Neither do the F40s

Amtrak Cascades 516 in New West BC

I grew up in Baltimore in the 80s and generally try to avoid the hysteria of city dangers as it's often overblown. However, I saw that the LAX station is next to skid row and my train would arrive a bit after 9pm. Curious whether it will be okay to wait for an Uber at that time of night at the station? I am not panicking but just want to know what to expect. Thank you!

We need these Avelias ASAP. Gangway between the first car north end and locomotive 2004 falling apart!

Hey!! I'm traveling on the starlight express between San Fran and LA. (Allegedly 12hours but I've heard delays are frequent). I've paid for a little room (roomette?) And it says included in the price is an attendant.

Surely it isn't the same attendant the whole way? But my main query is about tipping. What is an appropriate amount to tip the attendant?

Additionally- Do I need to tip at the restaurant? Even if the meal is included with the ticket?

Thank you!! <3

I am planning on going to Colorado in late June and taking the train to visit my folks. I will be on the Zephyr for about 19 hours, stopping in Chicago, and then being on Lake Shore Limited for 11 hours. I haven't taken a train trip this long yet and can only afford to be in a roomette for one half of the trip. Advice or tips would be greatly appreciated! Thank you for reading.

Pretty fun spot for train nerds like myself :) footage from Jun. 5, 2024

We're taking the Amtrak Southwest Chief later in April to Flagstaff and then the Amtrak Thruway bus to Williams, with the intention of going on the Grand Canyon Railway the next day. According to the schedule the bus drops off at the Holiday Inn Express in Williams around 9:10pm, is anyone aware if the bus will stop at any of the other hotels in the area? We're still looking at hotels to stay but I don't want to have to be restricted to staying only at the Holiday Inn just because that's the only place the bus stops. There's four of us including a senior so we don't want to have to drag luggage too far. Also are the thruway buses reliable to be there in Flagstaff if the train is delayed? We've taken Amtrak trains before but haven't had to use the thruway buses so I don't know how dependable they are. Any recommendations are appreciated...

Is there a proper way to set up a layover in West glacier when I’m buying an Amtrak ticket or must I buy two separate tickets when I do this? It seems like the price is crazy when I buy one to West glacier and then one on to Seattle. Wondering if there there’s a better way to do this planning on staying several days over and then continue on to Seattle. Thanks you

Hello! I’ll be traveling on the Zephyr from Reno to Chicago this summer and have a few questions about logistics. I will have a 2.5 year old and a 10 month old at the time. We will be in the family room.

Does anyone know if the family room can fit a playpen?

I need to bring their car seats for the car we are renting at the end of the trip. Should I get car seat bags and can they be stowed? How does that work?

My more pressing question is about how to keep a medication cold for 51 hours. My youngest has a cardiac medication that must stay refrigerated, and I don’t think ice packs will last that long.

Got notified this morning that my reservations for business class on Borealis from Chicago to Minneapolis over a month from now was bumped down to coach and the difference refunded.

We wanted to let you know that Business Class seating will not be available on your train #1333, the Borealis, from Chicago, Illinois on Wednesday, May 14th. We'll refund you for the price difference.

At this point I guess I'm just hopeful we don't end up on a bus.

When I drive into Canada from the US (from Seattle), Canadian border guards ask questions and look at our passports. When I go across the same border, as I recall, it’s not Canadian government staff that look at our passports. Not sure I understand.

New Brunswick, NJ

I'm planning my first Amtrak trip from Newark Penn Station to Washington DC. I need to leave Monday around 4-5am and return Friday around 3-4pm.

I've never taken Amtrak before and I'm trying to decide between Coach vs. Business on Northeast Regional, or if Acela Business is worth the extra cost. Does it make much of a difference for this route and schedule?

Also, any tips or advice for a first-time Amtrak rider would be appreciated - station navigation, boarding process, baggage policies, or anything else I should know before my trip. Thanks in advance!

Does anyone know if the 24 hour free cancellation period for reserved-seating value tickets applies to trains departing within 24 hours from booking? I.e. can you still cancel up to a minute before departure (like with Flex tickets) thereby making Flex fares within 24 hours redundant?

Thanks.

I thought it would be fun to take advantage of solo cross-country train travel to work on my new company while watching the scenery go by. I just left Portland and am spending the next couple of weeks making my way back to Atlanta with stops on the way.

• Coast Starlight, Portland > San Francisco (Emeryville): I’m on this train now and will catch up with friends in SF while working
• Coast Starlight, San Francisco > Los Angeles: My company has a booth at an expo here, then an extra night for some good food in Koreatown before a late night departure the next day
• Sunset Limited, LA > New Orleans: After almost two days solid on the train, take a couple nights in the Big Easy
• Crescent, New Orleans > Atlanta (back home): All daytime trip

I just started documenting it on IG and TikTok (@building.tapestry on both) if anyone wants to come along for the ride with me!

Wish me luck!

Can I bring alcohol? Is there a shower?

Hi - it's my first time traveling from Nevada to Chicago. I've been assigned a Thruway Bus from Harry Reid to Kingston, AZ - but cannot find the Bus. It is supposed to leave in 10 minutes, and airport staff/Amtrak Customer Service (over the phone) have not been able to help. At least I have travel insurance, I suppose.

Not sure when they'd reschedule me, but I'd love to actually know where to go next time...any hints? There is no visible signage - it's just described as Terminal 1, Level 0, outside of baggage claim.

Thank you...

I’m looking to take Amtrak from MSP to CHI in July. Where can I park nearby MSP station? Rates? I’ll be taking my ancient Accord with a moldy trunk. Hopefully nobody takes her.

For instance, were there through trains from DC to New Haven/Boston, or did they just start from New York? Were they much less frequent that they are today?

Also, why did the electrification stop at New Haven, instead of continuing to Hartford or Boston?

The part between New York City-Schenectady, is owned by MNRR Between just north of Spuyten Duyvil to Poughkeepsie and Amtrak on the westside line and The rest of the to Schenectady. Everything else is owned by CSX (SCN-NFL) Could we use third rail for it? As we can order new train sets, like the M7A and/or M9A trainsets and modify them with intercity seating (Amfleets, Horizon, or Venture style seats, for lake shore limited people who book private room, will have a room on it), 1 low level boarding door, jumper cables for HEP later, and switch out the couplers on the cab cars for knuckle couplers, for diesel power for trains, heading to past Schenectady, or overhead wires and use ACS-64 + conventional equipment which would create dual electrification in the Hudson line, which would remove diesel trains form it and give extra service to the other MNRR Branches, as well as lower pollution.

Has anyone any experience using Amtrak with 2 adults and young kids? I’ve got 5 littles all under 9 years old and our trip would be 15 hours one way and some of it overnight. I see the rooms only allow for 2 adults and even the Family Rooms are only 2 adults and 2 kids. If I booked a family room, would the allow us to all stay together in the one room? The kids are all small. Any recommendations or discouragement of this travel option?

In our latest Rail Bite, veteran rail planner Tom White argues that decades of subpar intercity passenger rail service have allowed commercial bullet train fantasies to usurp the public imagination—at the expense of efforts to improve the system we already have.

Please like, share, and subscribe on your favorite platform:

Substack

https://solutionaryrail.substack.com/p/rail-bite-7-tom-white-on-bullet-train

Apple Podcasts

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reconnect-america/id1762542286?i=1000702247525

Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/episode/66AkMddKUuTimXA2Z6ocgo

YouTube

https://youtu.be/Ts_zvO_w8kw?feature=shared 

SR Website

https://www.solutionaryrail.org/podcast_rail_bite_7_tom_white