# motion sick on trains?



## blackpup (Jun 16, 2016)

I was wondering if LD train riders are prone to motion sickness? I mean I'm not sure how bumpy the tracks are on the CL or SM. I do need Dramamine and wrist patches when I go on a cruise, so just wondering if trains are like that. I rode a train for 4 hours once on EB, and didn't have any problems, but that was only 4 hours. Thanks.


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## AmtrakBlue (Jun 16, 2016)

blackpup said:


> I was wondering if LD train riders are prone to motion sickness? I mean I'm not sure how bumpy the tracks are on the CL or SM. I do need Dramamine and wrist patches when I go on a cruise, so just wondering if trains are like that. I rode a train for 4 hours once on EB, and didn't have any problems, but that was only 4 hours. Thanks.


I'd think if you survived 4 hours you should be fine. But it can't hurt to take the Dramamine and wrist patch or wrist bands. My daughter had some motion sickness if she sat in the rear facing seat in our roomette. But, as I recall, she never did use whatever we bought at the shop in the Chicago Union Station (after having arrived on the CL) and before boarding the CZ.


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## Just-Thinking-51 (Jun 16, 2016)

No.

If you have a history of motion sickness be sure to seat looking forward, not backwards. Also when looking out the window look at distance feature, not the stuff next to the tracks.

Enjoy your trip.


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## jphjaxfl (Jun 16, 2016)

I have had problems with motion sickness only on Long Distance buses when I was younger, but never trains or cruises. I prefer to ride facing forward, but even riding backwards on a train does not effect me like a bus has done.


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## andersone (Jun 16, 2016)

I usually have no issues with Amtrak, although my sea legs aren't what they used to be

i have found these Sea Bands to be very useful,, even helped with my cancer treatments

enjoy your trip


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## D.P. Roberts (Jun 16, 2016)

I agree with everything everybody else said. I can read occasionally if the tracks are smooth, but most of the time I can't. Other than that, I'm fine, and I'm sure you will be too.


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## Anthony V (Jun 16, 2016)

Here's an interesting side note about this topic. In the 1970's, there were accounts of passengers getting sick to their stomachs on the Floridian because the tracks were so rough. I heard one story of a father and his daughter who were bound for Chicago on the Floridian, but got off in Indianapolis and flew the rest of the way to Chicago because his daughter was throwing up so badly from motion sickness due to the horrible track conditions on the Penn Central tracks south of IND. It's because of passenger experiences like this one is why the Floridian did so poorly in revenue and ridership and couldn't stand a chance in surviving the 1979 Carter cuts.


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## wwchi (Jun 16, 2016)

I can get motion sickness if I try to read in a car, but never on the train. I know some people can't sit facing backwards, but surprisingly that doesn't bother me either. Like others said, if you think you might get sick, use the bands or some dramamine, but agree, if you did 4 hours before, you should be fine.


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## jphjaxfl (Jun 16, 2016)

Anthony V said:


> Here's an interesting side note about this topic. In the 1970's, there were accounts of passengers getting sick to their stomachs on the Floridian because the tracks were so rough. I heard one story of a father and his daughter who were bound for Chicago on the Floridian, but got off in Indianapolis and flew the rest of the way to Chicago because his daughter was throwing up so badly from motion sickness due to the horrible track conditions on the Penn Central tracks south of IND. It's because of passenger experiences like this one is why the Floridian did so poorly in revenue and ridership and couldn't stand a chance in surviving the 1979 Carter cuts.


I rode the Floridian many times between various points in the route, I agree that the Indianapolis-Louisville section was horrible and could cause motion sickness. I remember eating breakfast in the Dining Car coming into Louisville when the car was tipping from side to side. The waiters managed to serve without any disasters, but probably because the train was only going 10 MPH. In 1975, the Floridian was rerouted over the former Monon route which was much smoother and the train became more timely.


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## blackpup (Jun 16, 2016)

so are the CL, CHI to DC and SM, DC to ORL pretty smooth rides?


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## crabby_appleton1950 (Jun 16, 2016)

Quote: "I was wondering if LD train riders are prone to motion sickness?"

Not me.


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## Sauve850 (Jun 16, 2016)

Anxiety and stress are definitely a cause of motion sickness also. Think about it too much and it happens. Relax, trains are fun!


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## Asher (Jun 17, 2016)

If you have to ask you probably will. Be prepared.


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## AmtrakBlue (Jun 17, 2016)

anumberone said:


> If you have to ask you probably will. Be prepared.


Not true as others have stated. Plus she did a 4 hour trip with no problem.


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## Cho Cho Charlie (Jun 17, 2016)

On one cruise, we hit rough waters. At dinner, the water in our glasses was sloshing all around.

Didn't bother me one bit while I was the ship.

However, later when we arrived home, my house was rocking back and forth for about a day.


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## AmtrakBlue (Jun 17, 2016)

Cho Cho Charlie said:


> On one cruise, we hit rough waters. At dinner, the water in our glasses was sloshing all around.
> 
> Didn't bother me one bit while I was the ship.
> 
> However, later when we arrived home, my house was rocking back and forth for about a day.


Sounds like my parents. After one trip my mom said the house across the street was moving down the street. My parents have sea legs (dad had a boat at one time) and they were one of the few people in the dining room during rough seas - rough enough for the bags to be in the hallways.


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## Chey (Jun 17, 2016)

I'm prone to motion sickness, but I've never had it on a train. I felt slightly queasy once in the dining car sitting backwards but since then I've asked them to seat me facing forward, they seemed to understand the problem and they've complied with my request cheerfully so far. If they ever didn't then I'd request my dinner in my room.

I rode the SWC from CHI to LMY a couple of weeks ago and the track in Kansas was so rough that the rocking woke me up - that has not happened to me on a train before. It brought to mind the way my father used to wake me up if I didn't get up the first time...but it didn't make me sick.


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## chakk (Jun 17, 2016)

The NSB (Norway's national railway) stocks each seat on its trains between Oslo and Stavenger with barf bags -- just like the airlines around the world -- because the route is quite curvy and their trains take them at high speed with active tilting. The tilting precenta passengers from being thrown sideways, but one still feels the rotational acceleration through the many turns. Especially noticable in the eastern section between Kristiansand and Konnsberg.


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## neroden (Jun 18, 2016)

blackpup said:


> I was wondering if LD train riders are prone to motion sickness? I mean I'm not sure how bumpy the tracks are on the CL or SM. I do need Dramamine and wrist patches when I go on a cruise, so just wondering if trains are like that. I rode a train for 4 hours once on EB, and didn't have any problems, but that was only 4 hours. Thanks.


Somne people do. However, I get motion sick in buses, cars, airplanes and boats but not on trains, and that's fairly common. Bring the Dramamine and the wrist patches just in case, but you probably won't need them.


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## Asher (Jun 18, 2016)

AmtrakBlue said:


> anumberone said:
> 
> 
> > If you have to ask you probably will. Be prepared.
> ...


What's not true, probably will get sick or be prepared? Im thinking if a person has reason to ask then be prepared for what may.


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## AmtrakBlue (Jun 18, 2016)

anumberone said:


> AmtrakBlue said:
> 
> 
> > anumberone said:
> ...


"Probably get sick"
I even said take the stuff just in case.


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## FormerOBS (Jun 19, 2016)

Short answer: I don't know. Motion sickness on a train is rare, but some people may be affected.

Long answer: Anecdotes.

1. When Amtrak was doing the research that led to development of the Acela, some European trains were tested in the US. A friend of mine was on special assignment, involved in passenger service on those trains. She said she noticed that at least one of the European trains had permanently mounted seats, with half the seats facing forward and half backward. When she asked the traveling European representatives about this, they were surprised at the question and said the issue had never been raised before. When I have heard this issue brought up on Amtrak, the affected passengers have usually been (apparently) of Northern European descent. My question is, why are northern Europeans affected here, and not there? Of course, there may be factors that I'm not aware of.

2. Many years ago, I was seating passengers in one of our old Heritage Buffet diners. We were 100% booked, and had to use every seat. A lady came in and said she had to sit facing forward. I directed her to a forward-facing seat. It was dark out, and we were between towns, with no lights, so there was no way to visually see which way we were traveling. "NO, NO," she said. "I need to sit the other way!" and she sat down in a rear-facing seat. I wasn't about to argue, and continued to seat passengers until every seat was occupied. Then we came to a small town where the streetlights were on. I guess she figured it out, but I didn't address the issue further. She chose not to trust me; she chose her own seat; and by then there was no other seat where I could move her. She didn't get sick, and never complained.

I personally believe it's more in the head than in the stomach, but I'm not really qualified to guarantee that I am right. Whatever the source of the problem, it is real in a very small number of cases, and I don't want to cast aspersions on those who are affected.

Tom


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## coleallen (Jan 26, 2020)

I once took the Southwest Chief #4 from Los Angeles, all the way to Chicago and during the ride as the train was going through Arizona on the morning of Day 2, right after I had breakfast, my stomach began to feel tight and nauseous, so I tried to run to the bathroom, but I didn’t make it. I threw up in the Sightseer Lounge Car at one of the table seats between the window and the seat, causing the vomit to go under the seat. I reported this to the Coach attendant and she told me she’d be back and to not move. A few minutes later, she comes back with another attendant who had a bag full of coffee grounds. He reached under the table and poured the coffee grounds all over the spill in order to absorb the liquid, and then they put a sign on that table telling passengers not to sit there. 

The thing is, the vomit remained there for the rest of the trip. 2 hours before we arrived into Chicago, I looked under the table and saw that the vomit and coffee grounds were STILL under the table and it had never been cleaned up. I was surprised and I wonder - HOW do they ever clean up vomit on a train if they can’t mop the floors during the trip and why didn’t they just remove the vomit from the floor? 

5 months after that trip, it happened again where I was riding on the Southbound Coast Starlight train and as we were going over the Cuesta Pass adjacent to SLO, I threw up on the floor right next to one of the seats near the stairs. This was due to high nervousness of a sexual harassment lecture - when you’re very worried about something, it can physically pressure your stomach to the point where you vomit. On that occasion, I reported the vomiting incident to Amtrak staff and it was cleaned up immediately, but the question is: why would the vomit be cleaned immediately on that occasion, but not on the SW Chief?? Please explain. Thank you


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