Empire Builder’s Split

The Empire Builder has two destinations (from Chicago), Seattle and Portland. The train splits in the middle of the night, so don’t go into the club car at night. If you fall asleep, you could end up on the wrong train.

The scheduling of the Empire Builder is messed up in general. The train is scheduled to arrive in St. Paul at 10:30 which is already bad enough, but what do you do if the train is late? When do the buses stop running? Is the area around the train station safe at night?

The train also arrives in Fargo, North Dakota and other relatively large cities along the route in the middle of the night. Even so, this train is often booked. I wonder if the scheduling is bad to hide how much potential ridership there is along this route. I think that several cities along the route could support more than one train a day.

another bookstore

My last post included the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver. A commenter mentioned another bookstore, the Elliot Bay Book Company in Seattle, WA which is also within walking distance of Amtrak trains. The King Street Station also serves Souter Commuter Rail.

If you are thinking of taking Amtrak to or from Seattle this Thanksgiving weekend, you might want to book ahead. Booking ahead is also a good idea if you are thinking of going to Vancouver in December or January. Coach is 25% off for non-holiday travel booked before the end of the year.