(The following story by Jose Paul Corona appeared on The Columbian website on November 26.)
VANCOUVER, Wash. — The announcement came over the loudspeaker shortly before 2 p.m.
The Amtrak train to Seattle had left Portland a few minutes late and would arrive in Vancouver a bit after its scheduled 2:05 p.m. arrival time.
“Not surprising,” Brianna Johnston said somewhat sarcastically while standing outside the station.
The news didn’t really upset the Vancouver native. Delays are part of traveling during the holidays and should be expected, she said, then turned back to her book.
The northbound was a tad behind schedule, but that was the extent of the problems on Sunday, said Bob Pixley, Amtrak’s Vancouver station agent.
About 2,600 people made their way through the station during the holiday weekend and a slightly delayed train was the biggest problem anyone faced, Pixley said.
“This is one of the best years we’ve ever had,” he said.
Extra trains were called into service to deal with the holiday crowds, he added.
Johnston, 21, was one of the estimated 38.7 million U.S. residents who were likely to travel 50 miles or more in the holiday period, Wednesday through Sunday. That was an increase of about 1.5 percent from last year, the AAA said.
Johnston, a senior at the University of Washington, was returning to Seattle after spending Thanksgiving in Vancouver with her family. Sunday was the second time she’d taken the train. She would have preferred to drive back, but going by train allowed her to get some much-needed reading done, she said.
She was just one of dozens of people crowded onto the platform at the small station waiting for the train.
Katie Ellenz was also headed to Seattle after spending the holiday with her family in Camas.
She got a ride home from her mom on Tuesday, but was taking the train back.
“I didn’t want to fight traffic,” Debbie Ellenz said, when asked why she wasn’t repeating the drive to Seattle.
John C. Harrison was hoping the return trip to Seattle would go better than his drive to Vancouver. It took him four hours to get to his parents’ house. Bad traffic and some accidents were the cause, he said.
The tardy train may have caused some passengers to grumble, but Charlotte Soros and her mother, Marie Anderson, weren’t complaining.
Anderson was heading home to Kent and Soros was at the station dropping her off.
The station is easy to get to and Amtrak employees are very friendly, said Soros, who lives on Hayden Island in Portland.