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Are there any hidden charges? What's the baggage allowance? Are they always on time? What do they do if they're not? What are dining car prices like? Anything else you'd like to add.
Almost never for long distance trains. 30% of the long distance trains (more than 400 miles) arrived on time in 2006. Short distance trains (less than 400 miles) arrived on time 73%. Just know Amtrak will get you to your destination, but it will be eventually, not right on the minute. Trains arrive late because Amtrak uses freight company owned railroads. Every time a freight train needs to pass, Amtrak trains must pull over on a side track and wait sometimes over an hour until all freight has passed
^ very true about the pulling over and waiting. I dont know about luggage weight and allowance becuase I traveled light all the times I took Amtrack but the dining car was just ok. kind of pricey for what tasted like microwaved food but when you are hungry and ont he train for hours its great lol. Bring snacks though, it will save you money. Now that its snowing they are rerouting trains from chicago, and some people have been waiting for 2 days so when it snows it isnt as reliable. I used to take it from Champaign, IL to Chicago once a month when I was in college and It was on average 20-30 minutes late every time. You can request a refund if its getting to be a problem for you but to get a discount get a student advantage card (even if you arent a student you can get one) and you get discounts (studentadvanatge.com) its great for other discounts as well
Baggage -- couple of bags fairly tolerant nothing like the airline crap.
On time -- they try to stay right on schedule but delays do happen from time to time due to mechanical issues, electrical, plumbing, derailments, weather.
Passenger trains have priority over freight but if freight is in front and has problems then delay could happen if it can‘t get into a siding track, oncoming passenger may have to sit on siding for a bit if freight has no siding in between, most of the times the freight will have to side a train and wait on passenger to pass.
Another thing you may run into is going long distance there is a possibility of having to switch trains and have to sit in station for your other train to arrive, if your train is severely late they will not hold up that connecting train then it means having to wait for the next one, something to check into.
Dining car prices -- I never used them but from what I did see they were rather high but they did have good quality food, whether it changed since years past I wouldn’t know.
If your going east coast (east of Chicago) your going to get stuck on older equipment due to height restrictions on tunnels and such, old hep and single level coaches which are not too comfortable, sleepers not really that good either.
Going west bound you get superliners, lots more comfortable, sleepers are good.
Train travel in my opinion I think everybody should try it at sometime in their life, sit back and watch out the window with not a care in the world, travel through parts of the country which you would not see by car, lil bit o clickity clack from the rail joints, lil bit o rockin from side to side at times, different and enjoyable.
Are there any hidden charges? What's the baggage allowance? Are they always on time? What do they do if they're not? What are dining car prices like? Anything else you'd like to add.
As a veteran of literally tens of thousands of miles on Amtrak, I can tell you I wouldn't keep it up if I didn't enjoy it....but I can also tell you it takes some patience to 'adapt'. I'm referring here to LONG DISTANCE travel.
No, Amtrak is NOT always on time (some routes are very punctual...some are decidedly not...you CAN if you wish 'track' the performance on a particular route on-line, over a period of days, on your computer, before you decide). NOR does one train always arrive before the NEXT one leaves.
To ride Amtrak, you MUST "like" the idea of train travel in itself. It's totally unlike car or plane travel. On a plane, of course, you may see nothing...and modern freeways are landscaped out so far you're basically traveling in an 'artificial' corridor. Not so with the train, where the scenery, (the good, the bad, and the ugly) comes right up to your window. It's like a safe and secure journey coast-to-coast, on a narrow country road.
Compared to the airlines, baggage requirements are pretty loose. Coach travel is OK MOST of the time. Sleeper travel will 'spoil' you, though. The privacy is nice. The dining car meals are reasonably priced...you must, however, sit at a table for 4...so if your group is smaller, you'll eat with strangers. Sleeper passengers eat FREE in the diner. There's ALSO a 'short order' kitchen in the lounge car (microwave-type goodies...beer, wine, soda). Some coach people eat THERE for the whole trip.
Scenery? My personal picks would be, in order......
(1) The "California Zephyr" as the #1 route for scenery (Chicago- San Francisco). Crosses the Rocky Mountains AND the Sierra Nevada, BOTH in daylight.
(2) The "Coast Starlight"...(LA-Seattle)...runs along the beach in Southern Cal, up the "spine" and over the Cascade summit in Oregon..
(3) The "Cardinal"...(Chicago-Washington) ...the EASTBOUND run passes through the New River Gorge in West Virginia. (westbound passes much of this in darkness)..
(4) The "Adirondack"...(New York City-Montreal)..not a LONG run, (all daylight) but lots of scenery...the Hudson Valley, plus the high cliffs along Lake Champlain
Amtrak, as most people know, does NOT own the track in most regions, but operates as a mandated "guest" on private freight lines. Each freight line has a different 'corporate culture', some of which cooperate well, others which don't always. In the West, the Portland/Seattle to Chicago route, AND the LA-Chicago route, run over BNSF territory. BNSF (Burlington Northern-Santa Fe) seems to get along well w/Amtrak management..trains are dispatched smoothly, and 'waits' for passing traffic are short and few. Many Eastern trains run over CSX territory; I'm not as familar with their performance.
The LA-Seattle route, and the LA-New Orleans route, however, BOTH run mostly on Union Pacific track. UP seems to have a more contentious relationship w/Amtrak....waits for freight are frequent, and sometimes quite a few minutes long.
Short answer? Train travel is a great experience in itself. I would NOT advise anyone to engage in it if his schedule was 'tight', however. It's subject to the whims of funding from Congress, and Amtrak has many enemies there. Perhaps the Obama admin may usher in a 'new day' for passenger rail...we'll have to see.
For our summer vacation in 1977 my mother and I made a cross country trip via Amtrack. I loved the sound of a train and rocking motion that lulled me to sleep the sound of the whistle. It's a great way to see the country, if you have the time. I think anyone who is curious should try a two day trip and get a sleeper car. Like the old TV commerical used to say, "There's something about a train."
No hidden charges.
You can even hop on board and pay for a ticket after the train gets rolling. There is kind of a trick to do this though. If you reserve a week or more ahead they want you to pay with a card. If you call almost at the last minute, say 36-48 hours ahead of your departure time then they'll reserve a ticket for you and you can pay on the train. Pretty neat. I like this the best. Although you probably don't want to try this during the holidays or a well traveled route.
If you are a drinker..
BYOB!
If you are in coach you have to be discreet about it. Bring a flask or a 20oz mixed 50/50. I'm pretty sure the conductors noticed me but they didn't say a word. I wasn't being a loud fool about it, but I'm pretty sure I had some wicked whisky breath going on.
If you have a sleeper you can drink without a care in there.
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
16,259 posts, read 24,761,129 times
Reputation: 3587
Quote:
Originally Posted by macmeal
As a veteran of literally tens of thousands of miles on Amtrak, I can tell you I wouldn't keep it up if I didn't enjoy it....but I can also tell you it takes some patience to 'adapt'. I'm referring here to LONG DISTANCE travel.
No, Amtrak is NOT always on time (some routes are very punctual...some are decidedly not...you CAN if you wish 'track' the performance on a particular route on-line, over a period of days, on your computer, before you decide). NOR does one train always arrive before the NEXT one leaves.
To ride Amtrak, you MUST "like" the idea of train travel in itself. It's totally unlike car or plane travel. On a plane, of course, you may see nothing...and modern freeways are landscaped out so far you're basically traveling in an 'artificial' corridor. Not so with the train, where the scenery, (the good, the bad, and the ugly) comes right up to your window. It's like a safe and secure journey coast-to-coast, on a narrow country road.
Compared to the airlines, baggage requirements are pretty loose. Coach travel is OK MOST of the time. Sleeper travel will 'spoil' you, though. The privacy is nice. The dining car meals are reasonably priced...you must, however, sit at a table for 4...so if your group is smaller, you'll eat with strangers. Sleeper passengers eat FREE in the diner. There's ALSO a 'short order' kitchen in the lounge car (microwave-type goodies...beer, wine, soda). Some coach people eat THERE for the whole trip.
Scenery? My personal picks would be, in order......
(1) The "California Zephyr" as the #1 route for scenery (Chicago- San Francisco). Crosses the Rocky Mountains AND the Sierra Nevada, BOTH in daylight.
(2) The "Coast Starlight"...(LA-Seattle)...runs along the beach in Southern Cal, up the "spine" and over the Cascade summit in Oregon..
(3) The "Cardinal"...(Chicago-Washington) ...the EASTBOUND run passes through the New River Gorge in West Virginia. (westbound passes much of this in darkness)..
(4) The "Adirondack"...(New York City-Montreal)..not a LONG run, (all daylight) but lots of scenery...the Hudson Valley, plus the high cliffs along Lake Champlain
Amtrak, as most people know, does NOT own the track in most regions, but operates as a mandated "guest" on private freight lines. Each freight line has a different 'corporate culture', some of which cooperate well, others which don't always. In the West, the Portland/Seattle to Chicago route, AND the LA-Chicago route, run over BNSF territory. BNSF (Burlington Northern-Santa Fe) seems to get along well w/Amtrak management..trains are dispatched smoothly, and 'waits' for passing traffic are short and few. Many Eastern trains run over CSX territory; I'm not as familar with their performance.
The LA-Seattle route, and the LA-New Orleans route, however, BOTH run mostly on Union Pacific track. UP seems to have a more contentious relationship w/Amtrak....waits for freight are frequent, and sometimes quite a few minutes long.
Short answer? Train travel is a great experience in itself. I would NOT advise anyone to engage in it if his schedule was 'tight', however. It's subject to the whims of funding from Congress, and Amtrak has many enemies there. Perhaps the Obama admin may usher in a 'new day' for passenger rail...we'll have to see.
Amtrak is a joke for what passes for a railroad service in this country. If you just want to travel for the sake of travel and the scenery, by all means take it. But if you are a serious traveller you avoid it like a disease - the sole exception being the high speed Acela Express from Boston to DC which is on time and reliable.
What is needed is a "build from scratch" railroad system in this country. Build new tracks that are capable of speeds of 200 MPH or more. Start with the coast (Boston to Miami and Seattle to San Diego) and then build it out through the midwest and south and eventually all the nation. Won't be finished in my lifetime but would be great to leave for future generations to come.
While I'd love to see the country go back to a Rail Travel mode, the reality of it is this, we'll likely never see high speed rail service until one is actually implemented into service and can serve as a model to others. MagLev is the future of "rail" transit.
I still find Amtrak to be a very enjoyable way to spend a part of a vacation. The Empire Builder goes right past our area in Minnesota on it's way to Seattle. I'd love to take it from Chicago all the way to Seattle someday. There is some rail service passing through the Milwaukee area and I know of some that did utilize it at one time. They had experimented with adding some commuter trains from Milwaukee through to Oconomowoc and it was a very successful venture except that they made no effort to promote it or support it. Had that been a part of it the experiment would have actually been a bright success. The trains were for the most part right on time. This I knew because I could see the line from my home in Pewaukee.
I myself was a third generation railroader. I have always had an interest in Rail especially after having worked for a railroad. Those times were some of the best in my life.
Amtrak is not for everyone. The impatient few are those that could not be made happy if they had total control of the timing. Yes Amtrak uses Freight rail right-of-way and does have to share the Mainline in most areas. Many things can cause a delay and much of it by things like weather or routine freight service. A delay from mechancial break down can happen too but that can occur with any mode of transportation.
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