Coach or Business from NJ -> Washington DC Roundtrip?

[NJRonbo]

I have never taken Amtrak before and don't know what to expect when traveling with my girlfriend from New Jersey (METROPARK) to Washington DC (Union Square)

Coach prices are great. $20-$35 each way per person

We leave at 4 am from NJ on a holiday weekend. I am not concerned about finding a seat on the train at that hour.

My bigger concern is the ride home out of Washington DC, 10 am, on a holiday (Presidents Day) with only a coach ticket and no assigned seat.

Will it be difficult to find a seat for two people with coach? For piece of mind, is it worth paying significantly more for business class and an assigned seat? For some reason I imagine a stream of people rushing to board the train, all at once, to find seats.

Thanks for any insight you can provide

 

[Trogdor]

I don’t see presidents day (Washington’s Birthday) as really being a major travel holiday. Some people might take a long weekend if they get the day off (not everyone does), but the travel bump would be minimal, and offset by winter being a low travel period in general. If your train originates in DC, I’d imagine finding two seats together should be pretty easy.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

I agree that finding 2 seats together shouldn’t be an issue when boarding at DC. I do suggest walking the length of the train and getting in a car near the front of the train. Most people jump on the first few cars closest to the gate.

Some trains have an engine on both ends (118, which I think is your train, does) so don’t get confused and think the front of the train is near the gate if you see an engine first. The front is all the way down the platform.

 

[John Santos]

The key principle is that people don't like to walk and will try to board at the first open door they come to when going to the platform, so it is easier to find seats in the most distant car from the station. Generally, this means walking on the platform in which ever direction the train extends longest. (Some stations connect to the platforms in the middle, so it isn't obvious whether you should walk forward or backward on the platform, though.)

If it is a busy station, always make sure you are walking along the right train; if it is at all possible it is the wrong train, ask the conductor, or have them check your ticket and then ask if you can board at another door that looks less busy. If the train has sleepers (very few NEC trains do, except the Silvers and the Crescent), then the sleeper doors are only for the sleeper passengers. Sometimes the doors on the diner or lounge cars are open for stocking or maintenance, but passengers aren't allowed to use those doors. You usually will want to board through the doors on an ordinary coach. Sometimes coach passengers aren't allowed to use the doors on the business class cars.

It is much easier and faster to walk along the platform outside the train than to negotiate the aisle inside the train,so if you have time, you want to do that. However, if you are boarding at a quick stop, you should get on quickly. It won't leave while a conductor is still helping people board and checking tickets, but if you walk away, you could get left behind!

This probably seems more complicated than it really is. If there is a big crowd at the nearest door when you get to the platform, just look up and down the train to see if there is conductor and a smaller crowd of people at another door, and use that one. That will increase your chances of finding a pair of seats together. You can always ask a conductor for advice, too.

 

[Literalman]

At Union Station in Washington, on the main level, the rear end of the train will be near the station, so the front end, possibly less crowded, will be farther down the platform. If you are going to the lower level (for a train that came from anywhere in the South and is not originating at Washington), the front of the train going north will still be away from the station, and the rear of the train towards the tunnel. There should be an announcement about the location of the business class and quiet cars; as you know, you need a business class ticket for the business class car, and if you want to talk during the trip, don't sit in the quiet car.

 

[caravanman]

I kind of thought it would be a good idea to head down the platform to less crowded cars when boarding the Blue Line train at O'Hare airport, after midnight... Nope, the respectable passengers were all in the first few cars! It became more "wild west" the further I went from the platform access! Lesson learnt!

 

[BoulderCO]

I have never taken Amtrak before and don't know what to expect when traveling with my girlfriend from New Jersey (METROPARK) to Washington DC (Union Square)

Will it be difficult to find a seat for two people with coach? For piece of mind, is it worth paying significantly more for business class and an assigned seat? For some reason I imagine a stream of people rushing to board the train, all at once, to find seats.

Thanks for any insight you can provide

Since it is a completely new experience, why not go coach one way and business class one way. By doing that you will have a good comparison between the two grades of services and will know which one to use on your next train trip.

 

[Acela150]

I have never taken Amtrak before and don't know what to expect when traveling with my girlfriend from New Jersey (METROPARK) to Washington DC (Union Square)

Coach prices are great. $20-$35 each way per person

We leave at 4 am from NJ on a holiday weekend. I am not concerned about finding a seat on the train at that hour.

My bigger concern is the ride home out of Washington DC, 10 am, on a holiday (Presidents Day) with only a coach ticket and no assigned seat.

Will it be difficult to find a seat for two people with coach? For piece of mind, is it worth paying significantly more for business class and an assigned seat? For some reason I imagine a stream of people rushing to board the train, all at once, to find seats.

Thanks for any insight you can provide

You’d be surprised at how busy that train is out of NYP.

 

[TheVig]

I know its a short trip, but how about Acela first class? Show the girlfriend how the other half live on the NEC.

 

[paytonc]

Business class is not worth it. I hate to say it since boarding queues are annoying, but you should get in line early at Washington Union Station -- i.e., 20+ minutes ahead of departure. (Only one of you really has to stand in line, the other can sit or wander around.) Then, as others have mentioned, walk alllll the way down the platform to the last open door on the train and board there.

Re: CTA Blue Line to ORD, all of the pros know that the lead car puts you closest to the actual airport. (Provided that it doesn't crash into the airport.)

 

[caravanman]

Re: CTA Blue Line to ORD, all of the pros know that the lead car puts you closest to the actual airport. (Provided that it doesn't crash into the airport.)

Indeed, but all the pros know my post was about where felt safer on the Blue Line heading out of ORD, after midnight.

 

[PVD]

I don't generally see the BC on the NEC as worth it for me, but it does come with seat selection, and that can be valuable to some at certain travel times. I do like the BC on Empire trains with 2+1 enhanced seating.