Passenger Trains > july trip

I will be going from lnk to van. on the cz, cs, and the cascade to van.beginning on july 9, if i need to check a bag should i check it to sea. only or all the way to van since i will stay the night in sea. also is there any way to get hard tickets by mail without the charge as the lnk station is only open 2400 to 0630, dont want to go get them in the middle of the night. also any track fixes during this time, cimming back july 21

I'm not understanding the baggage question. If you're going to Vancouver, Washington then why would you want to check your bag all the way to Seattle?

Also, for the ticket question, give Amtrak a call at 1-800-USA-RAIL to see if they can waive the postage fee since the depot is only open in the middle of the night.

Vancouver, British Columbia is the question, I'm sure. I can't speak as to the availability of checked baggage on the Talgo.

I was thinking the same thing, but all of his abbreviations are correct for the other towns and trains----and Vancouver, BC is "VAC"....so I dunno. I guess we'll have to wait until he responds.

I just talked "face to face" with an AMTRAK ticket agent in the Pacific Northwest. If you don't care for what was said, please discuss it with AMTRAK. I also took the message to mean Vancouver, BC. (VAC) Here goes.

No checked baggage from Seattle to Vancouver, BC. Crossing the border they want your luggage nearby. (I've done it many times on the train. Once by bus. Bus stops at the border. Everybody gets off and claims their bags. Walk through customs/emmigration. Everybody gets back on bus on other side of border. On the train going north custom/emmigration was in the Vancouver Station. Return from Vancouver to Seattle, emmigration was in the Vancouver Station and Customs was on board the train near the border.)

There is no charge to mail your tickets up to 15 days prior to departure. There IS a charge for some kind of priority delivery if it is less than 15 days. Or: (1) order the tickets. (2) guarantee them with a credit card. (3) pick them up at the station the day of departure.

When you make reservations for crossing the border you will need one of the following: Passport, birth certificate, citizenship certificate, or naturalization certificate. That information is required to make your reservation. (I got my passport a few years ago when the first noises were being made about it. I knew that I was going to need it sooner or later. It has been so much easier with the passport compared to before.)

I haven't taken the SEA/VAC/SEA yet this year but "I THINK" that the Seattle to Vancouver service is Superliner. One set of Talgos is out of service for refurbishing.

jb

i meant vancouver bc thanks

With all due respect, I believe there is checked baggage between Seattle and Vancouver. I base this statement on a trip from Seattle to Vancouver last Saturday, 5/17/08, that involved checking a bag. Bag was handed to baggage agent in Seattle per normal procedure. Upon arrival in Vancouver all the checked bags were lined up on the platform before passengers were allowed off the coaches, and were claimed by passengers prior to entry into the station and Canadian immigration/customs.

Southbound, pax (and bags) went past US immigration, through a (portable?) X-ray machine, and carried to head of platform where an Amtrak person was accepting checked bags for points south. US Customs boarded the train in Blaine but presumably was not focused on checked bags.

Equipment was of the Superliner variety: one coach, one coach/baggage, and a diner/lounge of some sort. As I didn't visit this car I don't know if it's one of the converted cars or just a diner set up in a non-standard configuration.

I have no idea what would happen if one tried checking a bag through to VAC from the Starlight, in terms of whether they'd hold the bag overnight for you or not. Would guess you'd have to claim it in Seattle and re-check in the morning for Vancouver.

There was a misunderstanding in the way I asked the question. You can't check baggage to Vancouver, BC from any other location than Seattle. You can't have it transferred from another train to the Vancouver train. There is no checked baggage on the Thruway Bus Service.

jb