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Thanks for posting this, Alice. Although I'm not mobility-impaired myself, when I was traveling with my elderly father (who was), it was a constant nagging worry whether the next transfer from one form of transport to another would actually work as advertised: Would there actually be a redcap...

Has Amtrak given any explanation for why these service cuts stretch all the way into March? If they're mainly dealing with lots of staff out sick due to omicron, surely that will resolve in weeks, not months. Edit to add: Since last summer, I've been tracking county-by-county Covid stats in my...

One clarification: It's the Pacific Crest Trail, not Coast. Runs through the mountains in WA, OR, and CA, much of it through places remote from civilization. Count me among those who think that unreliable cellphone and internet coverage on long-distance trains is a feature, not a bug. Also that...

I'd say any January except this one is a fine time to go on the Zephyr. Right now, with Covid case rates spiking so very high---no way. I was looking forward to traveling on the Zephyr myself this January, with an overnight stop in Glenwood Springs. But I'm glad I've cancelled. Please consider...

I've never had food like that in a diner, and if I did I'd never go back. Flex food is most like frozen dinners at the cheap end of that aisle in a supermarket.

I'm with you about "heaven on a plate." But disagree about poblanos. We grow one poblano plant each summer specifically so we can make chile rellenos with the peppers. (No batter. Just dip in eggs then in seasoned cornmeal with maybe some flour--my husband cooks these, so I'm a bit hazy about...

Well, that begs the question whether Amtrak, as a taxpayer-subsidized public facility, should be constraining supply in a way that price-gouges a whole class of travelers. Perhaps better public policy would be to buy enough trainsets to run enough trains to support the whole operation with...

Personal favorite cheap eats in and around the French Quarter: Verti Marte on Royal St.---it's a tiny, ancient convenience store with a kitchen in the back that makes huge, juicy, drippy, savory poboys. No place to sit, but you're a short walk from a park near the French Market. (I'll second the...

IIRC, the band is set up on a stretch of Royal St. where cars aren't allowed, and musicians often play.

Email at 6AM today from Amtrak asking me to call them about my CZ trip eastbound arriving Denver 1/17. I'd previously received email (without request to call) about suspension of checked baggage into Denver, so I'm guessing this call request means they've cancelled this train--will try to call...

Dunno about now, but some years back a local car rental agency would meet the train with your rental, and allow you to drop the rental off at the station when you left on the train. Very convenient. YMMV now.

There's no reason this has to be either/or. Perhaps BOTH "told to antagonize" AND "dumb as dirt."

Also requires better calling times for the Crescent at ATL and points north. The schedule revision implemented earlier this year is a deal-killer for many or most of us north of ATL, and changing trains (or boarding to head for Florida) close to midnight in ATL would also be a deal-killer for many.

IIRC, the shuttle from Maricopa to Phx stopped running a while back. The 3-day-a-week schedule, plus poor timekeeping, must make this a very difficult route for any for-profit business to run. If you're planning to rent a car in AZ, you might consider taking the TX Eagle to Tucson, an easy two...

Thanks, all, for the encouraging info. I've made travel reservations, but might yet cancel depending on Covid (will we see another surge this winter? another variant?) and work.

The infrastructure bill, with $66 billion for Amtrak intact, passed the House last night and is headed to Pres. Biden for his signature.

Sorry I've been MIA from this forum for a while. Sometimes life gets busy.... I'm thinking of traveling out west in January--a few days in California, followed by the California Zephyr to Colorado. My question for the CZ experts here is: Make a 24-hour stop in Glenwood Springs, or travel...

In case this hasn't already been posted, NY Times and Washington Post coverage: here and here. Many of the comments on the WaPo article cite the long-deferred need for infrastructure spending.

Do we expect the military to make a profit? Public schools? Local fire departments? Amtrak has an obligation, as a taxpayer-supported service, to provide a reasonable bang for the buck--but to account for that solely in terms of ticket revenue is to be blind to the benefits such infrastructure...

There is a large gap between "free" and "as high as the wealthiest customer is willing to pay."