Thanks for the correction. I went back and looked at the fare again. I did not click far enough the first time. Appears that they add a premium charge (as you point out) to the mid-level (some restrictions) coach fare, so $86 is the transportation charge and (for a roomette) $316 is for bed & food (total, $402). Yes, that's a fancy-hotel price (say, $50 of the $316 for 2 meals and the rest for the room), which arguably Amtrak doesn't qualify as. People are willing to pay it, though, so it must be worth something to somebody (Amtrak's web site tells me that I looked at the last roomette they have available for 9/27).

For me, if I had the time, I might take the train anyway and eat the extra cost - it's usually the most pleasant way to go, though it can seem like you might walk it faster and at my location requires boarding (and returning) at inconvenient times. For a shorter run (say, K.Falls), I might just go coach and eat in the lounge; Amtrak's seats are as roomy as airlines' First Class, or better. But if I really just needed to get to Portland, I would probably fly using an early-purchase discount, spending a day less en route each way (avoids the Amtrak room charge, or a stop at a hotel and meals en route; I'm a cheapskate and that more than makes up for the minimal (discount ticket) extra cost for Southwest). Or else drive all the way and enjoy the scenery that way, with a roadside-hotel stop (for considerably less money than Amtrak's room+meals charge) to break up the trip. There's also Greyhound (and probably MegaBus), but my recollection of using intercity buses is that you don't do it for comfort or even (usually) adventure; you do it because you have to make the trip and can't afford other options.