Cascades 2 for 1 ticket for taking survey...

[fairviewroad]

Basically if you take this survey they will send you a voucher for a free companion ticket on the Cascades. I took the survey (haven't gotten the voucher yet, obviously...it will come in the mail). The survey took me less than 10 minutes, though you could probably spend more time/less time depending on your level of interest in the topic as there are a lot of places to add additional comments.

The link is (as of this writing) on the homepage of the Amtrak Cascades website:

http://www.amtrakcascades.com/

 

[Anderson]

Interesting question here:

"10. How important is it to you to understand the Amtrak Cascades are funded by a partnership between the Washington State Department of Transportation, the Oregon Department of Transportation, Amtrak and BNSF Railway?"

Does BNSF kick in somehow (i.e. provide some sort of direct/indirect financial support for the operation above and beyond being a host RR)?

 

[CHamilton]

Interesting question here:

"10. How important is it to you to understand the Amtrak Cascades are funded by a partnership between the Washington State Department of Transportation, the Oregon Department of Transportation, Amtrak and BNSF Railway?"

Does BNSF kick in somehow (i.e. provide some sort of direct/indirect financial support for the operation above and beyond being a host RR)?

I don't think so. From Amtrak Cascades and WSDOT - June 2011 (pdf 657 kb)

How is the Amtrak Cascades service paid for?
The operation of Amtrak Cascades is funded by passengers, the states of Washington and Oregon, and Amtrak. Funding from the state of Washington comes from taxes collected from the sale of new and used motor vehicles, rental cars, and vehicle weight fees. These funds are directed to WSDOT’s intercity passenger rail program by the Governor and the state legislature. Some federal grants are also received by WSDOT for rail projects. It should be noted that no state or federal gas tax dollars can be spent on rail construction projects or Amtrak Cascades operations.

 

[bretton88]

Interesting question here:

"10. How important is it to you to understand the Amtrak Cascades are funded by a partnership between the Washington State Department of Transportation, the Oregon Department of Transportation, Amtrak and BNSF Railway?"

Does BNSF kick in somehow (i.e. provide some sort of direct/indirect financial support for the operation above and beyond being a host RR)?

No, but being the host railroad, they have to sign off on all the improvements and such, so their cooperation is non financial but almost as important.

 

[AlanB]

Doesn't BNSF still own a couple of the stations?

And I seem to recall that they sold King Street Station for a buck.

So both could be considered a contribution.

 

[AC4400]

Thanks for sharing! My family is moving to Seattle next year. Hope we can visit Oregon in a cheaper way.

 

[johnny.menhennet]

Took the survey yesterday, not because I want the coupon or feel an urge to help with the screens, but I will post in the "Coupons to be given away" thread if anybody would like it, that can use (once I get it, of course).

 

[fairviewroad]

Thanks for sharing! My family is moving to Seattle next year. Hope we can visit Oregon in a cheaper way.

Great, hope the coupon actually works out. (I haven't gotten mine in the mail yet...they may be waiting until the survey

is finished to mail them out.)

Another thing you can do to travel more cheaply on the Cascades Corridor is to buy AGR points and apply them toward

a Special Route ticket. To go from SEA-PDX, it's often cheaper to buy the points (1000 each way) than it is to actually

buy the ticket! That's especially true for peak travel times like weekends.

 

[AC4400]

Great, hope the coupon actually works out. (I haven't gotten mine in the mail yet...they may be waiting until the survey

is finished to mail them out.)

Another thing you can do to travel more cheaply on the Cascades Corridor is to buy AGR points and apply them toward

a Special Route ticket. To go from SEA-PDX, it's often cheaper to buy the points (1000 each way) than it is to actually

buy the ticket! That's especially true for peak travel times like weekends.

Oh yeah. Special route is a good thing. I noticed that 513 is always pricy compared with other Cascades trains. Is it because 513 originates from Vancouver, BC?

 

[fairviewroad]

Oh yeah. Special route is a good thing. I noticed that 513 is always pricy compared with other Cascades trains. Is it because 513 originates from Vancouver, BC?

I hadn't specifically noticed that 513 is more pricey but yeah, given that you'd have through pax on that train, unlike on the ones that originate

in SEA, then probably there is more potential for the low-bucket seats to be grabbed sooner.

 

[Jim Thompson]

Hi, I wonder if anyone has received their companion ticket yet? I'm from the UK and will need to book train travel from Seattle to Vancouver shortly.

I took the survey back at the beginning of December - was wondering if it was worth waiting for the free ticket, or whether I won't get it as I'm not from the US/Canada?

Thanks

 

[fairviewroad]

Hi, I wonder if anyone has received their companion ticket yet? I'm from the UK and will need to book train travel from Seattle to Vancouver shortly.

I took the survey back at the beginning of December - was wondering if it was worth waiting for the free ticket, or whether I won't get it as I'm not from the US/Canada?

Thanks

Haven't gotten my voucher yet.

 

[D T Nelson]

I got my voucher in the mail last Saturday (14 January).

 

[johnny.menhennet]

I didn't get it yet, I took it mid-December

 

[Anderson]

I got mine this past weekend, too. Given that I live in Virginia...figuring out how to use this will be fun!

 

[fairviewroad]

Mine arrived in the mail yesterday. The voucher must be used by April 30 with blackout dates that (off the top of my head) mirror the AGR blackout dates, i.e. Presidents Day weekend and Easter.