Hi Everyone,
I recently took my first-ever trip on Amtrak's Northeast Regional Trains (125 & 96) in December with some very close friends [who were originally Amtrak skeptics]. This is going to be somewhat of a commentary on my Southbound trip. We arrived at Amtrak's William H. Grey 30th Street Station around 11:30 am for a 1:00 pm departure (which we later discovered was extremely unnecessary). I have experienced Amtrak's specialty long-distance routes such as the Auto Train, where advanced arrival is well required. This was our first time departing from 30th Street Station which is a beautiful terminal, However, as we were waiting for our train in the concourse we were approached by droves of homeless residents of the City of Philadelphia who were looking for money. We had an individual approach us quite a few times, who we later notified Amtrak Police about as he was following us around and we were told that Amtrak could not remove them from the Station due to city ordinances. [sigh]
At 12:50 pm, our boarding instructions were assigned to us which was to report to Gate 5, at this time the Amtrak personnel assisted us down to the platforms of the train and assisted us with our bags, as I am semi-mobility impaired. Upon boarding, we discovered our train was almost already full, however, upon the advice of the conductor, we were able to find seats near the front of the train, which put us in a typical but nice Amfleet I Coach. Oddly on this particular day, this Northeast Regional had two Amfleet II's in the consist. Our Amfleet I, was equipped with Wi-Fi that was Semi-Working, which made streaming impossible!
Upon reaching, Havre De-Grace, Maryland, I took this picture of the beautiful Susquehanna River, (My View Out of My Ultra Comfortable Amfleet I)
When we got to Washington's Amtrak Union Station, we were told by the Assistant Conductor that we need to find seating in the back half of the train, as the front half no longer stays in operation south of Washington. we ended up getting seats facing each other in the front car. At around 5:00 pm, my friend and I got up and went to the Cafe Car and got food, it was okay, but the Cafe Food nowhere near compares to the traditional dining experience on the long-distance routes. Overall, We really enjoyed our trip and have already booked our next one for May of 2023. On this short distance, I managed to turn 3 skeptics of Amtrak into lifetime customers, they loved the: No Stress Boarding Protocols, Ample Leg Room, No Middle Seat, and Low Fares on the NEC.
Take Aways from this Trip Report:
1. Be careful in Amtrak's 30th Street Station
2. Download Movies or Streamed TV to your device prior to going!
3. Bring Snacks and other goodies on the ride
4. Sit back, Relax, and Enjoy the Journey
I recently took my first-ever trip on Amtrak's Northeast Regional Trains (125 & 96) in December with some very close friends [who were originally Amtrak skeptics]. This is going to be somewhat of a commentary on my Southbound trip. We arrived at Amtrak's William H. Grey 30th Street Station around 11:30 am for a 1:00 pm departure (which we later discovered was extremely unnecessary). I have experienced Amtrak's specialty long-distance routes such as the Auto Train, where advanced arrival is well required. This was our first time departing from 30th Street Station which is a beautiful terminal, However, as we were waiting for our train in the concourse we were approached by droves of homeless residents of the City of Philadelphia who were looking for money. We had an individual approach us quite a few times, who we later notified Amtrak Police about as he was following us around and we were told that Amtrak could not remove them from the Station due to city ordinances. [sigh]
At 12:50 pm, our boarding instructions were assigned to us which was to report to Gate 5, at this time the Amtrak personnel assisted us down to the platforms of the train and assisted us with our bags, as I am semi-mobility impaired. Upon boarding, we discovered our train was almost already full, however, upon the advice of the conductor, we were able to find seats near the front of the train, which put us in a typical but nice Amfleet I Coach. Oddly on this particular day, this Northeast Regional had two Amfleet II's in the consist. Our Amfleet I, was equipped with Wi-Fi that was Semi-Working, which made streaming impossible!
Upon reaching, Havre De-Grace, Maryland, I took this picture of the beautiful Susquehanna River, (My View Out of My Ultra Comfortable Amfleet I)
When we got to Washington's Amtrak Union Station, we were told by the Assistant Conductor that we need to find seating in the back half of the train, as the front half no longer stays in operation south of Washington. we ended up getting seats facing each other in the front car. At around 5:00 pm, my friend and I got up and went to the Cafe Car and got food, it was okay, but the Cafe Food nowhere near compares to the traditional dining experience on the long-distance routes. Overall, We really enjoyed our trip and have already booked our next one for May of 2023. On this short distance, I managed to turn 3 skeptics of Amtrak into lifetime customers, they loved the: No Stress Boarding Protocols, Ample Leg Room, No Middle Seat, and Low Fares on the NEC.
Take Aways from this Trip Report:
1. Be careful in Amtrak's 30th Street Station
2. Download Movies or Streamed TV to your device prior to going!
3. Bring Snacks and other goodies on the ride
4. Sit back, Relax, and Enjoy the Journey
