# Auto Train Business Class?



## EKG

Hello, Amtrak aficionados!

Has anyone tried the new Business Class on the Auto Train yet? My wife and I are debating whether to do BC or a roomette for our trip to Florida in May, and would love any feedback as far as the Auto Train BC layout, typical crowd level, comfort, etc.

The difference between BC and the roomette is around $100 right now, which isn't huge... but then again, $100 would pay for one of our Disney tickets (or most of one, anyhow).

If it makes a difference, we'll be headed to my folks' house in Orlando immediately after arrival... so we can always crash there and nap if we don't sleep much on the train. So, while some sleep on the train would obviously be nice, I think we're more interested in the general comfort level of the two options.

Thanks in advance for your insight!


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## Palmetto

I cannot answer any of your questions, unfortunately, but it baffles me that the service is not even mentioned in the timetable. What's the big secret? Oh, I know, you can find out all about it if you know where to look on line.


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## pennyk

My aunt and uncle are planning to travel on the Auto Train in business class on Sunday. According to my aunt, everything else was sold out. I will ask her about it after their trip.


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## FormerOBS

Penny:

I'll be looking forward to this report as well. I've heard various things about it & don't know what conclusions to draw.

Tom


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## EKG

Penny -- yes, I'd love to hear what your aunt and uncle have to say about the experience! Since my original post, I found the thread about this topic in the main forum... and reading those posts doesn't give me much hope that Business Class will be anything other than a standard 2 + 2 coach car with standard coach seats. But, whatever the case, it'll be great to have some definite info out there -- it's strange that two months after the service was introduced, there are no trip reports or confirmed info floating around the Internet. It may be that, as Palmetto alluded to, the BC option is so well hidden on the website that no one is using it! That gives me hope that the BC car might be a quiet and uncrowded one.

The point may actually be moot for now, though -- I just discovered that the roomette price for our travel day has dropped a good bit, to where the difference between BC and a roomette is only $29 (rather than $100). So, we very well may just jump on that. But, again, it'd be awesome to know what the BC is actually like for future reference.


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## pennyk

I just spoke to my aunt who is on the train right now. She is not terribly impressed with business class so far.

According to her, the seating is downstairs in one of the coaches (she likes downstairs, so that is a plus). The perks are: each passenger was given 2 bottles of water and the package containing blanket, eyeshades, ear plugs. They will dine in the sleeping car dining car (rather than coach dining car) and they were boarded before coach passengers.

My aunt was hoping that one of the perks would be that their car would have priority and be among the first to be detrained. (No dice - of course Amtrak would have no reason to do that for BC).

EKG - I would definitely go with a roomette.


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## Bob Dylan

EKG- Second what Penny said! Book the Roomette!


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## me_little_me

And here I thought BC would get a car with clean restrooms or ones that would be cleaned at least once on the trip. Guess not.


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## FormerOBS

For $29, book the sleeper. No doubt about that.

On Auto Train, no passengers can be safely detrained until all passenger cars are in place and auto carriers are detached. Then detraining is permitted for everybody. Those on the lower level usually go first, unless they linger and take a few more minutes to gather their things.

Tom


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## EKG

The roomette is booked! Thanks so much for your help, everyone!


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## EKG

Thanks again for your help, everyone -- we had a fun time on the Auto Train, and the roomette was a good choice. I am curious, though -- the roomette (upper level, #6) was really comfortable and relaxing during the day, but the ride was *much* bumpier overnight while we were trying to sleep. Are the tracks in worse shape on the overnight portion, or does the train go faster overnight (thus amplifying the bumps), or did we just feel the bumps more because we were lying down rather than sitting up, or all of the above?

(I also felt like the roomette was muggier overnight than during the day. Do they raise the climate control temperature overnight, or was this just a natural result of heading south?)

We're looking at maybe doing a Southern California trip next summer -- we'll definitely look at Amtrak again!


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## Seaboard92

The first subdivision you ride on is the RF&P owned by CSX and generally it's pretty good. Once your south of Richmond its CSXs North End sub which isn't that good. So it's actually the track.


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## FormerOBS

It's a trip of a bit over 850 miles. The condition of the track will naturally vary from location to location. There are places where the track was recently maintained, and others that are due for attention, and others that fall somewhere in between.

Tom


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## VentureForth

Keep in mind that the center of gravity is pretty low to keep those Superliners from being top heavy. Thus, the distance of your body to the cg is greater. The moment of inertia is pretty strong way up there - especially on the top bunk. I also think you tend to feel more bumps horizontally than vertically. At any rate, yes - Since I started riding Amtrak nearly 17 years ago, I've always thought we were going to tip over when I was in the top bunk of the top level.

RE: Business Class - This is the most inconsistent service offered on Amtrak. I really wish there would be some director of Business Class who would create continuity in the service across the various trains.


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## Bob Dylan

Excellent idea VF, therefore it doesn't stand a chance @ 60 Mass!


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## Palmetto

I'll second that!


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## Mystic River Dragon

I agree also, unless, of course, they decided that consistent should be business class like the Northeast Regional on all trains rather than nice business class like the Carolinian.


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## Richard

Check out Delta Airlines Delta One business class. That is what Amtrak should be offering. Would work really well on the Auto Train and on the "Night Owl" on the NEC. I just did a solo trip on the Auto Train and would easily have taken Business Class if this was offered:

https://www.google.com/amp/amp.travelandleisure.com/airlines-airports/delta-one-suite%3fsource=dam


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## Acela150

Richard said:


> Check out Delta Airlines Delta One business class. That is what Amtrak should be offering. Would work really well on the Auto Train and on the "Night Owl" on the NEC. I just did a solo trip on the Auto Train and would easily have taken Business Class if this was offered:
> 
> https://www.google.com/amp/amp.travelandleisure.com/airlines-airports/delta-one-suite%3fsource=dam


They do.. It's called Sleeper Service.


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## Triley

Acela150 said:


> Richard said:
> 
> 
> 
> Check out Delta Airlines Delta One business class. That is what Amtrak should be offering. Would work really well on the Auto Train and on the "Night Owl" on the NEC. I just did a solo trip on the Auto Train and would easily have taken Business Class if this was offered:
> 
> https://www.google.com/amp/amp.travelandleisure.com/airlines-airports/delta-one-suite%3Fsource=dam"]https://www.google.com/amp/amp.travelandleisure.com/airlines-airports/delta-one-suite%3fsource=dam[/url]
> 
> 
> 
> They do.. It's called Sleeper Service.
Click to expand...

Not on 67!

In all seriousness, then we here at AU would then be complaining about the inconsistency of Delta One type business class vs Carolinian type business class, and so on. Basically unless everything matches 100%, which is unrealistic, someone is going to be unhappy.


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## FormerOBS

66/67 used to carry sleepers. There was the Washington to Boston sleeper, and there was the New York Executive Sleeper, which ran north out of Washington and was dropped at Penn Station in the middle of the night. I worked them both on the Washington extra board in early 1987. The Boston job was tolerable, but I hated the New York job because of poor security after the car was dropped and the rest of the train left. The occupied car was left alone and no security personnel ever checked on us until the passengers detrained in the morning. I was promised a radio in case of trouble, but they NEVER had one for me. The Penn Station folks didn't care.

Tom


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## Triley

FormerOBS said:


> 66/67 used to carry sleepers. There was the Washington to Boston sleeper, and there was the New York Executive Sleeper, which ran north out of Washington and was dropped at Penn Station in the middle of the night. I worked them both on the Washington extra board in early 1987. The Boston job was tolerable, but I hated the New York job because of poor security after the car was dropped and the rest of the train left. The occupied car was left alone and no security personnel ever checked on us until the passengers detrained in the morning. I was promised a radio in case of trouble, but they NEVER had one for me. The Penn Station folks didn't care.
> 
> Tom


I've heard all about them from various attendants, but was wondering how that worked in NYP. What a PITA that must've been.

You know..I asked a high up manager on the corridor about the sleeper returning to 67, and he claimed they have actually been looking in to it, but were waiting for the new sleepers to show up before it'd ever happen. So let's hope!

I've still been pushing for OBS to have some mode of communication with the crew, for safety. Had an extra board attendant who was hit a few months back, and thankfully it was a busyish train so there were many other passengers around who jumped in for -her- safety. But if it happened on a train like 67 where the cafe was empty, and the crew is following the rules for the corridor and not sitting in the car...


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## 561Marisa

I travelled from Lorton to Sanford on 10/13/17. I was in a coach seat (a few bedroom accommodations were available to buy at the counter at check in, but were very expensive). I was lucky and did not have a person next to me on the 2 by 2 coach seating, but even so, sleeping was not as comfortable as I expected. There is what I'll call a partial reclining unit to support your upper thighs/knees, but it does not go all the way down to the ankles (I'm 5'10" tall). There is a foot rest and plenty of leg room, the seat generously reclines back, and there are AC outlets along the window railing (BRING your own pillow/blanket for comfort)!. Vs. driving that distance myself, a coach seat on AutoTrain was very convenient and saved wear and tear on my car (and me), but it was not ideal for sleeping. I understand that *business class is EXACTLY the SAME as coach seating *- 2 by 2 seating with partial reclining unit to support upper thighs/knees, however you do get more amenities and a separate dining car. You will pay more for business class, but the seats are the same as the coach compartment - don't expect a reclining chair (i.e. Lazy Boy) in business class. A Conductor showed me some of the sleeping accommodations - a roomette is the way I plan to go next month and I will update this blog thereafter to advise.


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## jis

Oddly enough for the fare paid, one gets more AGR TQPs in Business Class than in Sleeper. Go figure!


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## Bob Dylan

jis said:


> Oddly enough for the fare paid, one gets more AGR TQPs in Business Class than in Sleeper. Go figure!


One of many concerns of ours during the roll out of the New and Unimproved AGR2.0!


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## GBNorman

Amtrak should really think twice as to how they splash the term Business Class about.

The airline industry term means a product offering First Class service including choice of meals, all the alcohol you can responsibly drink, an Attendant for each 20 passengers, and a "goody bag".

The US flagged carriers are all phasing out traditional First in favor of Delta One, (United) Polaris, and (I don't know what American calls their's).

By contrast Amtrak Business Class can be anything from a 2-1 configured section of an A-I or Horizon, a glorified Coach on the NEC and some LD's, to "just plain old" Coach on the Acela. A passenger who has only experienced airline Business Class could justifiably be after Amtrak for false advertising. Where Amtrak offers an enhanced Coach product, they should find a name for the service reflecting that.


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## PVD

I agree that they should do a better job of defining B/C. However, in the airline industry B/C varies widely depending on many factors including whether it is domestic or int'l, a 2 class or 3 class aircraft, and the route involved. Some airlines have eliminated domestic first for a BC/First model, in other situations, it is an intermediate class, a discernible step down from first.


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## GBNorman

Without getting into "who knew who", I was upgraded from Business to First on an overseas flight. I found the difference "marginal"; the Entree's were the same, as we're the wines and the Desserts. The only difference was a cheese course and after Dinner liqueurs.

The seat "modules" had more controls that I was not about to figure what they were. Further, annoying to me, was that the seats were all angled inward, making flightseeing difficult.

I rather doubt if there were any paying passengers there. It looked more like a lounge for relieved Officers including one with a companion. It is no wonder that the "big three" are phasing out First in favor of an enhanced Business product.

But "thanks for the memories".


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## PVD

That's the point. Overseas B/C bears no resemblance to domestic first except on a few key trancons. A Superliner LD or Am2 blows away most domestic seat room except a few key roures. The problem is length of time in the seat to distance traveled. But even an AM 1 is usually more comfortable than many RJs for a relatively short trip.


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## GBNorman

561Marisa said:


> .....a Roomette is the way I plan to go next month and I will update this blog thereafter to advise.


As a "veteran" with twenty three AT journeys, including one on the private AT, a very wise choice, Ms. Marisa.

I await your report.


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## GBNorman

PVD said:


> But even an AM 1 is usually more comfortable than many RJs for a relatively short trip.


You can say that again, Mr. PVD. Three of my eight flights this year were on Express Jet (dba United Express) "flying pencils" ERJ-145(HPN to ORD; ORD-RIC-ORD). Hard to believe, but neighbors did ORD-GEG-ORD on one of 'em last month (Columbia River cruise).

Be sure to book a fare level where you select your seat. Get on the single side Left; and if you like flightseeing as do I get Aft. If you don't like being near the "loo", book EconoPlus and aim for the three seats forward of the wing. Annoying was on that one way flight (resulting from a reroute into LGA) my seat was whacked ("Uh, uh Gil; this is a lead up to getting bumped") and they "selected" me a seat on the Right and over the wing - on a good flightseeing day to boot.

And a final word if on one of those RJ's; be sure to "Go before you go".


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## PVD

There are a few websites (such as Seatguru) that offer pretty good information on what to expect on a particular flight or plane type. The differences, even on one particular airline or route can be staggering. I remember looking at a trip last year to a city where the same carrier had flights on 2 different regional partners (one used Canadair RJ one used an Embraer E-170/175) and one flight was a mainline jet. BC/First on an AA A321 transcon can be outstanding, regular domestic AA A-321 BC/First is not that much better than Prevost or MCI


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## GBNorman

Even if she has no reason to be in this life, my Sister is "thrifty".

However, my Niece emigrated to Australia last year and my Sister has now been "down there" - twice.

At first, she was of the "I'll just go Coach" mindset, but I was out for a visit when this came up. I knew she could have problems with that. So I rang up Seat Guru, took four straight Dining table chairs and set them at the pitch United offers on a 787. I sat down in one and asked her to sit in the other. All this presumed she would have an aisle seat. She said "that's too tight". "Well Barbara, that's what you'll get". "How about Premium Economy?". I reset the chairs. "That's still too tight".

Both her trips have been Business Class, one Qantas, the other Virgin.


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## PVD

In many cases, it isn't the pitch, it is the width that makes people uncomfortable. United is changing its domestic 777-200 from 9 across to 10 across. The plane is not getting wider.


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## jis

The seats are merely getting narrowed to what they already are and have been on 737s [emoji53]

Sent from my iPhone using Amtrak Forum


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## GBNorman

PVD said:


> In many cases, it isn't the pitch, it is the width that makes people uncomfortable. United is changing its domestic 777-200 from 9 across to 10 across. The plane is not getting wider.


Indeed the case. Mr. PVD. Going to Munich last August on a brand new 777-300 configured Polaris and Coach, I hoofed back into the Gulag to say hi to an Attendant who knows an Attendant I know. Returning to Polaris, there was some turbulence so I grabbed the first open seat and bolted up. The seating was 3-4-3 and it was a tight fit for me (5'9" 175). I suppose if the trip was non-discretionary, I could survive. But for a pleasure trip. no thanks. If I haven't the dough for Business, then it simply is "no go".


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## Guest

I slept in top bunk on top level and rocked and rolled all night especially after eating at 7:30, not a good combination. I agree with previous reviewer stating that it is easier to sleep in the chairs then the roomettes or bedrooms, I have done both. The train goes at a substantially higher rate of speed through the night. Someone had a gps on our trip and we were not going 75 miles per hour as stated but much much faster.

All in all the meal was good, company was good, and all Amtrak staff are topnotch. Anything is better than driving 900 miles. Its one night you can pretty much put up with anything to get to the sunny south. It was minus 40 where we come from.

I prefer the coach experience you kind of get rocked to sleep in a lazyboy.


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