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For those taking the Autotrain I would caution you not to go during "snowbird months. I would guess that's Oct-Nov.-Jan going south and April-May going North. The train frequently sells out and the wait for meals can be significant. From past experience May was a good travel month on that route...

SEPTA and NJ Transit still generate paper timetables and we find them to be a very useful tool. Even if its a downloadable online timetable at least its something to reference but Amtrak no longer has that. Thank goodness for RPA that provides something..

The best information that I can find on trains 3 and 4 is; as of today 4/30/24 is the line has reopened and trains are running again. There are two tracks where the derailment occurred. My guess is that one track is open while the other is being repaired but I have no official information. For...

As freight trains get longer and longer, the chances of derailments greatly increase. All it takes is one of a hundred or so cars to burn a bearing or break an axle and disaster strikes. Shipping is all about the bottom line and that has created these very long trains. The other drawback is that...

Its looks like $20-$300/night is the new norm for hotels. If you are visiting Northern AZ the station at Flagstaff is only three short blocks and a 10 minute walk from the Marriott Spring Hill suites. Great accommodations but over $300/night. The only place that I know of where rates are...

Ive been satisfied with the service from FNBO. The people at Omaha seem very nice and caring. That pretty much agrees with our experience with all the people when we visited a few years ago. The interest on all credit card balances is through the roof right now. We always pay promptly.

Great info here but on freight rail that might be less efficient than passenger rail but moving 520 tons of freight on one gallon of fuel sounds pretty efficient. Fuel Efficiency CSX

Your train arrives right at Union Station. Commuter and LD Amtrak lines converge in the same area.

I believe the easy answer is to put a little phone/buzzer communicator placed at the Philadelphia lounge elevator just like the one at the door upstairs and the one in WAS. . You press a button the lounge attendant answers and you state your business. This would be a very lost cost solution and...

Monynihan Lounge (NYC) was set up with an elevator with free access. You show your tickets at the desk when you get off. In Washington (WAS) you push a button they will open the door and again you show your tickets at the desk. in Chicago (CHI) you just walk right in and show your tickets near...

Philadelphia has been our departing stop when we leave on long distance trips. To get to the lounge from the station you must haul your baggage up a long series of steps. We usually do that but this year myself and my wife are having back issues and am looking for an easier way to get to the...

If the truth be known, train travel is FAR less polluting than air travel. Its not about miles per gallon it about how much fuel is used per passenger per mile. For instance if you have 300 people on the train and fuel consumption is only one mile per gallon, the fuel used to transport that...

Having not answered the original question , we would prefer to not have the 5 hour layover at Chicago Union Station but this is not 1960 where most trains ran on schedule. If it would be possible one hour would be plenty.

Passenger rail can certainly be improved but it will never be what it once was. At one time many small towns in NJ like Neshanic Station had rail service, Both the CNJ and Lackawanna had stations there that still exist. Same with Flemington and Lambertville. Across the river Easton and New...

The long layovers in Chicago for the Western trains are done for a purpose; to accommodate delays that happen on routes owned by the freight railroads. It increases the likelihood of making your connection and not missing your train. If we arrive on time we go over to Greektown (about a 4 block...

The term "kosher" refers to food that follows Jewish dietary law. It requires strict preparation and chosen ingredients. For instance Dairy and Meat cannot be combined in the same meal. It may or may not taste better than an ordinary "Flex" meal.

I see no reason why the Eastern trains could not offer these Shish Kabob skewers. They can be precooked, plated, refrigerated and reheated in the convection oven. The Cardinal always did stuff like this before the horrible flex meals were introduced.

Alluding to the opening post it should be noted that Amtrak checked baggage service is only available at a few select stations, mainly those in larger cities or stops where boarding is usually heavy. The Amtrak timetables used to specify where service was available but Amtrak no longer prints...

I believe logic would suggest that the CL will be going to single level equipment due to the severe shortage of Superliner sleepers. There won't be more Superliners for quite a while so Amtrak is in a difficult position.

Last time we rode SEPTA, we just scanned our credit cards to get through the turnstile. I would assume that the the senior key cards would scan the same way