In November 2014 Amtrak began a Thruway bus service between Richmond and Charlottesville to meet trains 19 & 20, the Crescent. This involves 2 trips per day as the arrival times are 10 hours apart; the similar service for the Cardinal only requires 1 roundtrip of the bus as the 50/51 arrival times are only about an hour apart. I took advantage of this service for the first time to meet the Palmetto in Richmond. There were 3 passengers. I asked the driver if this was typical and he said yes, generally, though he sometimes has 15 passengers getting off the Crescent(20) transferring to Richmond. The station agent had told me on another occasion that if there is no one reserved for the bus they don't run it that day.
Upon arrival in Richmond I had a 3 hour wait for the Palmetto(89) so I stashed my rollerbag with the agent (for free) and walked around nearby shopping centers and got some lunch as well as a sub sandwich to take with me. I was given an assigned seat as I boarded the Amfleet II (more leg room, foot rest, leg rest, curtains, etc). I forgot to notice if the entire consist was Amfleet IIs or mixed. The train was quite busy. The coach was so cold that I spent about half the trip in the cafe/lounge car though I did nothing to relieve the F&B deficit. We arrived in Charleston about 15 minutes late - the same we left RVR with. The last coach was barred off and I think remained empty the whole way but I didn't check at the end.
For my return trip, train 90 arrived CHS on time. Boarding, I was told to take any seat I wanted in the Amfleet I coach (much less leg room, no foot rest, no leg rest etc.). Again I failed to notice the rest of the consist except that it was 1 new baggage car, 1 business class coach, cafe/lounge + 4 coaches. By Florence SC my car was full except for seats marked "Do Not Sit Here" by the crew. The temperature was fine and I was comfortable in my window seat so I hardly left the seat the whole trip. There seemed to be quite a bit of offing and oning at most stops along the way. The train was on time the entire trip.
I had a 2 hour wait for the bus so I stashed my bag again and visited a Mediterranean Market and Deli in the nearest shopping center for dinner that I had noticed before. It was great with a super friendly and entertaining proprieter- highly recommended! I boarded the 6019 bus at 7pm and I was the only passenger. When we arrived in Charlottesville I spoke to the driver and he said that was a typical load - sometimes he had 3. As there was no one reserved from train 19 he immediately deadheaded back. I was aghast! That huge new modern coach roundtrip from Richmond just for me! The busses appeared to be brand new and are emblazoned with AMTRAK THRUWAY BUS SERVICE. They are clean, quiet and the wifi works flawlessly, even streaming video! The busses used for the Cardnial connection are marked JAMES RIVER TRANSPORTATION CO and don't say anything about Amtrak.
By the way, Charleston has adequate public transportation near the station. Bus #10 is about a 3 minute walk away on River Avenue and takes you right into the tourist center of the city. It runs at differing intervals through the day but the schedule is on line and they run accordingly. Additionally the CARTA website has a 'bus checker' feature that shows you real time position of the busses on any route and how long til the next bus arrives at any stop. This was very reassuring to me, an old veteran of public transit who has waited interminably for busses in rain, wind, snow and baking sun. There are 3 trolley lines downtown that are free and take you most places you want to go. They were generally chockablock full of tourists.
Upon arrival in Richmond I had a 3 hour wait for the Palmetto(89) so I stashed my rollerbag with the agent (for free) and walked around nearby shopping centers and got some lunch as well as a sub sandwich to take with me. I was given an assigned seat as I boarded the Amfleet II (more leg room, foot rest, leg rest, curtains, etc). I forgot to notice if the entire consist was Amfleet IIs or mixed. The train was quite busy. The coach was so cold that I spent about half the trip in the cafe/lounge car though I did nothing to relieve the F&B deficit. We arrived in Charleston about 15 minutes late - the same we left RVR with. The last coach was barred off and I think remained empty the whole way but I didn't check at the end.
For my return trip, train 90 arrived CHS on time. Boarding, I was told to take any seat I wanted in the Amfleet I coach (much less leg room, no foot rest, no leg rest etc.). Again I failed to notice the rest of the consist except that it was 1 new baggage car, 1 business class coach, cafe/lounge + 4 coaches. By Florence SC my car was full except for seats marked "Do Not Sit Here" by the crew. The temperature was fine and I was comfortable in my window seat so I hardly left the seat the whole trip. There seemed to be quite a bit of offing and oning at most stops along the way. The train was on time the entire trip.
I had a 2 hour wait for the bus so I stashed my bag again and visited a Mediterranean Market and Deli in the nearest shopping center for dinner that I had noticed before. It was great with a super friendly and entertaining proprieter- highly recommended! I boarded the 6019 bus at 7pm and I was the only passenger. When we arrived in Charlottesville I spoke to the driver and he said that was a typical load - sometimes he had 3. As there was no one reserved from train 19 he immediately deadheaded back. I was aghast! That huge new modern coach roundtrip from Richmond just for me! The busses appeared to be brand new and are emblazoned with AMTRAK THRUWAY BUS SERVICE. They are clean, quiet and the wifi works flawlessly, even streaming video! The busses used for the Cardnial connection are marked JAMES RIVER TRANSPORTATION CO and don't say anything about Amtrak.
By the way, Charleston has adequate public transportation near the station. Bus #10 is about a 3 minute walk away on River Avenue and takes you right into the tourist center of the city. It runs at differing intervals through the day but the schedule is on line and they run accordingly. Additionally the CARTA website has a 'bus checker' feature that shows you real time position of the busses on any route and how long til the next bus arrives at any stop. This was very reassuring to me, an old veteran of public transit who has waited interminably for busses in rain, wind, snow and baking sun. There are 3 trolley lines downtown that are free and take you most places you want to go. They were generally chockablock full of tourists.
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