CS to EB connection

I am planning a trip in October with my wife and disabled daughter. We are scheduled to arrive in Portland on the Coast starlight and transfer to the Empire builder. I've noticed that the CS is usually late and has a poor connection average with the EB. What overnight accommodations does Amtrak provide if we miss the connection in PDX and what are the chances of getting an accessible bedroom on the next day EB?

I have been on many late Starlights connecting to the EB.

If the CS is not too late, they will probably hold the EB departure. Once, the CS was running late. They bussed the connecting passengers from Albany, OR to Portland, holding the EB until the buses arrived. If the CS is VERY late, they may bus the connecting passengers from K-Falls to Pasco, WA.

If the CS is late enough that they can't hold the EB, then Amtrak will order a bus to take passengers from the CS to catch the EB. Exactly where you get on the bus and where you go to depends entirely how late the CS is running several hours before Portland or very early morning if real late. Once a decision is made, the CS Conductors are informed who then get with all the affected passengers.

Once when I was to be bussed due to slides into Seattle, none were wheelchair accessible despite my wheelchair reservation. They took me off the train last so they could see me in line in a wheelchair for quite a while. They did not order an accessible taxi until I got to the front of the line, then it was another hour plus before it arrived. The lesson, if it looks like you will be bussed, get word to the conductor immediately if you need any special equipment.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Amtrak Forum mobile app

That one hour (or so) connection is just too short for my blood pressure. Portland is a fun and accessible town, so when I've done this trip I've just booked a layover in Portland.

While Amtrak will get you where you are going or put you up for the night, you do run the risk of:

- long bus ride, or

- not having sleeper accomodations on the following train they rebook you on.

snvboy said:

That one hour (or so) connection is just too short for my blood pressure. Portland is a fun and accessible town, so when I've done this trip I've just booked a layover in Portland.

While Amtrak will get you where you are going or put you up for the night, you do run the risk of:

- long bus ride, or

- not having sleeper accomodations on the following train they rebook you on.

Click to expand...

My trip last July I put an overnight in Seattle into my itinerary. Could have been Portland. As far as an overnight goes, depends on your budget, etc. for a hotel. It became a visit with a cousin my wife hadn't seen for many years.

FrensicPic said:

snvboy said:

That one hour (or so) connection is just too short for my blood pressure. Portland is a fun and accessible town, so when I've done this trip I've just booked a layover in Portland.

While Amtrak will get you where you are going or put you up for the night, you do run the risk of:

- long bus ride, or

- not having sleeper accomodations on the following train they rebook you on.

Click to expand...

My trip last July I put an overnight in Seattle into my itinerary. Could have been Portland. As far as an overnight goes, depends on your budget, etc. for a hotel. It became a visit with a cousin my wife hadn't seen for many years.

Click to expand...

Any more when I am making the CS-EB connection I too add an overnight in Seattle to the itinerary. I know Seattle much better than I do Portland. And I want no part of that risky connection at Portland. The price of a hotel is well worth the peace of mind I have in not worrying about the connection.

I also recommend an overnight stay in Portland(less expensive hotels) or Seattle. The CS - EB connection is simply missed too often. While I was actually Portland bound this past June, my CS was on time in Klamath Falls and then fell behind and lost time due to freight congestion arriving Portland after the EB had departed. No advanced information was available on the CS prior to arriving Portland. After we arrived they announced that the EB had already departed so all connecting passengers were to detrain and report to the ticket counters in the station for rebooking, etc. Since I was leaving the CS in Portland, I witness the mass confusion and even had to have the baggage clerk search for my bags which he eventually found with all the EB connection checked bags. Meanwhile as I departed the station for my hotel, there was a huge line of customers at the ticket counters and I have no idea how each customer was resolved.

Simply do not book that connection. If you choose to stay in less expensive Portland, you have the option of booking the next day's EB departure from Portland or take a morning Cascades train to Seattle and depart on the 4:40 PM EB from Seattle(this is what I did since I prefer this route and the sleepers location just before the dining car and the scenery). if you book the direct connection and miss it, chances are sleeper accommodations on next days EB will be sold out.

On connections so close, I now spend the night so I am sure to take the train I intended to take. Like this summer spent the night in LA coming in on the CS leaving on the SL with just an hour. I just arrived a day early. In Portland there is a lot to do in the downtown area, or if you have been on the road for a while take the opportunity like I did to wash up a few things.

I just rode the CS from Los Angeles to Portland a couple weeks ago. We were over three hours late arriving in Portland. About an hour before we arrived, there was an announcement that passengers who had planned on transferring to the EB would miss that connection, so they were going to be taken by bus from Portland to Spokane, WA, where they would finally get on the EB.