J
Jon
Guest
My family and I (4 of us, including 2 children) will be taking the Carolinian from Wilson, NC 10 hours to NYC. Is business class worth it?
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Shortline
Conductor
It is to me, becuase it's usually quieter-Mostly business/profesional types, fewer families with young children playing games, music, etc. I am not positive, but the Carolinian is (I belive) equipped with Amfleet coaches, when I've been in business class, it has been in a 2/1 configuration, (2 seats on 1 side, 1 seat on the other) so you may prefer to have a regular coach, with 2+2 seating. Again though, not sure what equipment that train has. Depending on the age of your children, may not be worth it. I don't thnk I would go that route with my family, but do when I'm going solo.
Acela150
Super Buff
The Carolinian always runs the 60 seat BC car. It's a 10hour ride if you want the extra legroom the I say yes. But also those BC cars have tables and fit four easy.
Swadian Hardcore
Engineer
I would suggest going for the Business Class. It's not much more and the extra legroom is worth it. Even though the Carolinian runs with a 60 seater business class, is it Amfleet I or II?
All Amfleet I.
Swadian Hardcore
Engineer
Are the Amfleet I 60 seater BC cars on par with Amfleet II Coaches? If so, why not use Amfleet I BC on some LDs as coaches?
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Because they're needed elsewhere. They might have smaller bathrooms, too.
When one of the coaches on 448/449 is bad-ordered out of BOS, Southampton will use an Amfleet I 60-seater.
Swadian Hardcore
Engineer
Could someone post interior flooplans/photographs to show the difference?
abcnews
OBS Chief
I recently rode Carolinian and I was in Business Class. The seats are much better than in coach. More legroom, and also - thicker, newer seats. The seats were 7 to 8 inches thick, which provides more cushion. I went back to the cafe car and noticed the coach seats were more like 5 inches.
Also - they have a table, at the end of the car (I think two tables?). So if you have a party of 4 you can sit facing each other with a table between you. Nice for a family.
I also love the Wilson Train Station. Hats off to the State of North Carolina for getting the station renovated. It is a gem...
Also - they have a table, at the end of the car (I think two tables?). So if you have a party of 4 you can sit facing each other with a table between you. Nice for a family.
I also love the Wilson Train Station. Hats off to the State of North Carolina for getting the station renovated. It is a gem...
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In keeping with the theme does anybody know what type of BC car the regional trains to Williamsburg VA. carry? Might be doing this run round trip from New Haven in March. If it were the 2-1 type club cars it would be worth it to book BC.
Only the overnight 66/67 use the 2-1 club seating. The daylight Regional(s) use standard 2-2 in BC.
Thanks. That what I thought. Too bad.
Everytime I ride Business Class on the Palmetto or Carolinian, I come to regret it except when I can get 2-1 seating. That being said, I haven't really been in coach on those trains during rush seasons, but usually I just do it anyway.
Many here know that I grew up in Japan. Over there, the first class cars are called "Green Seats". I was wikisurfing the other day and they have come out with a super first class on their Northern Shinkansen run called "Gran Class". The regular coach is 2x3 seating. The "Green Car" is 2x2 seating. The "Gran Class" is 2x1 seating and features electric recline with real leather-covered seats.
Comparing the Hayabusa Shinkansen to the Acela Express reveals some very striking similarities. Tokyo to Shin-Aomori is 446 miles. Washington DC to Boston is 453 miles. The cost for basic fare (typical Acela vs typical Shinkansen) is $190 & $196 respectively. The high end (Acela First vs Gran Class) is $312 vs $310 respectively. Both offer 2-1 seating in highest class. Here are the differences, though. The Acela offers a snack car and complimentary food for first class passengers. I don't think the Gran Class offers any freebies. Acela has 8 cars, 5 that carry passengers plus two locomotives and a cafe car for a passenger capacity of around 304. The Hyabusa has 10 EMU cars, each carrying passengers, and a total capacity of around 700.
The biggest diffence, though, is that the Shinkansen makes the distance in 3 hours and 10 minutes; the Acela covers almost the same distance in just over 6.6 hours. That's an AVERAGE speed of 143 MPH vs our paltry 68 MPH.
Wow. I sorta delved off topic here a bit...
Many here know that I grew up in Japan. Over there, the first class cars are called "Green Seats". I was wikisurfing the other day and they have come out with a super first class on their Northern Shinkansen run called "Gran Class". The regular coach is 2x3 seating. The "Green Car" is 2x2 seating. The "Gran Class" is 2x1 seating and features electric recline with real leather-covered seats.
Comparing the Hayabusa Shinkansen to the Acela Express reveals some very striking similarities. Tokyo to Shin-Aomori is 446 miles. Washington DC to Boston is 453 miles. The cost for basic fare (typical Acela vs typical Shinkansen) is $190 & $196 respectively. The high end (Acela First vs Gran Class) is $312 vs $310 respectively. Both offer 2-1 seating in highest class. Here are the differences, though. The Acela offers a snack car and complimentary food for first class passengers. I don't think the Gran Class offers any freebies. Acela has 8 cars, 5 that carry passengers plus two locomotives and a cafe car for a passenger capacity of around 304. The Hyabusa has 10 EMU cars, each carrying passengers, and a total capacity of around 700.
The biggest diffence, though, is that the Shinkansen makes the distance in 3 hours and 10 minutes; the Acela covers almost the same distance in just over 6.6 hours. That's an AVERAGE speed of 143 MPH vs our paltry 68 MPH.
Wow. I sorta delved off topic here a bit...
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