The Don'ts of Amtrak Train Travel in the US

hey there fellow travelers mark here with wolters world and today we're here in mystic connecticut we're at the amtrak station about ready to head off to boston what i thought i'd give you today are the don'ts of traveling with amtrak or the don'ts of traveling by train in the u.s okay now there's two kind of overall themes with my don'ts in this video one are the don'ts for when you're on the train and one set is the don'ts that you should know just about amtrak in general and booking and things like that and i'm going to start when we're on the train and the first stone i have for you when you're on the amtrak is don't pretend like you're asleep in order to take up two seats i can't tell you how many times i've gotten on the train here and got on an amtrak and everybody's asleep i'm like dude it's 10 30 in the morning or 11 o'clock in the morning there's none of you that are sleeping the sun is blazing through you have these beautiful views out the side there's no way everyone's asleep but people will pretend because they don't want somebody sitting next to them look don't pretend like you're asleep because people already know you're not asleep okay and the thing is is actually the trains especially if you're in the northeast corridor and stuff like that they do get pretty full and so they need those seats so just know that no one's gonna believe you're actually asleep okay so put your feet down and do that now if there's nobody there you know feel free to take a nap and do that but honestly you'll be fine because my next don't for you is when you're on the amtrak trains okay and you're getting your tickets don't think that the coach class the economy class you know kind of tickets equal economy class seating in an airplane look on the trains on the amtrak trains you've got a lot more space okay you don't necessarily have to sit in business class to get tons of room it's actually quite nice in that way that oh man i can actually spread it i i don't get smushed i can put i mean i'm a fat guy and i can put the tray down and work on the tray and economy as well or coach class too so don't worry about that now another thing with that seat next to you another donut is don't put your luggage in the seat next to you okay the conductor will come by and tell you hey you don't put your luggage there put it above your seat in the overhead compartment or put it at the end of the carriage there's there's a place for luggage there a lot of the times and the thing is is that luggage rack above your seat is way bigger than what you get an airplane so you've got plenty of space when you're there okay so don't feel it you have to put it there because they'll probably ask you to move it and kind of another tone i have for you with those conductors don't disrespect the conductors i found the conductors that go through the amtrak trains have been very friendly very helpful very informative with stuff and they help you out they're more service oriented than the amtrak kind of brand is associated with like look those conductors are nice and helpful kind of stuff and amtrak doesn't always have that same connotation but they are so don't mess with them because they can throw you off the train okay if you're causing problems if you're being disruptive and things like that so just have a heads up for that another thing is when you see the conductors come by you'll see at your seat they'll poke a little ticket they'll ask hey where are you going or they'll check your ticket say hey where are you going and they write down on a piece of paper and then stuff this little piece of paper above your seat that indicates one that someone's sitting there so you have your seat kind of saved and two it says where you're getting off because my next don't for you is don't think that amtrak announces the stops look if you're going to be coming into boston or new york yes they will announce those stops but if you're going to smaller places like mystic here they do not announce those stops what they do is the conductors know where people are getting off based on those tickets and they go through and let you know hey just so you know the next stop is mystic okay so so don't take down that ticket because that's how you know that they where you're going but it's also how they know who to let know what stop is next my next stone that goes along with that is don't assume that all the doors open on the trains at every stop look we're here in mystic connecticut i mean this is a small platform they only open like two or three doors when they stop here the train has like 20 doors that comes through make sure you don't ignore the the conductor because they're going to come through before and say hey just so you know this stop if you want to get out you've got to go you know a train up or two train two train cars up to get out on that door on the left or the right or whatever just so you know because otherwise i've seen people that are like hey why want the door open i'm like they're going to leave without you you got to make sure you get to that correct door that's why don't take down that ticket because it helps them know where you're going to get on or off okay so that also leads into another donut of don't ignore the conductor when you get on because they might indicate hey you're going to get off at mystic you're going to want to get in car 5 or car 6 or something like that because that's going to be closer to the one where they let off and that helps kind of like mitigate too many people in one spot or you have to run through the train to uh to get your stuff there so there's that well we'll let the train go bye so the train that just went by that's an asella that's that's the fast train here in the us that goes from you know boston down to dc you can take that that's like our probably fastest train here in the us it's still not super fast but it is faster than a typical kind of train has less stops obviously didn't stop here uh in mystic so you might have uh if you're gonna go to a smaller town you might get a regional train or something like that okay now another don't that i have for you that relates to these faster trains and stuff like that is don't expect the trains to be like in europe or in japan or stuff like that i mean that was the fast train but even the fast train here is kind of like a regional express in germany or someplace like that so do have a heads up with that one now the thing is the us is very large okay so you're going to be on the train for a while when you're going places what's cool is don't forget to bring your plug look mostly amtrak trains actually have plugs next to the seat and not just one that you have to fight over with the person you're sitting next to but they give you two plugs so there's a plug for each person that's there and that's really cool also they do have wi-fi on a lot of the trains so i mean it's not don't expect fast wi-fi but they do have it on a lot of the trains so you can stay connected and stay charged up so when you get to boston like we're going to you can have enough juice in your phone that you can have the kids play on the phones and the ipads but you can still take pictures too so that's kind of cool um some other don'ts i have for you is when you're getting on the train and you might be a little hungry don't expect a culinary masterpiece from the cafe car look it's a train and the only thing they have to cook with is a microwave okay now you know what microwave cooking is like yes there's plenty of food and drinks to have when you're on the train but you're just not going to be too happy with the food and the quality also and also it's a little pricey too so don't forget to bring some food with you when you do come on some drinks and some snacks and stuff because it will make life a little easier and a lot cheaper but i will say is don't bring stinky food okay if the food is overly stinky they might say hey you can't eat that here i mean i would hope they would say that because it can be pretty gross because ooh limb burger you know your limb burger sandwich that that can stay at home okay oh but i will say sometimes you do get a surprise at some of the good stuff that's on there for example i took the vancouver down to seattle train it goes down to portland oregon too and they had ivor's clam chowder on there oh my god it was so good i'm like wait a minute this is amazing and it's on a train yes so they do have some stuff that's okay but i just want to give you a heads up for that oh yeah going back to our limb burger stinky cheese sandwich another donut i have for you is don't take your shoes off if your feet stink look it's like farts you know if your fart stinks you know if your feet stink okay so if you know they do don't take your shoes off it's kind of gross but you know what i understand you want to take your shoes off and it's okay but if they stink just don't do that but i will say about the barefoot stuff or no shoe stuff don't walk around with your shoes off or barefoot on the train they actually ask you to put your shoes on when you're walking around because of safety purposes but what i think is most important is don't go into the bathrooms without your shoes on oh my god i see people going into bathrooms with socks or bare feet and they're walking in there and i'm thinking we're on like a four-hour train ride and trains go like this sometimes so people are peeing and they're standing up and it's shaking all around that's not water on the floor okay even my seven-year-old goes dead that's not water i'm like you're right liam that's not water okay so please don't forget to wear your shoes when you're walking around all right now another thing a lot of people have asked me about is about assigned seat or seat reservations look when you book with amtrak none of the seats are reserved okay so it's unreserved seating so you're coming and you're looking for a seat so if you're coming and you're getting on after a busy station you might not get to sit next to your person because there are no reservations but i will say when you do book if you're gonna get a sleeping car well those ones do get kind of a reservation kind of thing depending what car you you you know sleeping car you book so there is that okay so what i want to go into now are some of the overall don'ts of writing amtrak some things you should know and one is don't wait to book your tickets because the closer you get to your departure date the higher the prices go and the seats do sell out because even though they're not reserved seats there's only a certain number of seats they can sell on a train and so there might not be tickets left and if you want to go in business class or in a sleeper car for like you know chicago new orleans or something like that on the city of new orleans you do need to book those earlier so you make sure you get that another donut i have for you is don't think that riding amtrak equals a cheap ticket so i was looking for tickets from new york to la okay so you can fly there or you can take the train there once like in five hours and one's in you know almost two days and the thing is is when i saw when i booked early and i got like the economy super saver thing it was like 250 bucks something like that if i went first class it was 1 400 and that was booking like a month out all right don't think it's gonna be cheap that's why if you're gonna be going long distances you might wanna compare maybe a flight versus amtrak just so you know um but the thing is if you're going short distances like from mystic here to boston or where i live to chicago you know a couple hour train ride the prices actually are pretty cheap so that's kind of cool it's just for the really long distance ones don't expect to be cheap um but i will say is don't worry too much about your baggage when you do go take amtrak because you can take two big suitcases with you no problems they're not as strict as the airlines kind of stuff also if you want to check bags yes you can do that you can check up to four i think is the rules now and that's cool what i'm going to tell you is if you need some other extra time don't be scared to ask for red cap service the red caps are the people that help you get on the train get off the train and help people put people's luggage on the train and stuff like that they do have that so i know if i you know i've seen people that have used that and if you've got too much stuff or you're moving or or you just got tons of things or maybe limited mobility let them know and the red caps will really help you out and at some of the main stations they actually have a luggage area where that comes out and stuff like that so if you don't want to deal with your luggage on the train they can do that for you which i think is really cool now when you're booking tickets i know i said i already said you know don't wait to book but there's some things you should know one don't forget to look for discounts so you can sign up for your amtrak rewards or maybe you have you know some kind of discounts that are on there there's discounts for kids or seniors and stuff like that do check those discounts because they can save you some money also i know i said the long distance ones can get pricey but in the shorter distance once you know a couple hours three or four hours don't be scared to look at the difference between the business class fair and the the coach fair because actually sometimes it's not that much of a difference and i've actually booked up because i'm like man for only an extra 20 bucks why not and that's why you'll see some of the videos on here there's a first class stuff because you know at the time i'm like hey why not take that now the last two don'ts i have few are more of a more serious variety one don't always expect amtrak trains to be on time this isn't you know a european train system where everything runs like clockwork so do have some leeway in your schedule for a late arrival now i will say this some lines are really good the northeast corridor you know the boston dc lines they're pretty much on time they're pretty good okay but if you're going you know across the country i know like the lines from chicago we take it seems to be always delayed just know that that's not uncommon okay so make sure you're planning that window don't be like oh we're going to take the train it says it gets into three and then i could take the l out to the airport in chicago which about you know 30 45 minutes and then we could check in and we'll be there just fine because we'll get there three hours before a flight i can't tell you how many people how many students i've had that have missed flights because the train to chicago was delayed and then therefore they missed their flight because they cut it too close so just give yourself extra time um if you are doing that and the thing is you can go online and see how aw like how on time your line is because they keep all that all that stuff i think it's like a 90 day rolling window like how's our on time ratings been just to give you an idea uh so have a heads up for that but don't don't think all or late but just know just be prepared in case it is because you might end up getting in late at night to some place and things like that and my last stone is kind of a safety thing is one thing is don't expect every single station to have a station sometimes it's just a little kiosk like like a little shelter or something like that i mean heck the mystic connecticut station it's not that's actually a coffee house okay there's no board up there there's nothing like that so so don't expect to have a station and i guess to go along with that is don't spend too much time in the station before or after your pl your your trains coming through because i've seen actually you know not here but like in boston and chicago and stuff in new york i've seen a lot of beggars that have been going through and and some are aggressive some aren't so aggressive but it is one of those things you do want to take care of but you know it's nothing really bad just something to have a heads up for so i hope this helps you know a little bit more about taking the train in the u.s it is great i mean we do it quite often i mean the views when you go through sometimes you're like man you want to ask hey which side should we sit on i know when we were coming down from vancouver they're you know they're like oh sit on the right side going down because you can see the water i'm like would i want to see the mountains no no you don't see the mountains when you're coming down that way you see the water i'm like okay cool and so you do have that anyway i hope you have a great time taking the train all aboard on amtrak because it is worth trying out and the thing is if you don't want to you know run a car and do stuff like that when you come to the us if you're coming to the northeast you can easily take the train everywhere you want to go from dc up to boston so dc boston new york things like that you'll have a good time anyway have a great time on the rails and we'll see you later bye from vista connecticut at the amtrak station bye

Channel: Wolters World

Views: 197,135

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Id: XyU81iKyA0g

Length: 14min 56sec (896 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 22 2022