Amfleet 2 LD coach seat vs. Superliner LD coach seat

[MARC Rider]

I had the opportunity to ride An Amfleet 2 coach on one day and then a Superliner coach the next day. Am I imagining things, or does the Superliner coach seet have more legroom?


Here's the Amfleet 2 Coach seat.



. . . And here's the Superliner coach seat.

I did have an issue with the tray table on the Superliner not sliding back bar enough for me to easily reach my food.

NOTE: We're not talking here about Amfleet 1 coach seats used in corridor service. I know they are a bit skimpy on the legroom. This is a comparison of coach seats used for long-distance service.

 

[Cal]

I could imagine that the Superliners have more legroom as they haven't been refurbished recently. Which seat is more comfortable?

 

[Trogdor]

I think the Superliners have a slight bit of extra pitch vs. the Amfleets. I’ve noticed that in the past, though it’s been a long time since I’ve been in an Am-II. Refurbished or not makes no difference, as Amtrak hasn’t changed the seat count on the IIs.

IIRC, the Superliners have 60 seats on the upper level, which compares with the 60 (or is it 59 + a wheelchair space?) on the Am-IIs. But the Amfleets have restrooms and vestibules taking up the space (though the Supers have a staircase on one side, so…).

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

I'm not sure of the exact measurements, but Superliners have significantly more legroom than Amfleet IIs.

 

[bratkinson]

I'm not sure of the exact measurements, but Superliners have significantly more legroom than Amfleet IIs.

A couple of years ago, when I was a very regular Amtrak passenger, I carried a tape measure with me to measure the 'legroom' between seats on different equipment that I rode. I measured legroom, the distance from the front of my seat cushion to the back of the seat ahead (tray table arms) when both my seat and the one in front are in full upright position. I did not measure 'pitch', best measured from the front of mounting at the floor to the front of mounting at the floor of the next seat. In a hurry, headrest to headrest measurement would suffice if both were upright.

As Mr McDonnell pointed out, there's more legroom in a Superliner than Amfleet II coach. In particular, the Superliner comes in at 24" legroom and the Amfleet II, 22". I much prefer the cloth seats to the faux leather 'redo' in coach, especially for long distance travel. It's more like 'home', in my opinion...spills and all.

Compare to Amfleet I NEC 64 seat Business class car at 20", and NEC Amfleet I coach at 12". And to confuse things, Horizon coach at 14", and Pacific Surfliner BC at 24" (on '1' side, 19" on '2' side) And lastly, Amfleet I split cafe/18 seat BC gets 18".

I haven't flown in maybe 15 years now. What's their coach legroom these days? 7-8"?

 

[railiner]

A couple of years ago, when I was a very regular Amtrak passenger, I carried a tape measure with me to measure the 'legroom' between seats on different equipment that I rode. I measured legroom, the distance from the front of my seat cushion to the back of the seat ahead (tray table arms) when both my seat and the one in front are in full upright position. I did not measure 'pitch', best measured from the front of mounting at the floor to the front of mounting at the floor of the next seat. In a hurry, headrest to headrest measurement would suffice if both were upright.

As Mr McDonnell pointed out, there's more legroom in a Superliner than Amfleet II coach. In particular, the Superliner comes in at 24" legroom and the Amfleet II, 22". I much prefer the cloth seats to the faux leather 'redo' in coach, especially for long distance travel. It's more like 'home', in my opinion...spills and all.

Compare to Amfleet I NEC 64 seat Business class car at 20", and NEC Amfleet I coach at 12". And to confuse things, Horizon coach at 14", and Pacific Surfliner BC at 24" (on '1' side, 19" on '2' side) And lastly, Amfleet I split cafe/18 seat BC gets 18".

I haven't flown in maybe 15 years now. What's their coach legroom these days? 7-8"?

Thanks for taking the trouble to measure. Standard practice for comparison purposes, at least for airlines is the "pitch method" you mentioned. Thickness of seat, and the design itself, can skew the true space allotted to each row.