this tiny suburban station that will take so long? Is there a TSA or passport screening? We won't be checking any luggage.

We'll be arriving by ferry, a short walk from the Amtrak station. If all goes as scheduled we'd be there 90 min. early. However, these ferries don't always go according to plan and sometimes they cancel boats at the last minute. The next ferry would arrive 30 min. before the train is scheduled to leave. Would they deny us boarding if we arrive 20 minutes before the train is due to depart?

Just curious where you got this info. As far as I can tell, they only recommend an hour when boarding in BC and don't say anything about boarding in the US. That's because the US customs screening in BC happens before boarding so they don't need a customs check at the border.

https://www.amtrak.com/crossing-the-us-canadian-border​

Arriving at the Station​

• Departing from Vancouver, BC - arrive at least one hour prior to departure for border crossing processing. To complete ID checks, Customs and Immigration closes the gates 15 minutes before the scheduled departure; gates will not reopen once closed.
• Departing from Montreal, QC, or Toronto, ON - arrive at least 30 minutes prior to departure.

For passengers who are not citizens of either the United States or Canada, it is strongly advised to arrive earlier than one hour to complete additional United States Customs and Border Protection processing.​

Edmonds is a staffed station with baggage service, so they recommend arriving 45 minutes early if you have checked baggage and 30 minutes without. I would think the biggest issue is dealing with a long line, but I've been at a station where I remember last call for baggage was about 10 minutes before departure. I think Edmonds has light staffing, so they might shut down the ticket/baggage window to handle baggage transfer. But if you don't have anything to check in, there's really nothing that requires you be there. It's not like an airport where they might deny boarding if you don't arrive several minutes before departure. They don't start boarding until the train arrives, and typically the train leaves pretty quickly unless it's way early or there's a scheduled "dwell time".

They say 30 minutes if you don't have check-in baggage and don't need assistance, but the only reason for that would be to give some padding.

https://www.amtrak.com/stations/edm​

• Arrive at least 45 minutes prior to departure if you're checking baggage or need ticketing/passenger assistance
  
  How long before departure to be at the station if you need ticketing, baggage or passenger assistance services.​
• Arrive at least 30 minutes prior to departure if you're not checking baggage or don't need assistance

If you don't have any baggage to check in, you could theoretically arrive there right as the train arrives and you'll be fine. This is the way most of Amtrak works, although there are some exceptions.

 

[CLF]

Thank you both for your insight. This makes me feel a lot more secure.
I found the 1 hour thing in the Rider Guide tab on the Amtrak Cascades page...
https://amtrakoregon.com/guide/border-crossing

 

[zephyr17]

I ride it fairly frequently. The hour in advance applies to Vancouver and it very much applies there, where you undergo US Immigration inspection before boarding. To a lesser extent it applies in Seattle.

At intermediate stations, no. Although now a relatively new practice is to have station agents check the ID of international passengers before the train arrives.

20 minutes or so would be fine, to allow the Edmonds agent time to check id.

 

[zephyr17]

No, Edmonds is an intermediate station, so there is no point in getting there that early (and despite the station being staffed, all passport checks aren’t done until once onboard)

That is no longer true.

As of my November 2024 trip, station agents at staffed stations are required to check ID before boarding. At least on 516, the train crew no longer checks ID until they do a final check on departure from Bellingham. They look at the slip the agent gives you after the agent's id check.

I imagine the crew still checks ID at unstaffed stations like Stanwood and Mt. Vernon.

 

[trimetbusfan]

That is no longer true.

As of my November 2024 trip, station agents at staffed stations are required to check ID before boarding. At least on 516, the train crew no longer checks ID until they do a final check on departure from Bellingham. They look at the slip the agent gives you after the agent's id check.

I imagine the crew still checks ID at unstaffed stations like Stanwood and Mt. Vernon.

Wow, that is really weird, especially because when I went to Canada in December ‘24 they had an extra OBS person specifically for ID checks