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Amfleet IIs and Superliners have the same seat pitch and it is greater than other car types, since they are used for long distance service. I don't know if there are seat pitch differences between Amfleet Is and Horizons, but both are much less than Amfleet IIs and Superliners. I also don't know the seat pitch on the new Siemens cars.
Acela BC struck me as having more room than the Amfleet Is on the Regionals, but I've only ridden Acela BC once, so cannot say for sure.
jis
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Here is an old thread that has some useful relevant information:
https://www.amtraktrains.com/threads/seat-comfort.47005/
https://www.amtraktrains.com/threads/seat-comfort.47005/
BCL
Engineer
The California Cars don't have the same amount of legroom as Superliner equipment. When I rode Capitol Corridor regularly, sometimes there was a Superliner cafe car with long-distance coach seating on the upper level and I preferred all the legroom. The regular seating on California Cars have less legroom and most don't even have reclining seats, with the exception of some Pacific Surfliner equipment. They have a different style tray that has to be pulled up before being dropped into the horizontal position.
I think the Amfleet seats had far less legroom.
I think the Amfleet seats had far less legroom.
Maglev
Conductor
The new seats on the Superliners are very comfortable. I think they have new cushions as well as a new impermeable plastic covering compared to the old cloth. I had thought the seats might get sweaty, but I had no problem of that nor did I feel as if I were sliding around.
The seat pitch is as great as possible to still be able to reach a foot rest mounted on the seat in front.
The seat pitch is as great as possible to still be able to reach a foot rest mounted on the seat in front.
My wife and I typically ride western trains, so our experience is mostly in Superliner equipment. Imagine our surprise when we boarded the Vermonter in White River Junction and found the seats so close together. Horizon cars, I assume...
Actually Amfleet I cars. Horizon cars are Box shaped.
The Am 1s are not considered "long distance" cars. The AM-2 used on the single level LD trains would have seating more lie the SL cars.
jis
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Superliners have 50" pitch. Amfleet I Coach Cars have 39" pitch. It has been that way for a long long time. They are for use on Corridor trains, not Long Distance trains.
Incidentally Brightline has a pitch of 39" in both Smart and Premium Class. The Premium Class seats are wider than Smart Class seats by 2".
I am not sure what the BC seat space dimensions are in the Venture Cars. Coach seats have 39" pitch.
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Slightly off-topic, but does anyone else here find the Amfleet II LD seats in coach to be rather rock-solid in a not-so-comfortable way? I'm curious if that is the case with the refurbished Superliner seats - the last Superliner I was on was the Texas Eagle with the old cloth-covered seats.
Kbyrdleroydogg
Service Attendant
I can't afford a roomette as I usually take from CHI to NYP but I'm scared to death of Coach. Screaming babies, rude passengers, people on their cells all night, and people talking loudly. Am I wrong to be weary of Coach?
Do i have to stay in the seat or can I go to an observation car and hang out there?
Do i have to stay in the seat or can I go to an observation car and hang out there?
Here's an Amfleet 2 coach seat:
And here's a Superliner Coach Seat:
They're both roomy, but I think the Superliner has a little more legroom.
And here's a Superliner Coach Seat:
They're both roomy, but I think the Superliner has a little more legroom.
While I've had some noisy or rude passengers in coach, usually everybody is pretty well behaved. In any event, if you're on a Superliner train with a sightseer lounge, you certainly can go and hang out there. On the single level trains you can hang out in the cafe car, but lately there have been issues with staff taking up too much table space and sometimes evicting passengers from the car. Not sure what the official policy is, but I've heard stories of it happening, and back in 2019 (pre-pandemic), I was told by the conductor the vacate the "diner-lounge" for a period while riding the Cardinal for no apparent reason, and I was in a sleeper, and one of the deals of Flex Dining was that we were allowed use of the "diner lounge" during the trip. (I'm not sure if they kicked people out of the coach end of the car.)
No need to be "scared" of coach. Yes, a chance of some noisy passengers, but it typically doesn't last too long. I usually get get up and go to the observation or cafe car for awhile.
A more meaningful concern might be how well you can sleep in the coach seat. They are large and comfortable for sitting and have lots of leg room. But finding a comfortable position for sleeping is more difficult. How well you sleep varies a lot from person to person. I usually end up getting 2 to 5 hours, but not all at once. For me it is doable for one night but I wouldn't want to do it for a longer trip than that.
A more meaningful concern might be how well you can sleep in the coach seat. They are large and comfortable for sitting and have lots of leg room. But finding a comfortable position for sleeping is more difficult. How well you sleep varies a lot from person to person. I usually end up getting 2 to 5 hours, but not all at once. For me it is doable for one night but I wouldn't want to do it for a longer trip than that.
Steve's Wanderlust
Train Attendant
Superliners' upper level coach seats seem more more comfortable than Amfleet II for me, seemingly due to the lower level absorbing most of the feel of bumps from railbed/switches/etc. That's not to call Amfleets shabby in any way. I find I only sleep marginally less well in coach vs. sleeper accommodations. A lot of it owes to how heavy a sleeper one is. I'm personally adept at falling asleep on my back but am otherwise extremely easily awoken. Thus it seems to not matter whether I'm enclosed in a room or open to the other coach pax - I awaken somewhat groggier than I do at home but mostly pleased to be onboard the train just for the sake of travel.
The randomness of whether fellow coach pax are more/less talkative is a chance on par with whether the car's temperature is to one's liking. On my trip onboard the Silver Star/Cardinal/EB last year my daughter and I luckily had cars with good a/c, fellow pax were amicably scented and civil in their volume levels. Walking through other coach cars proved luck to be with us as some cars were not as temperature pleasing to us and some had zones of body odor. Though much owes itself to whether OBS have the initiative and means to mitigate bathroom conditions. I work a convenience store that sees a lot of OTR truck drivers, travelers and day laborers so I understand the staff's struggles.
The randomness of whether fellow coach pax are more/less talkative is a chance on par with whether the car's temperature is to one's liking. On my trip onboard the Silver Star/Cardinal/EB last year my daughter and I luckily had cars with good a/c, fellow pax were amicably scented and civil in their volume levels. Walking through other coach cars proved luck to be with us as some cars were not as temperature pleasing to us and some had zones of body odor. Though much owes itself to whether OBS have the initiative and means to mitigate bathroom conditions. I work a convenience store that sees a lot of OTR truck drivers, travelers and day laborers so I understand the staff's struggles.
DavidSh
Train Attendant
In a few hundred trips on the Northeast Corridor, I've never had a problem with leaving things in the overhead rack. My concern is usually more to leave something at my seat so that somebody doesn't move into it.
But I've never ridden coach off the Corridor, and I don't carry anything more valuable than a laptop computer.
But I've never ridden coach off the Corridor, and I don't carry anything more valuable than a laptop computer.
While there are no guarantees, I've travelled tens of thousands of miles on Amtrak and never had anything disappear. That said, it wouldn't hurt to have a small bag to carry your laptop, phone, cash, etc. with you. Bad guys generally don't make a point of travelling by train. Just don't leave anything obviously valuable sitting around. The overhead should be fine.
I tend to be a cautious person. Anything that would wreck my life if I lost it goes with me. That includes my keys/fobs, wallet, phone, tablet, passport if applicable, and RXs. Okay, "wreck" is an exaggeration, but replacing those items would be seriously inconvenient relative to their light weight and the minor inconvenience of carrying them. Clothes and toiletries? I leave them unguarded. In fact my big bag is usually in the luggage rack, at the end of the car or (in a Superliner) on the floor below, which works wholly on the honor system and has never been a problem.
The only extra precaution I take in the circumstances you describe is not leaving a bag unattended when the train is due at a station before I return to my seat.
The only extra precaution I take in the circumstances you describe is not leaving a bag unattended when the train is due at a station before I return to my seat.
And DavidSh makes a good point about throwing something on your seat, a sweater perhaps, especially if you have a pair of seats. Technically the conductor will place a "seat check" tag in the clip over the seat, but lots of people don't even know about it and will grab a solo window seat if they can.
A couple of comparisons: KCS had some relatively modern 72-seat coaches in which the seat centers were 41¼ inches, except for the front row which was 30½ inches from the conductor's desk. A 1961 Budd leg-rest coach for the UP had 44 seats spaced at 52 inches, except for the disappointed people sitting in the front row at 39½ inches. Many if their coaches were on two-night trips. Budd built coaches for the one-night Denver Zephyr with 47 inch spacing. The people in the end row scrunched up at 39¾ inches.
Exvalley
Conductor
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I just booked a coach ticket on the Auto Train. There are two adults and one teenager traveling, so we needed two rooms. The room price was high enough that I’d rather just drive the whole way.
I am definitely apprehensive about spending a night in coach. But as of now the train (August departure) is only 10 percent full, which should help. And we will make sure that we have no plans on the day we arrive so I can take it easy.
Coach tickets will cost about $300 more than the out of pocket driving costs, which I thought was fair. I already have a 9.5 hour drive to get to Lorton, so this saves me back to back days of a very long drive. I have a work provided vehicle so wear and tear is not a factor.
I am debating asking for seats in the lower section if we can get a nearly empty section to ourselves. I'm just not sure how much light spills in from the vestibule area.
Just two of us are making the return trip, so I splurged for a bedroom.
I am definitely apprehensive about spending a night in coach. But as of now the train (August departure) is only 10 percent full, which should help. And we will make sure that we have no plans on the day we arrive so I can take it easy.
Coach tickets will cost about $300 more than the out of pocket driving costs, which I thought was fair. I already have a 9.5 hour drive to get to Lorton, so this saves me back to back days of a very long drive. I have a work provided vehicle so wear and tear is not a factor.
I am debating asking for seats in the lower section if we can get a nearly empty section to ourselves. I'm just not sure how much light spills in from the vestibule area.
Just two of us are making the return trip, so I splurged for a bedroom.
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I'm booked for a two nights on coach. When I first booked it was 10% full a couple of months ago, trip is in June, now 40% full. Price went from $128 when I first started looking, by the time I pulled the trigger it was $166. It's now $207.
When you book a few months out it is usually 10 to 30% full. By the time you leave it’s usually 90 to 100% full.
Kbyrdleroydogg
Service Attendant
I'm on the Cardinal from Washington DC Union Station to Chicago Union Station. I'm in Coach.
Can I sit anywhere there is a seat or will I be assigned to sit somewhere?
Can I sit anywhere there is a seat or will I be assigned to sit somewhere?
