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Took Tri-Rail up to Fort Lauderdale and had time to catch the Star arriving while waiting for a bus connection. Managed to get a video - was kind of neat to see given we don’t get sleepers/diners in Michigan.

I’m in Miami Beach for a couple weeks to escape the Michigan winter, and wanted to go up to Fort Lauderdale for the NHL All-Star Beach Festival. As such, I decided to take Brightline, something I had long wanted to do - have been intrigued by it being the only privately-operated passenger train...

Yeah - it would be nice if they could do something via the shorter route through Canada, though knowing CBP and CBSA these days they’d probably insist on two customs checks for all passengers, even if the entire train ran sealed and non-stop through Canada (You’d also be skipping Cleveland...

Living in Michigan, I’ve taken that thruway bus a few times. It’s not bad connecting from the westbound trains or connecting to the eastbound Capitol Limited if it’s on time. Getting on at midnight or off at 5-6am isn’t ideal, but is tolerable (just go to bed or get up as soon as you get on/off...

I got Royale for free when on the University of Maryland campus (I work there remotely and visit in person occasionally), and apparently also get it for free through EZfare (which handles the mobile ticketing for the buses here in Ann Arbor). So definitely check if your local agencies offer it...

350 was cancelled because 355 was terminated in Kalamazoo due to a trespasser incident. Given the timing of that, I figure the call to cancel 350 was probably made after midnight - which is horrible timing, but might be unavoidable in the situation…

The Park car is accessible after 4pm to Sleeper Plus passengers during peak season - or at least that was the case in summer 2022. Typically peak season starts sometime in April and ends sometime in October.

There’s also the Sightseer Lounge, which is only available on western trains (except the Texas Eagle). The western trains also tend to have better scenery as well. Given that and the food, I’d say the western trains offer the best experience, though some may prefer Viewliner sleepers over...

Just did a day trip on 350 and 355 - Ann Arbor to Troy and back. The consist had 3 Venture cars and 2 cafe cars. It had 4 Ventures when 350 went back into service on Wednesday, but I heard one of the had problems, apparently necessitating the swap. Figure the extra cafe must be for axle count or...

I’ve been wanting to check out the new Venture cars on the Wolverine, and finally got the opportunity today. I had previously booked train 350 as my return from the Empire Builder trip after they started using Ventures on that, only for equipment to be swapped around due to a service disruption...

Someone on the Facebook group “Amtrak Michigan Line” posted a picture of 350 running with 4 Venture coaches. Happy to see them back - perhaps I will plan a trip soon…

I’ve gone across to go to CFL games (and mentioned it to CBSA), which probably sounds much weirder than going to a hockey game. Though they never had an issue with it (nor did they when I came to take the Canadian). I crossed at the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel - was dropped off the first two times...

350 (and presumably 355 this evening) is back today for the first time in over a month. Curious if this is running with Venture cars - may head down to the Ann Arbor station tonight to see what’s on 355.

They are at least providing alternative transportation for 355 - figure 350 passengers probably could be accommodated on 352 and/or 354 (though I hope you weren’t planning something this afternoon in Michigan), though 355 passengers don’t really have another option unless they wanted to leave...

They would find there’s nothing for them to fill out. Right now ArriveCAN only offers advance CBSA declaration, which is only offered at select airports.

Today’s expected resumption of 350 and 355 (pushed back from yesterday last week) was cancelled with only a few hours notice to those boarding 350 in CHI. No details as to why this happened - wondering if the staff/equipment needed for the resumption was not available in time. If I was booked on...

They’re supposed to resume the third Wolverine on October 25th. That date was previously October 24th, but pushed back a day - which is actually what messed up my plans. I was going to take the Wolverine to CHI tomorrow and wanted to change my return from Sunday afternoon to Monday morning...

Cool. I’d like to ride one of these, but I’m guessing it’s hard to figure out what trains they’ll be running on. Hoping it starts running on Windsor-Toronto (being my closest VIA route) soon…

As an update to my case, Customer Relations issued a new voucher, but it was a Transportation Voucher instead of the original eVoucher - meaning it can only be used once. I called to see if they could give me an eVoucher (or failing that a refund), and they said it is not possible. They said I...

I would at least hope you could change or cancel a trip without calling, though. The problem with having to call then is if you miss a train and can’t get through before it departs, you end up with a no-show and losing the money/voucher you spent on the trip. In my case, there was a slim chance...