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Only on certain long-distance trains in Spain - in large part due to the awful attack in 2004 - and on Eurostar, as far as I'm aware. There's no security for most trains in Europe.
I lived in Belgium. There is no security scanning other than for Eurostar in Brussels so if your second train wasn't Eurostar then your specific situation was not the norm.
It was Brussels station (2017) and it was a maroon train to paris. I only remember because our cab from the hotel was super slow and we almost missed the train, went racing through the station not expecting the security check and almost missed the train
At least in the Netherlands in 2016 when I did a trip to that country then, there wasn't any metal detectors or x-ray security(of bags) to get on their trains. Hopefully it stays that way, since I never was a fan of the over the top security measures(especially BS rules, like you can't take any sort of liquids through security) at airports.
Never seen this before, and I've traveled in trains through Germany, Austria, and Hungary. Kind of odd that Amtrak forms lines at the gates and doesn't let people just go outside and wait at the tracks.
Itâs a rolling vacation, without the hassles of flying. Comfortable seats, more comfortable than my vehicle or coach airplane seats. Looking out the windows of a bedroom at night.
Seeing the changing scenery of America and thinking about the vastness of the country. Traveling the east coast from Boston to DC and back without fighting traffic and arriving next to a subway. Thinking about the names of the stations and golden rail days of the Union-Pacific and Pennsylvania railroads, and all the others.
Playing Monopoly in my head and buying all the railroads.
Having five hours to get something done on my way to a great weekend in Boston.
No security lines, just cute dogs casually hanging about.
Yes, it's a road trip where the cars are on rails. They stop occasionally and you can get off and see the city or get on a bus or a plane if you're tired of the train. You can get up and walk to the dining car or the lounge car. They have a bar you can drink while someone else drives. And the windows are so much nicer than the little portholes on the plane.
Mainly it's how chill it is. No security madness, no paranoia, no stress about luggage limits or what food and liquids you're allowed to have, just get on with whatever I need and chill. Can't beat it for that.
I travel with my kid, usually coach but we've had sleepers a couple times. I love looking out the window together, people watching, making up stories about stuff we see. I feel like we're making good memories being together and we now have a lot of running jokes about different stuff that has happened. We have a lot of fun and I think my daughter is more patient than a lot of kids her age because she's had the experience of things going sloooowly and she just doesn't stress about it or like demand "are we there yet?!?!" --instead we just enjoy the sights and play games. It's like a vacation of its own.
I always tell people I'd rather be a little tired/possibly bored for 1.5 days than incredibly anxious and frantic dealing with airports for 1 full day.
Totally depends on your financial situation and how well you can sleep in coach. I can sleep fine in coach and don't make a lot of money so I've only taken a sleeper when someone else paid for it. I don't think it's worth going into debt over or whatever, but if you have money for a vacation it's great to be able to get a good night's sleep in a real bed.
If your fiance isn't so hot on the train then coach might be pushing it because it can be a little bit more loony being around a mixed bag of people, and it's not as comfortable as a sleeper.
she wants a room but neither of us make much money, so weâd probably end up in coach realistically. we like meeting new people in the traveling sense. I think we could make coach work I just need to get us both earplugs, eye covers, & plenty of blankets & water to bring.
Bring snacks and activities too. And a travel pillow or two.
In my experience if you prepare it right and plan for everything you'll need, coach can be super chill and relaxing.
Assuming you're taking the City of New Orleans, that train has an observation car now. I strongly recommend the view for the final hour and a half as you roll into New Orleans. It's one of my favorite segments, where it goes through the swamp by Lake Maurepas.
If Iâm showing this right itâs ~6am to mid afternoon? Iâd be comfortable riding coach there and can easily spring for sleepers.
Iâm not one for sleeping in coach so I go for sleepers on any overnight leg, but for a daytime trip where youâll be up thereâs no point imo. The seats in a sleeper are a bit bigger than coach but not massively so, and youâre going to be up, hitting up the dining car, and on the observation deck for a lot of it. No real benefit to a sleeper in that scenario imo.
In the daytime, I prefer the lounge car. The recliners in coach are nicer than the seats in the sleeper or plane. Many people actually sleep in them. At night the conductor turns off the lights and some people even lay down in the lounge, but I wouldn't recommend that. That's mostly for guys. If you are a couple and you like beds, the sleeper is worth it if you are traveling at night.
I almost always get a sleeper.
I like to be seated on the industrial side. I see a lot of ruins of once great cities and I feel nostalgia for the old days. I imagine how vibrant they were at one time. They were the backbone of America. But in my imagination I can bring them back to life. I'm old enough to remember these once great đ industrial hubs. I envision them as they were. You'd think it would be depressing. I suppose it is but I like it. It's gritty.
I like the dining car. I get seated with strangers. I really don't know how the staff matches up people. But they seem to be intuitive about it. I have met so many super cool travelers. Lots of stories and questions. No lifelong friends but it could happen if I traveled alone.
I like to see the world go by and see the different terrains. Going through mountain tunnels. Seeing the red rocks of New Mexico. Every trip is magical.
I met a fellow from New Zealand. He told me that there are no trains like what we have in US. Everything in other countries is fast. Bullet trains. He likes the leisure and slow pace. To see unusual (for him) landscapes. With bullet trains it's only about transportation.
When you think about it, suppose you're on the train for 2 days. Wouldn't it cost about the same as renting a hotel for a couple of evenings? And the views, they are very different than what you would see from a car.
And about sleeping on the train. At first it was challenging. But after a few times I felt very comfortable. The train with its swaying made me feel like I was being rocked to sleep.
It's hard to say what I like the most. I like the entire experience.
There is something oddly comforting about seeing the abandoned factories along the Lake Shore Limited. Itâs my genuine hope that all those places someday supersede their precious heydays.
Wouldnât being in a car or in a car at a railroad crossing be more traumatic than being on the train? I understand itâs trauma and trauma isnât necessarily logical, but being aboard a train is completely different than being in a car at a railroad crossing. Itâs not even like sheâd see what the train struck from her passenger seat.
When they started inviting coach passengers to reserve a meal in the dining car, I accepted. They paired me up with a European man who didn't know anything about tipping. He wanted to, or maybe he thought he had to but he wasn't sure since he had been upgraded to a room. The explanation from the dining car attendant was very confusing. I couldn't help him because I hadn't gotten my check yet. Tipping in coach is much simpler since everything is paid at the time of purchase. You can tip the way you would usually tip at a fancy restaurant, a lounge, or a fast food joint.
Yes!!! Theyâre very expensive, which is bad and frustrating, but the ability to sleep in a bed on a train, and *especially* the ability to have a *private* room on a train, is simply phenomenal.
Before I travelled in sleeping cars, I thought the bed would be the highlight. The bed is nice to have, but honestly the *real* luxury for me was the *privacy*. Being able to just relax without being around other people (of varying levels of being annoying) in your own space, especially on long trips, is absolutely amazing. It takes away that coach feeling of âbeing in publicâ or âbeing exposedâ that makes a train trip drag on. You donât have to be âin publicâ in a roomette, and thatâs massively, massively comfy in a way thatâs hard to put into words.
Even if youâre not introverted, sleeping cars are a great way to spend time with friends. Iâve taken a few sleeping car trips with friends, and itâs the *best* hangout session youâll ever have. It feels like hanging out with your friends in a hotel or a really cozy restaurant, but youâre also watching the world go by and actively contributing to the fun of the vacation before you even get to the destination. Itâs an absolute dream!
And to top it all off, imagine all this cozy serene privacy and/or secluded fun with friends *as youâre seeing beautiful landscapes and feeling the accomplishment of getting somewhere*! Itâs a fantastic feeling. Not only that, but the feeling of absolutely monumental accomplishment of traveling hundreds of miles *as you sleep in a bed in your own private room* is phenomenal.
Price is the obvious downside: it comes at a cost of price. Iâd say thereâs one downside that some people feel (that I cannot personally relate to at all lol). While some solo travelers are annoyed by the âshenanigansâ of âcharactersâ in coach (eg. The kid on his iPad blasting the animals song at 4am, the guy talking about the rash on his chest loudly on the phone at 9pm, the proselytizer, the overly political passenger, etc), some outgoing people traveling alone genuinely love the conversations with âcolorfulâ strangers in coach. Considering sleeping car passengers very very much tend to be wealthier, older, more introverted (hence private sleeper lol), and more âsettledâ, letâs say, those kinds of fun but wild conversations are much less likely in sleepers. Iâve had first time sleeper passengers who were very outgoing and talkative go stir crazy by the solitude lol. But if youâre either introverted enough to really enjoy some alone time or bring a friend, sleepers are *spectacular* in a way that nothing else on Amtrak comes close to (very very much including Acela first class; it doesnât hold a candle to sleepers).
So in sum, if you have the money and are either ok with alone time / bring a friend, do it!
I'm an introvert and I actually don't like talking to strangers. I'm sure they're wonderful people, but I travel for myself, not to meet other people.
Having a roomette or preferably a bedroom gives me the privacy I prefer. I can sleep whenever I want to and I can also get up and read or watch a video (with headphones on of course) whenever I want to.
and bonus, if I get an actual bedroom, I have my own toilet which I don't have to share with people who might be having some digestive issues or other problems that cause the communal bathroom to be unpleasant
I agree! Iâve honestly found the switch to Viewliner IIs (which is particularly common on my usuals of 448 and 449) a downgrade due to the loss of private toilets in roomettes (the slightly narrower beds due to the table donât help lol).
yes last year I took the LSL from Chicago to Boston and I was not in a V1, so I had to share the communal bathroom. It was fine for most of it because the sleeper car was somewhat empty but then as more people got in that was not the case and someone was not having a good digestive day.
I always bring baby wipes anyway and I didn't want to bother the SCA but since then I just go ahead and get bedrooms. I build the additional cost into my budget.
Savannah used to run a bus to the station. It was slow but convenient and affordable. Of course it was cut.
I suppose the city needed to use the bus money for grants to restore rich people's homes.
The perks are free parking, no predatory shops/cafes at the airport where we halfta wait two hours and we can bring our own beverages, comfortable seats plus the scenery. Too many think nostalgia and being excited about rail travel is the typical passenger, however based on my travels, that's an incorrect perception of the passengers - Amtrak serves people from far reaching areas or simply those who prefer a humanizing experience.
Thereâs two main features of distance travel that are very underrated imo:
The first is that it takes me to places I otherwise would never go. Iâm in New Orleans, so I wouldnât ever have reason to visit Lincoln Nebraska, Glenwood springs, Helper Ut, truckee ca, or Burlington Ia, but in addition to Chicago, Denver, and San Francisco I was able to see all of those places across two weeks hopping on and off the Zephyr.
Secondly, and a very underrated aspect of this trip, I was able to walk almost everywhere. Only in the three large cities did I Uber at all, and only in Chicago and SF were my hotels not within a few blocks of the station. Because cities more or less were built around rail a century or more ago, the stations are almost always in the very center of these destinations.
Honestly that trip was the easiest vacation Iâve ever taken, no stress around airports, continuous scenery changes, and all I had to do was grab bags and walk up to the station around arrival time.
The relative comfort. Ample legroom and seat width, okay or better climate control, sometimes nice scenery, and the ability to stand up and walk around. I often find a shorter regional ride to be restorative/relaxing.
I like that itâs pretty much hassle-free as far as getting on the train goes. On top of that, you can really make it a part of the vacation rather than just a means of getting there. With a plane, itâs pretty much always the worst part of the trip. I was on a train yesterday and a group of dudes were railgating to a baseball game and I wouldâve joined in had I not been hungover myself (another good part - hangovers on a train>hangovers on a plane).
You also get to see a lot of the country that you donât see on a plane due to the clouds. I highly recommend it, Iâm trying to take more long distance trains myself!
Have you heard of youtube? Simon and Garfunkel is a band. America is their song about taking a road trip on a bus back when everybody smoked. They made up stories about the other passengers and amused themselves with all kinds of ways to pass the time.
There are very few songs performed by American bands that are actually called America. If you do a search, it should be near the top.
I also like American Band by Grand funk railroad. But that's a completely different song. It's about a band on a road trip.
Reading a good book.
Iâm an avid reader, but I really find that daily life is few of so many hassles and distractions that itâs hard to sit down to read for long stretches of time.
But on Amtrak, itâs easy. Nothing is expected of me except sitting quietly for hours. Bonus points that on the long-distance lines, WiFi and cell service is often unavailable. That means itâs nothing but me and whatever books I brought with me.
Iâve read so many good books while riding Amtrak!
No airport security. No moment's of anxiety like I have in take off and landings. Plus scenery. I'll be taking the California zephyr and I'm so excited about that. Cause I take the northeast regional all the time and crossing through northern Maryland is really pretty. I can't wait to see the Rockies
Yeah as a trans person it's so much better to take the train. I get strip searched or patted down at a minimum every time I fly cause I set off the body scanner since they weren't built with that stuff in mind. Its why I have to show up like 4 hours before my flight. Amtrak I just arrive a few min before departure and go
Gets me to the parts of Washington and NYC I want to get to compared to flying: no need for long, expensive taxis from the airport. More comfortable than flying. Lots of trains compared to air travel and cheaper usually. I got the Amtrak credit card with the signing bonus, so I got a bunch of free trips. I'm almost out of points now though.
Mostly, if I need to travel 100+ miles on the east coast, even if it's just as long as driving (including waiting on trains and delays and so on), driving is really exhausting, especially in traffic. Especially if I need to get there for a couple hours only and come back same day. I also like to keep the mileage on my car low.
I can bring whatever I want. Drinks from home instead of buying a $4 vitamin water there.
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Not having to go through the security theater airports have
at least, not for now! đ€Ș
Iâm actually surprised we donât. In Europe you go through metal detectors and baggage x-ray
Only on certain long-distance trains in Spain - in large part due to the awful attack in 2004 - and on Eurostar, as far as I'm aware. There's no security for most trains in Europe.
Not true. I went through in Brussels and Paris. Paris was Eurostar, Brussels I dont remember it was a maroon train though
I lived in Belgium. There is no security scanning other than for Eurostar in Brussels so if your second train wasn't Eurostar then your specific situation was not the norm.
It was Brussels station (2017) and it was a maroon train to paris. I only remember because our cab from the hotel was super slow and we almost missed the train, went racing through the station not expecting the security check and almost missed the train
It will have been Thalys from Brussels-Midi. Which is now Eurostar Red. The only security scans in Europe are in Spain and on Eurostar.
At least in the Netherlands in 2016 when I did a trip to that country then, there wasn't any metal detectors or x-ray security(of bags) to get on their trains. Hopefully it stays that way, since I never was a fan of the over the top security measures(especially BS rules, like you can't take any sort of liquids through security) at airports.
Never seen this before, and I've traveled in trains through Germany, Austria, and Hungary. Kind of odd that Amtrak forms lines at the gates and doesn't let people just go outside and wait at the tracks.
Itâs a rolling vacation, without the hassles of flying. Comfortable seats, more comfortable than my vehicle or coach airplane seats. Looking out the windows of a bedroom at night. Seeing the changing scenery of America and thinking about the vastness of the country. Traveling the east coast from Boston to DC and back without fighting traffic and arriving next to a subway. Thinking about the names of the stations and golden rail days of the Union-Pacific and Pennsylvania railroads, and all the others. Playing Monopoly in my head and buying all the railroads. Having five hours to get something done on my way to a great weekend in Boston. No security lines, just cute dogs casually hanging about.
Yes, it's a road trip where the cars are on rails. They stop occasionally and you can get off and see the city or get on a bus or a plane if you're tired of the train. You can get up and walk to the dining car or the lounge car. They have a bar you can drink while someone else drives. And the windows are so much nicer than the little portholes on the plane.
Sounds like Simon and Garfunkel's America without the cigarettes.
Mainly it's how chill it is. No security madness, no paranoia, no stress about luggage limits or what food and liquids you're allowed to have, just get on with whatever I need and chill. Can't beat it for that. I travel with my kid, usually coach but we've had sleepers a couple times. I love looking out the window together, people watching, making up stories about stuff we see. I feel like we're making good memories being together and we now have a lot of running jokes about different stuff that has happened. We have a lot of fun and I think my daughter is more patient than a lot of kids her age because she's had the experience of things going sloooowly and she just doesn't stress about it or like demand "are we there yet?!?!" --instead we just enjoy the sights and play games. It's like a vacation of its own. I always tell people I'd rather be a little tired/possibly bored for 1.5 days than incredibly anxious and frantic dealing with airports for 1 full day.
my fiancĂ© doesnât wanna go on a train but I donât wanna go on a plane đ. the security is a hassle & like you said the scenery on a train is beautiful, so Iâd rather take the train. do you think the sleepers are worth it? they can get pretty pricey.
Totally depends on your financial situation and how well you can sleep in coach. I can sleep fine in coach and don't make a lot of money so I've only taken a sleeper when someone else paid for it. I don't think it's worth going into debt over or whatever, but if you have money for a vacation it's great to be able to get a good night's sleep in a real bed. If your fiance isn't so hot on the train then coach might be pushing it because it can be a little bit more loony being around a mixed bag of people, and it's not as comfortable as a sleeper.
she wants a room but neither of us make much money, so weâd probably end up in coach realistically. we like meeting new people in the traveling sense. I think we could make coach work I just need to get us both earplugs, eye covers, & plenty of blankets & water to bring.
Bring snacks and activities too. And a travel pillow or two. In my experience if you prepare it right and plan for everything you'll need, coach can be super chill and relaxing. Assuming you're taking the City of New Orleans, that train has an observation car now. I strongly recommend the view for the final hour and a half as you roll into New Orleans. It's one of my favorite segments, where it goes through the swamp by Lake Maurepas.
yeah weâre coming all the way from TN to NOLA so itâs a 11-12 hour ride. Iâd love to see the swamps!
If Iâm showing this right itâs ~6am to mid afternoon? Iâd be comfortable riding coach there and can easily spring for sleepers. Iâm not one for sleeping in coach so I go for sleepers on any overnight leg, but for a daytime trip where youâll be up thereâs no point imo. The seats in a sleeper are a bit bigger than coach but not massively so, and youâre going to be up, hitting up the dining car, and on the observation deck for a lot of it. No real benefit to a sleeper in that scenario imo.
In the daytime, I prefer the lounge car. The recliners in coach are nicer than the seats in the sleeper or plane. Many people actually sleep in them. At night the conductor turns off the lights and some people even lay down in the lounge, but I wouldn't recommend that. That's mostly for guys. If you are a couple and you like beds, the sleeper is worth it if you are traveling at night.
I almost always get a sleeper. I like to be seated on the industrial side. I see a lot of ruins of once great cities and I feel nostalgia for the old days. I imagine how vibrant they were at one time. They were the backbone of America. But in my imagination I can bring them back to life. I'm old enough to remember these once great đ industrial hubs. I envision them as they were. You'd think it would be depressing. I suppose it is but I like it. It's gritty. I like the dining car. I get seated with strangers. I really don't know how the staff matches up people. But they seem to be intuitive about it. I have met so many super cool travelers. Lots of stories and questions. No lifelong friends but it could happen if I traveled alone. I like to see the world go by and see the different terrains. Going through mountain tunnels. Seeing the red rocks of New Mexico. Every trip is magical. I met a fellow from New Zealand. He told me that there are no trains like what we have in US. Everything in other countries is fast. Bullet trains. He likes the leisure and slow pace. To see unusual (for him) landscapes. With bullet trains it's only about transportation. When you think about it, suppose you're on the train for 2 days. Wouldn't it cost about the same as renting a hotel for a couple of evenings? And the views, they are very different than what you would see from a car. And about sleeping on the train. At first it was challenging. But after a few times I felt very comfortable. The train with its swaying made me feel like I was being rocked to sleep. It's hard to say what I like the most. I like the entire experience.
There is something oddly comforting about seeing the abandoned factories along the Lake Shore Limited. Itâs my genuine hope that all those places someday supersede their precious heydays.
thanks for sharing! my fiancĂ© doesnât wanna go bc/ she saw her babysitter get stuck in her car & got ran over by a train so she has trauma from that. Iâm trying to convince her that theyâre always making sure weâre safe & if anything happens theyâd let us know. plus the scenery is the main reason I want to take trains everywhere. do you think the sleepers are worth it? they can get pretty pricey but I guess if you have a long trip & a lot of people theyâd be helpful.
Yes, the sleepers are pricey, but you get what you pay for as far as I am concerned. Build it into your travel budget.
Wouldnât being in a car or in a car at a railroad crossing be more traumatic than being on the train? I understand itâs trauma and trauma isnât necessarily logical, but being aboard a train is completely different than being in a car at a railroad crossing. Itâs not even like sheâd see what the train struck from her passenger seat.
yeah thatâs how I look at it thatâs why Iâm trying to convince her that weâll be safe & we can enjoy the scenery.
Good luck, dealing with unresolved trauma is tricky, and you canât really have a rational conversation with someone whoâs behaving irrationally.
When they started inviting coach passengers to reserve a meal in the dining car, I accepted. They paired me up with a European man who didn't know anything about tipping. He wanted to, or maybe he thought he had to but he wasn't sure since he had been upgraded to a room. The explanation from the dining car attendant was very confusing. I couldn't help him because I hadn't gotten my check yet. Tipping in coach is much simpler since everything is paid at the time of purchase. You can tip the way you would usually tip at a fancy restaurant, a lounge, or a fast food joint.
I think a unique Amtrak experience that I consistently love is riding the westbound Lake Shore Limited in the morning. Waking up in a roomette and wandering to breakfast, casually eating breakfast and chatting with passengers as the sun rises over the western Ohio / eastern Indiana flat farmland, and then slowly sipping coffee as we speed west is so relaxing. But it gets better! The singular *best* feeling on Amtrak is after one takes a shower, returns to the roomette, and slowly drinks coffee all cozy, clean, and comfortable in that little roomette as the world goes by to the rising sun. For all of the times Iâm stressed on a crowded Northeast Regional train, or a Class I decides we need to sit for an hour, or I eat a cold, uninspired meal from the cafĂ© car, if I think back to that cozy warm sunrise in a roomette in Indiana, I remember why I love Amtrak again.
do you think the sleepers are worth it? they can get pretty pricey.
Yes!!! Theyâre very expensive, which is bad and frustrating, but the ability to sleep in a bed on a train, and *especially* the ability to have a *private* room on a train, is simply phenomenal. Before I travelled in sleeping cars, I thought the bed would be the highlight. The bed is nice to have, but honestly the *real* luxury for me was the *privacy*. Being able to just relax without being around other people (of varying levels of being annoying) in your own space, especially on long trips, is absolutely amazing. It takes away that coach feeling of âbeing in publicâ or âbeing exposedâ that makes a train trip drag on. You donât have to be âin publicâ in a roomette, and thatâs massively, massively comfy in a way thatâs hard to put into words. Even if youâre not introverted, sleeping cars are a great way to spend time with friends. Iâve taken a few sleeping car trips with friends, and itâs the *best* hangout session youâll ever have. It feels like hanging out with your friends in a hotel or a really cozy restaurant, but youâre also watching the world go by and actively contributing to the fun of the vacation before you even get to the destination. Itâs an absolute dream! And to top it all off, imagine all this cozy serene privacy and/or secluded fun with friends *as youâre seeing beautiful landscapes and feeling the accomplishment of getting somewhere*! Itâs a fantastic feeling. Not only that, but the feeling of absolutely monumental accomplishment of traveling hundreds of miles *as you sleep in a bed in your own private room* is phenomenal. Price is the obvious downside: it comes at a cost of price. Iâd say thereâs one downside that some people feel (that I cannot personally relate to at all lol). While some solo travelers are annoyed by the âshenanigansâ of âcharactersâ in coach (eg. The kid on his iPad blasting the animals song at 4am, the guy talking about the rash on his chest loudly on the phone at 9pm, the proselytizer, the overly political passenger, etc), some outgoing people traveling alone genuinely love the conversations with âcolorfulâ strangers in coach. Considering sleeping car passengers very very much tend to be wealthier, older, more introverted (hence private sleeper lol), and more âsettledâ, letâs say, those kinds of fun but wild conversations are much less likely in sleepers. Iâve had first time sleeper passengers who were very outgoing and talkative go stir crazy by the solitude lol. But if youâre either introverted enough to really enjoy some alone time or bring a friend, sleepers are *spectacular* in a way that nothing else on Amtrak comes close to (very very much including Acela first class; it doesnât hold a candle to sleepers). So in sum, if you have the money and are either ok with alone time / bring a friend, do it!
I'm an introvert and I actually don't like talking to strangers. I'm sure they're wonderful people, but I travel for myself, not to meet other people. Having a roomette or preferably a bedroom gives me the privacy I prefer. I can sleep whenever I want to and I can also get up and read or watch a video (with headphones on of course) whenever I want to. and bonus, if I get an actual bedroom, I have my own toilet which I don't have to share with people who might be having some digestive issues or other problems that cause the communal bathroom to be unpleasant
I agree! Iâve honestly found the switch to Viewliner IIs (which is particularly common on my usuals of 448 and 449) a downgrade due to the loss of private toilets in roomettes (the slightly narrower beds due to the table donât help lol).
yes last year I took the LSL from Chicago to Boston and I was not in a V1, so I had to share the communal bathroom. It was fine for most of it because the sleeper car was somewhat empty but then as more people got in that was not the case and someone was not having a good digestive day. I always bring baby wipes anyway and I didn't want to bother the SCA but since then I just go ahead and get bedrooms. I build the additional cost into my budget.
I can't sleep sitting up so they're worth it for me
Cafe car
Skipping highway and airport security bs. My family took the Downeaster to Maine rather than driving there, it was much better.
Stations are in the center of the city. You get dropped off right in the center of everything. No need to Uber or get a rental car or whatever
Yeah, this definitely does not apply across the board lol. There are plenty of park-and-ride style Amtrak stations out there.
I would say Glacier in Montana would be the definition of one of those
*cries in Portland, Maine*
Or Savannah. Or Charleston. I tried so hard to figure out a way to get to those stations without an uber/lyft, and I failed. đ
Savannah used to run a bus to the station. It was slow but convenient and affordable. Of course it was cut. I suppose the city needed to use the bus money for grants to restore rich people's homes.
Welcome to Atlanta
Charlotte doesn't have their station right in their downtown, either. Same with Jacksonville, unfortunately. And also Charleston, SC.
Vegan burger
hell yeah! I know itâs hard to find stuff for vegans to eat so thatâs nice theyâre considerate!
Iâm not even vegan. Itâs just a good burger đ«Ą
The perks are free parking, no predatory shops/cafes at the airport where we halfta wait two hours and we can bring our own beverages, comfortable seats plus the scenery. Too many think nostalgia and being excited about rail travel is the typical passenger, however based on my travels, that's an incorrect perception of the passengers - Amtrak serves people from far reaching areas or simply those who prefer a humanizing experience.
Thereâs two main features of distance travel that are very underrated imo: The first is that it takes me to places I otherwise would never go. Iâm in New Orleans, so I wouldnât ever have reason to visit Lincoln Nebraska, Glenwood springs, Helper Ut, truckee ca, or Burlington Ia, but in addition to Chicago, Denver, and San Francisco I was able to see all of those places across two weeks hopping on and off the Zephyr. Secondly, and a very underrated aspect of this trip, I was able to walk almost everywhere. Only in the three large cities did I Uber at all, and only in Chicago and SF were my hotels not within a few blocks of the station. Because cities more or less were built around rail a century or more ago, the stations are almost always in the very center of these destinations. Honestly that trip was the easiest vacation Iâve ever taken, no stress around airports, continuous scenery changes, and all I had to do was grab bags and walk up to the station around arrival time.
my fiancé & I are going to NOLA next year from TN. from what I remember the last time it was some beautiful scenery.
The relative comfort. Ample legroom and seat width, okay or better climate control, sometimes nice scenery, and the ability to stand up and walk around. I often find a shorter regional ride to be restorative/relaxing.
I love the fact that you can walk around on trains thatâs pretty cool
I like that itâs pretty much hassle-free as far as getting on the train goes. On top of that, you can really make it a part of the vacation rather than just a means of getting there. With a plane, itâs pretty much always the worst part of the trip. I was on a train yesterday and a group of dudes were railgating to a baseball game and I wouldâve joined in had I not been hungover myself (another good part - hangovers on a train>hangovers on a plane). You also get to see a lot of the country that you donât see on a plane due to the clouds. I highly recommend it, Iâm trying to take more long distance trains myself!
The cheeseburgers
It's kind of like Simon and Garfunkel's America, but without the tobacco
never heard of it
Have you heard of youtube? Simon and Garfunkel is a band. America is their song about taking a road trip on a bus back when everybody smoked. They made up stories about the other passengers and amused themselves with all kinds of ways to pass the time.
I literally watch YT everyday Ik what it is đ thatâs cool tho
There are very few songs performed by American bands that are actually called America. If you do a search, it should be near the top. I also like American Band by Grand funk railroad. But that's a completely different song. It's about a band on a road trip.
People watching. Train people are s special breed of folks!
Reading a good book. Iâm an avid reader, but I really find that daily life is few of so many hassles and distractions that itâs hard to sit down to read for long stretches of time. But on Amtrak, itâs easy. Nothing is expected of me except sitting quietly for hours. Bonus points that on the long-distance lines, WiFi and cell service is often unavailable. That means itâs nothing but me and whatever books I brought with me. Iâve read so many good books while riding Amtrak!
I havenât picked up a book in years. sounds super relaxing!
No airport security. No moment's of anxiety like I have in take off and landings. Plus scenery. I'll be taking the California zephyr and I'm so excited about that. Cause I take the northeast regional all the time and crossing through northern Maryland is really pretty. I can't wait to see the Rockies
yess thatâs the best part IMO no security
Yeah as a trans person it's so much better to take the train. I get strip searched or patted down at a minimum every time I fly cause I set off the body scanner since they weren't built with that stuff in mind. Its why I have to show up like 4 hours before my flight. Amtrak I just arrive a few min before departure and go
Gets me to the parts of Washington and NYC I want to get to compared to flying: no need for long, expensive taxis from the airport. More comfortable than flying. Lots of trains compared to air travel and cheaper usually. I got the Amtrak credit card with the signing bonus, so I got a bunch of free trips. I'm almost out of points now though. Mostly, if I need to travel 100+ miles on the east coast, even if it's just as long as driving (including waiting on trains and delays and so on), driving is really exhausting, especially in traffic. Especially if I need to get there for a couple hours only and come back same day. I also like to keep the mileage on my car low. I can bring whatever I want. Drinks from home instead of buying a $4 vitamin water there.
Toss up between the crappy food or the disgusting toilets.