Coast Starlight vs Amtrak Cascades

The Coast Starlight and Amtrak Cascades routes travel along the beautiful Pacific Northwest coast. But that’s where the similarities end. The Coast Starlight is a long-distance train with a sleeper car and sightseer lounge while the Amtrak Cascades is a European-designed train that travels a shorter distance (and into Canada). Learn more about the differences below.

	Coast Starlight	Amtrak Cascades
Route Length	1,377 miles	467 miles
Travel Time	35 hours	10+ hours
Frequency	Daily	Multiple trains per day
Type of Train	Superliner	European trainset
Sleeper Car	Yes	No
Sightseer Lounge	Yes	No
Dining Options	Café for coach passengers, traditional dining car for sleeper car passengers	Bistro Car
WiFi	No	Yes (but not in Canada)
States on the Route	California, Oregon, Washington	Oregon, Washington (plus Canada)
End-of-the Line Stations	Los Angeles and Seattle	Eugene, OR and Vancouver B.C.
Popular Stops	Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Jose, Oakland, Sacramento, Eugene, Portland, Seattle	Eugene, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver B.C.
Landscapes	Pacific Ocean, Cascade Mountain Range, Columbia and Willamette rivers, agricultural valleys	Cascade Mountain Range, Columbia and Willamette rivers, Puget Sound
Best Scenery	Pacific Ocean, Cascade Mountain Range	Puget Sound, Cascade Mountain Range
National Parks	Crater Lake, Channel Islands (via Oxnard), Olympic National Park (via Tacoma and Seattle), Mount Rainer National Park (via Tacoma and Seattle)	Olympic National Park (via Tacoma and Seattle), Mount Rainer National Park (via Tacoma and Seattle), North Cascades National Park (via Bellingham)