The Don'ts of Amtrak Train Travel in the US - Wolters World
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Date: 2022-02-04
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Comments and reviews: 9
Jeff
I consider the long-distance trains part of the vacation, not just the transportation to get me to my destination. Seeing the sites, enjoying the dining care and the cafe car while watching the scenery passing by is the real reason to take the long-distance trains.
There is a reason why trains, especially the long-distance trains, get delayed is that AmTrak is running on rails owned by the freight rail companies therefore, they get lower priority than the freight traffic does so, quite often, you will wind up sitting on a siding for an hour or more while waiting for the freight train to pass on by. I took the Coast Starlight from Seattle to Los Angeles once and we wound up being held up for over three hours just north of Sacramento. There were a couple of other shorter delays along the way as well. They even ran out of food in the dining car and the cafe. They did their best to try and make up some time but, in the end, what was supposed to be a 10pm arrival time became 2: 30am. So, yeah, the longer the distance, the more likely and longer the delays are likely to be.
The one thing I would HIGHLY recommend if you can at all afford it is to get a sleeper. The beds are pretty damn comfortable, they are private, and your meals are included. If you are traveling by yourself, the Roomettes are plenty roomy, if you are a couple, I highly recommend the full bedroom.
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I consider the long-distance trains part of the vacation, not just the transportation to get me to my destination. Seeing the sites, enjoying the dining care and the cafe car while watching the scenery passing by is the real reason to take the long-distance trains.
There is a reason why trains, especially the long-distance trains, get delayed is that AmTrak is running on rails owned by the freight rail companies therefore, they get lower priority than the freight traffic does so, quite often, you will wind up sitting on a siding for an hour or more while waiting for the freight train to pass on by. I took the Coast Starlight from Seattle to Los Angeles once and we wound up being held up for over three hours just north of Sacramento. There were a couple of other shorter delays along the way as well. They even ran out of food in the dining car and the cafe. They did their best to try and make up some time but, in the end, what was supposed to be a 10pm arrival time became 2: 30am. So, yeah, the longer the distance, the more likely and longer the delays are likely to be.
The one thing I would HIGHLY recommend if you can at all afford it is to get a sleeper. The beds are pretty damn comfortable, they are private, and your meals are included. If you are traveling by yourself, the Roomettes are plenty roomy, if you are a couple, I highly recommend the full bedroom.
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Elias
Long distance trains run on the tracks of the major fright railroads. THEY own the track, not AMTK. They set the schedules and run the signals and switches. They KNOW when AMTK is supposed to come through, and will clear the tracks for them. But if AMTK is running late, then all bets are off, they make their money moving freight, and will not delay their trains waiting for your train. AMTK trains are always late, well duh, yes they are. AMTK does schedule recovery time at various stations along the way. They KNOW that there will be dleays, but the cannot know WHERE the delays will be. The eastbound Empire Builder is scheduled for a one hour layover in Minneapolis. That pads the schedule so that the Builder might be able to regain lost time.
You see, the line from Seattle to Minneapolis is more than 1000 miles long. SOMEWHERE in there they ARE going to run into a construction zone, just like you do on the interstate. Say a ten mile section has a slow order. On the railroad that slow order means 10 MPH. And they do mean 10 MPH which equals One Hour. They KNOW that there will be slow orders, but not where they will be. Minneapolis is a good place for that layover since the train will be switching from BNSF to CN, and they would like to join the CN on time if they can. Getting on and off trains in North Dakota can find three to five hour delays.
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Long distance trains run on the tracks of the major fright railroads. THEY own the track, not AMTK. They set the schedules and run the signals and switches. They KNOW when AMTK is supposed to come through, and will clear the tracks for them. But if AMTK is running late, then all bets are off, they make their money moving freight, and will not delay their trains waiting for your train. AMTK trains are always late, well duh, yes they are. AMTK does schedule recovery time at various stations along the way. They KNOW that there will be dleays, but the cannot know WHERE the delays will be. The eastbound Empire Builder is scheduled for a one hour layover in Minneapolis. That pads the schedule so that the Builder might be able to regain lost time.
You see, the line from Seattle to Minneapolis is more than 1000 miles long. SOMEWHERE in there they ARE going to run into a construction zone, just like you do on the interstate. Say a ten mile section has a slow order. On the railroad that slow order means 10 MPH. And they do mean 10 MPH which equals One Hour. They KNOW that there will be slow orders, but not where they will be. Minneapolis is a good place for that layover since the train will be switching from BNSF to CN, and they would like to join the CN on time if they can. Getting on and off trains in North Dakota can find three to five hour delays.
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Harry
Thanks for posting a very good and informative video! Especially helpful for folks who are new to the Amtrak experience, you can't overemphasize some of that stuff. Tha's particularly true regarding tight scheduling. Amtrak in most of the country is at the mercy of the freight lines that actually own the tracks, and you often have to pull onto a siding to let a freight train pass. Or you may have mechanical problems, or you may be involved in an accident. A few years ago on the Sunset Limited, we hit a truck at a grade crossing and didn't get to our destination until the next morning, a good 10 hours late. Probably won't happen, but it can. For anyone planning to travel in a sleeper, be prepared to tip your sleeping car attendant and the dining car staff (meals are included in your sleeping car ticket. And believe me, 99. 9% of the train staff deserve the gratuities, because they're great!
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Thanks for posting a very good and informative video! Especially helpful for folks who are new to the Amtrak experience, you can't overemphasize some of that stuff. Tha's particularly true regarding tight scheduling. Amtrak in most of the country is at the mercy of the freight lines that actually own the tracks, and you often have to pull onto a siding to let a freight train pass. Or you may have mechanical problems, or you may be involved in an accident. A few years ago on the Sunset Limited, we hit a truck at a grade crossing and didn't get to our destination until the next morning, a good 10 hours late. Probably won't happen, but it can. For anyone planning to travel in a sleeper, be prepared to tip your sleeping car attendant and the dining car staff (meals are included in your sleeping car ticket. And believe me, 99. 9% of the train staff deserve the gratuities, because they're great!
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Colaholiker
When it comes to sleeping, I can see where you are going, but at the same time, there are people like me who really fall asleep on trains all the time. I have never been on Amtrak, but here in Germany I ride trains often. Especially if I know the route, I sit down and fall alseep right away, no matter the time of day. When I still had a significant commute to work every deay, I missed the stop where I had to get off at least once a month because I simply fell asleep. Fortunately the train in the opposite direction was right there at the next stop, so I could jump on that one and go back.
I wonder why you didn't mention the biggest don't when it comes to the restrooms. I first thought you're going there when you mentioned the water on the floor - simply don't pee while standing. Things would be so simple if people would follow this rule.
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When it comes to sleeping, I can see where you are going, but at the same time, there are people like me who really fall asleep on trains all the time. I have never been on Amtrak, but here in Germany I ride trains often. Especially if I know the route, I sit down and fall alseep right away, no matter the time of day. When I still had a significant commute to work every deay, I missed the stop where I had to get off at least once a month because I simply fell asleep. Fortunately the train in the opposite direction was right there at the next stop, so I could jump on that one and go back.
I wonder why you didn't mention the biggest don't when it comes to the restrooms. I first thought you're going there when you mentioned the water on the floor - simply don't pee while standing. Things would be so simple if people would follow this rule.
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Kim
Greetings from Cambodia. I use to travel by Amtrak in the '90s. SO different then. Such a beautiful ride from Los Angeles to San Francisco. My fare from Portland to Chicago was $56. or, was it $36? I remember it being a VERY inexpensive way to travel through bargain deals (sometimes last minute and some great advance purchase discounts) and the food in the dining car was FANTASTIC. You could buy snacks, but the best way to go was the sit-down meal service that wasn't overly priced. 3-4 people to a table back then. You were sat with people where there was space. It was fun to meet and enjoy a great meal with people who had vast differences in their reasons for traveling. I miss those days and sorry people nowadays don't have the same opportunities in their travel adventures.
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Greetings from Cambodia. I use to travel by Amtrak in the '90s. SO different then. Such a beautiful ride from Los Angeles to San Francisco. My fare from Portland to Chicago was $56. or, was it $36? I remember it being a VERY inexpensive way to travel through bargain deals (sometimes last minute and some great advance purchase discounts) and the food in the dining car was FANTASTIC. You could buy snacks, but the best way to go was the sit-down meal service that wasn't overly priced. 3-4 people to a table back then. You were sat with people where there was space. It was fun to meet and enjoy a great meal with people who had vast differences in their reasons for traveling. I miss those days and sorry people nowadays don't have the same opportunities in their travel adventures.
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Tim
#1 dont for traveling by train in the US. if you're going more than a couple hundred miles, just don't.
long distance trains cost more than a first class airline ticket for the same destination, and there are far fewer destinations to select from. And you'll spend an entire days or two or even three to travel to a place near where you want to go, and pay more for it, than the few hours and arrival AT the destination you want if you flew.
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#1 dont for traveling by train in the US. if you're going more than a couple hundred miles, just don't.
long distance trains cost more than a first class airline ticket for the same destination, and there are far fewer destinations to select from. And you'll spend an entire days or two or even three to travel to a place near where you want to go, and pay more for it, than the few hours and arrival AT the destination you want if you flew.
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jlawrence01
You missed the MOST IMPORTANT Don't. Don't take Amtrak at all outside of the Northeast Corridor. Delays out of Chicago to Cincinnati often amount to FOUR hours on a six hour trip. It was a lot better to jump on a Megabus or any of the low-cost bus carriers. Also, in the Midwest, many of the trips arrive at weird hours. Have you ever been dropped off in remote towns at 4 am. Plan to sit outside and wait for hours for even taxi service.
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You missed the MOST IMPORTANT Don't. Don't take Amtrak at all outside of the Northeast Corridor. Delays out of Chicago to Cincinnati often amount to FOUR hours on a six hour trip. It was a lot better to jump on a Megabus or any of the low-cost bus carriers. Also, in the Midwest, many of the trips arrive at weird hours. Have you ever been dropped off in remote towns at 4 am. Plan to sit outside and wait for hours for even taxi service.
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Emmons
It was very specific and I fully understood everything. When I heard you said that Don't take off your shoes if your feet are stinky. I couldn't manage myself and laughed. It was funny! I saw people behaving like that on the train before when I was on a trip. It's should be careful because it's the public area. Thank you very much for your introduction! If there is a chance, welcome to China!
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It was very specific and I fully understood everything. When I heard you said that Don't take off your shoes if your feet are stinky. I couldn't manage myself and laughed. It was funny! I saw people behaving like that on the train before when I was on a trip. It's should be careful because it's the public area. Thank you very much for your introduction! If there is a chance, welcome to China!
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Derrick
Went from Seattle to Oakland, for San Francisco. Overnight in economy. I needed to stretch out for a bit to sleep, so went down to the cafe/viewing car- it was shut, but I knew there was a long seat. Climbed over the bin they put on the stairs. Went to sleep, woke up to find a flat of beer next to me. They had stopped and had received deliveries. No I didnt partake, I didnt need the hassle.
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Went from Seattle to Oakland, for San Francisco. Overnight in economy. I needed to stretch out for a bit to sleep, so went down to the cafe/viewing car- it was shut, but I knew there was a long seat. Climbed over the bin they put on the stairs. Went to sleep, woke up to find a flat of beer next to me. They had stopped and had received deliveries. No I didnt partake, I didnt need the hassle.
reply
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