It’s worth noting that Amtrak provides inter-city passenger service, not commuter service within metropolitan areas, so the changes weren’t made expressly for Vancouverites looking to beat traffic.
Although the Vancouver station is the third busiest on the Cascades route, Amtrak has not experienced strong travel demand between Portland and Vancouver.
Union Station and then?
The train from Vancouver arrives at Portland’s Union Station on the fringe of Portland’s Pearl District. If your destination is in downtown Portland, you can walk or rent a Biketown bike outside of Union Station.
If you need to go farther, several modes of public transit stop nearby — a handful of bus lines, the MAX Green and Yellow lines, as well as the Portland Streetcar. The Green Line going south to the city center stops near Union Station at 9:22 a.m. The Tri-Met Line 9 headed to Clackamas Town Center stops at 9:26 a.m. The Yellow Line going north to the Expo Center stops at 9:20 a.m.
Is it faster?
It’s slightly faster to take the 8:51 a.m. Amtrak train from the Vancouver station to Union Station than it is to drive that distance at the same time of day. But when considering other factors — commuting to the Vancouver station, getting to the final destination, etc. — driving usually comes out ahead.
In the evening, trains going north depart Union Station at 5:55 p.m. and 7:25 p.m. Both arrive in Vancouver 16 minutes later. The same trip by car can take 30 minutes to an hour during the evening rush.
What are the pros?
Tickets between Vancouver and Portland are relatively cheap, typically $5 each way, and parking is free at the Vancouver Amtrak station. Additionally, Amtrak is easy to navigate, you can usually get a row to yourself and trains come equipped with Wi-Fi.
What are the cons?
There aren’t a lot of situations where it would make sense to take Amtrak. For it to be worth the trade-offs, you’d have to be someone who takes the Interstate 5 Bridge to commute to downtown Portland and pays for parking — and who has a flexible enough job to start after 9:30 a.m.
If you’re looking to ditch your car on the way to downtown Portland, C-Tran is probably easier and cheaper with Route 105 and 105X providing frequent service for $2.50 per ride.
The verdict
So is it practical or worthwhile to commute via Amtrak? Probably not for most people. But is it fun? Absolutely.
