Union Station — Local services in Portland

I'm happy to say that even with the general demise of the surrounding area (i.e. encroachment of the homeless), this historic train station is exceptionally pristine, a great place to catch a train, which I just recently did. I would give this the full slug of stars, but at the end of normal business hours, when my train was to depart, the beautiful, adequately stocked station store was closed, and for no good reason that I could discern. In fact, it was almost an act of cruelty to have such a huge picture window allowing us passengers to peer in and see all the wonderful things they have to sell, but denying us any ability to buy anything. This was a little bit critical for me, since I had no time to eat anything while furiously packing at home and then getting driven though heavy rush hour traffic to get here in time to catch my train. The station store was my one hope for picking up a quick bite to eat so that I wouldn't starve on the nearly 3-hour train ride. Waiting in the beautiful, pristine station lobby for nearly an hour served to deplete the last of my reserves, and by the time I boarded my train, I felt too weak to get up and search for the food car (I'm sure there was one). I am happy for those lucky souls who get to shop in that store and buy a newspaper or snack or cup of coffee or whatever, but I and a train-full of passengers were not among those lucky ones on this day. I was just looking at the Amtrak website and reading about this station: the station store is not even mentioned in the description. Well, no wonder. But hey, the station is clean and pristine! All the staff working there are...

Station is pretty nice. There is WiFi. I just dislike how expensive the food and drinks are in the shop. If I'm waiting a while for a bus or train I always end up walking to find somewhere cheaper which means walking through blocks of homeless that are more insane everytime I visit. I feel like I'm walking into some kind of Mad Max post apocalyptic scene. Yesterday I was watching guys so bugged out of their mind I couldn't believe it, burning trash on the sidewalk in front of what used to be a nice bus station, and right next to the metro seats. Looked like someone was getting their wheels stolen right across the street from that. It's incredible how bad the situation is getting, and how long it's been progressing. Riding on the train itself was kinda sad too. Just because some of the employees seemed a little rude. Went into the snack bar below the viewing car and all the seating areas where blocked off with boxes and stuff and reserved for crew members. They already have their own table but decided to take the whole downstairs of the car. I remember back in the day people would play cards and it was the cool spot to eat and meet...

The station is beautiful. Parking is abhorant. My trip was an absolute nightmare! I am disabled. I verified they knew I needed help when I checked in. They directed me to a seating section and told me to "look out for a red cap" well besides them not wearing red hats. They never showed. I flagged down at attendant to help me board. They seated me across from someone wearing so much cologne I started vomiting. They didn't offer me alternative seating. On a 7.5 hour ride. I rode most of it in the ladies lounge with my head over the sink. I needed to get away from the smell and I needed rest. They told me to wander the train from the Lounge to the observation level. Well. I couldn't rest or get comfortable. So I ended up back in essentially the bathroom sitting on the floor. When we arrived they didn't have assistance available. Claimed all of their carts were stolen and they didn't even have staff on shift of assist a disabled person. A passenger assisted me. I am exhausted and enormously stressed and still feel ill. I asked for help from now fewer than 5 employees. I never want to get on a...