Sarah Tisdale
I did this just last week, so it is very fresh in my mind. I bought
my tickets on-line, and checked the "add a bicycle" box. Some trains
have room for bikes, some don't. You can tell when you buy your
ticket.
You *can* box your bike, but it isn't necessary (I didn't). If you
pack your bike in a box, I believe it becomes checked luggage and
doesn't require a "bike spot" on the train. So, if all the bike spots
on the train are full and you really need *that* train, maybe boxing
your bike is the only option.
In Portland, first check in like everyone else. You'll get a
"boarding card" and a "bicycle card". Next, go to the luggage desk
and get a dangly card to hang from your handlebars with your
destination station on it (I also clipped my helmet to my handlebars).
When you go to board, walk all the way to the end to the "baggage
car" and hand the guy your bike. Bike disappears into the baggage
car. You get on the train.
I didn't get off in Vancouver. I got off in Mt Vernon, but I'm
guessing Vancouver is similar. When you get off, you walk back to the
baggage car and they hand your bike out to you.
The return trip was slightly different in that there was no "baggage
desk" in Mt Vernon. Instead, they put the handlebar tag on
"on-the-fly" when I handed them the bike. When I arrrived in
Portland, I went back to the baggage car to get my bike after
departing the train.
Here's the amtrak "bicycle page":
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=AM_Accommodation_C&pagename=am%2FLayout&p=1237405732517&cid=1241210575921
On Tue, May 17, 2011 at 11:26 AM, Joe King wrote:
> Ask about bikes when you buy your ticket. It's cheap (when I did it, it was
> $5), but you have to reserve a space.
>
> To be on the train all the way you have to take the Cascades line. Other
> lines stop in Seattle and you bus across the border. Taking bikes on the
> buses gets more complicated.
>
> Good Luck!
> Joe King
>
>
> On Tue, May 17, 2011 at 10:38 AM, Henderson, Charles R
> wrote:
>>
>> Hey OBRA! I am heading up to Vancouver BC for the Test of Metal, and was
>> thinking of taking Amtrak. It appears from the web site that they will take
>> bikes for an additional $5 each way. Anybody have any advice on how well
>> this works and if the bikes are secure etc?
>>
>>
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Charles R. Henderson
>>
>> Regional Legal Staff Attorney
>>
>> American Family Mutual Insurance
>>
>> 11850 SW 67th Ave Suite 190
>>
>> Portland, Oregon 97223
>>
>> 503.403.1880 x 53655
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
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