Twenty-seven Amtrak questions and answers

hi I'm still Jeremy and I want to go over some Amtrak questions and answers just some basics about what Amtrak is how it works what a ride aboard Amtrak is like and how to get the most out of your trip question number one where does em track go here's a map of all Amtrak routes they connect most major cities in the continental United States as you can see eastern cities like New York Boston and Washington DC are especially well served as is Chicago and Los Angeles EV track routes extend all the way down to Miami up to Seattle and through Louisiana in Texas does Amtrak go to Canada yes a little the Amtrak Cascades line goes between Eugene Oregon and Vancouver stopping at Portland and Seattle among other places then the maple leaf runs between New York City and toronto with several stops along the way and finally the Adirondack links New York City with Montreal Sam Trek go to Alaska no best you could do is take Canadian trains as far as Prince Rupert but you can't get from the lower 48 to Alaska by train there are some trains in Alaska but they are Amtrak although I have ridden them and I definitely recommend them does Amtrak go to Nashville no loudly em track has virtually no presence in Tennessee although it does go through Memphis the best you can do for Nashville is to get a bus from Chicago or Indianapolis or st. Louis or Birmingham since Greyhound and amtrak have an agreement this is true as of mid 2020s rock has talked about a new train routes serving nashville in the future I hope so who owns Amtrak basically the US government does em track was established in 1971 to bring together several struggling smaller private lines at the time it was widely assumed that within a few years train travel in the US would quietly disappear altogether well the fact is Amani that within five to seven years from the calculations we had made there would be practically no railroad passenger service left in this country but it continues today obviously and is meant to be a money-making company although it does get government subsidy including some from states who cooperate local lions who rides Amtrak people ride Amtrak trains for two basic reasons for transportation and for fun especially in the Northeast using Amtrak to get between the big cities is a more mundane method of transport on other lines especially longer lines and those out west Amtrak is not only a way to get around but is an adventure unto itself I've met people who use Amtrak in conjunction with Airlines just for getting back and forth across America the airlines are quicker and Amtrak trains are more fun so there's a balance basically people who ride Amtrak get to enjoy the exciting experience of moving steadily through the American landscape whether on a multi-day journey or a quick two-hour jaunt how much does a ticket cost they can be pretty cheap or quite expensive it depends on the type of seat you want the type of private bedroom compartment you want if any and add-ons like meals and special luggage and things and there are discounts for seniors and military plus occasional deals also prices can change depending on when you book and when you're traveling so it's impossible to give a simple answer to this question we can look at a couple examples though a trip from New York to Washington DC a month from today takes three and a half hours and there are several trains that serve these stations you can get a coach seat for 78 dollars $98 or 192 dollars on some routes the price differences being different change and cancellation rules which I'll go over next you can also get a business class seat for 153 dollars on other trains of those same stations that prices are cheaper 5498 or one hundred ninety two dollars for Coach and only one hundred nine dollars for business class some trains only offer coach seats food would be extra for all of these passengers one route Accela also has something called first-class seats which are more expensive but come with free meals and drinks let's look quickly at a longer route the Southwest chief links Chicago and Los Angeles the only type of seat on this train and all long distance trains is coach the fares in this example are 146 dollars or more if you want flexible options for changing your ticket later if you want a private bedroom there are different options the Superliner room met is 604 dollars family bedroom is 1040 dollars and a Superliner bedroom is 942 dollars the room itself is the expensive part in the case of the Superliner roomette you pay three hundred seventy two dollars for the room and then each passenger either one or two for this size room pays two hundred thirty two dollars so adding a second passenger to this example makes it more reasonable if split two ways keep in mind that this route takes forty three hours at least and if you stay in any private room all your meals are included when you factor in the price you'd pay for say driving from Chicago to LA staying in hotels eating along the way etc then Amtrak bedroom doesn't seem so bad I think so anyway plus you get to watch the scenery go by without the hassle of driving yourself with a chaos of airports and rude flight attendants yeah I said it kids ride Amtrak cheaper and add-ons can increase the amount you pay we'll talk about some of those in a little bit our Amtrak tickets refundable it depends on the ticket you buy coach seats have three price levels for the same exact seat saver value and flexible all are 100% refundable within 24 hours of purchase after 24 hours the cheapest saver is not changeable or refundable the money is gone the middle coach seat value is 100% refundable until 14 days before the trip after that you can only get 75% back flexible coach seats do offer 100% refunds anytime business class seats are also 100% refundable anytime Premium Amtrak tickets mean all private rooms plus a sell of first-class seats private overnight rooms only offer a 75% refund until fourteen days before the trip after that it's still 75% but you can't get the cash back only a voucher for future travel a sell a first-class seats are 100% refundable at any time an Amtrak tickets be changed the system for changes to Amtrak tickets is similar the cheapest coach seats saver only allow changes within 24 hours of purchase the middle value charges a 15% fee for changes within 14 days of travel all other seat options and private rooms offer free changes anytime why is ham track so expensive well u-haul big trains full of people and equipment around the country and see how much you have to pay actually the ease and fun of train travel I think make Amtrak prices pretty reasonable you're only paying really big money if you travel in a private compartment overnight and even then your delicious meals are all included and the scenery is spectacular and you could split the room price if you're traveling with someone you can travel cross-country very cheaply if you're fine with sleeping in a coat seat and eating simple cafe meals or bringing your own food and many people do that Amtrak is as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be depending on what comfort and amenities interest you our Amtrak trains usually on time usually Amtrak considers a train late if it's ten minutes behind schedule for short routes or thirty minutes behind for longer routes several routes used to frequently be late but most have improved dramatically most Amtrak trains operate on tracks owned by freight companies and Amtrak trains are supposed to be given priority some investigations into whether or not this priority was actually being given resulted in new regulations in 2008 after which to cite one of many examples the Missouri River Runner between Kansas City and st. Louis improved from 11% on time to 95% on time of course things can happen in delays are a part of Amtrak your train shouldn't be too late if at all but you might want to refrain from just assuming that you'll be arriving at some exact minute unlike the reliable trains in some other places Japan which Amtrak station is closest to me you can check Amtrak's website for a nice national map of its routes in red including all stations plus connecting bus routes in green that operate in conjunction with the trains there's a nice color PDF as well as an interactive map you can zoom into links to these are in the description when should I arrive at the station Amtrak says to arrive 30 minutes before departure time or earlier if you need special help like assistance with bags if you're taking your car on auto train you should arrive two hours before departure the arrival and departure times for your station are part of the public schedule so you know when to expect your train busy stations will have long lines of course and as we just saw trains can be late if yours is the train may stop at your station for less time than planned but if you're there where you're supposed to be the train won't leave without you anyway try to arrive about thirty minutes before you're due to leave how much baggage can I take on Amtrak each passenger can bring four items or five if you're traveling with an infant and have an extra item like a stroller the four items are what M Trek calls to personal items which must be less than 25 pounds each and to carry ons no more than 50 pounds each there are size limitations too as with Airlines the Amtrak staff may not be super stringent in measuring and weighing your bags under normal circumstances they can't ask you to repack your bags if one is heavier than 50 pounds though also you can pay twenty dollars each for up to two bags over the four bag limit or you can check two bags for free if it's available on your train what Amtrak trains have Wi-Fi most of them do presumably this will change in the future but as of this video not all Amtrak routes have Wi-Fi it's easier to show the ones without Wi-Fi on the map as of mid 2020s routes do not have Wi-Fi all these others do Amtrak just offers Wi-Fi from carriers as it passes through the land so it can't really help with technical issues they also ask that you refrain from huge downloads and things like that maybe one day in the future that won't be an issue either and this part of this video will seem very quaint and old-fashioned indeed also some stations have Wi-Fi service as well does Amtrak have outlets yes power outlets are easy to find on Amtrak trains even coach seats have outlets as do the private bedrooms note that on a recent trip I took in a Superliner roomette there was only one outlet for the entire compartment but it worked power outlets can also be found in the observation car if your train has won by the way I made a whole video about Amtrak observation cars so watch that if you're interested the link is in the description what M track trains allow bikes you can take a bicycle 50 pounds or less on semantic trains for a price there are two ways to do it depending on the train either you check your bicycle and it gets transported in the baggage car or you carry it on and put it on a rack on the passenger car yourself to see if a certain route has either of these and if so which check the Amtrak website like everything else in this video this can and does change there are some curiosities about bringing your bike on Amtrak like on the Empire Builder from Portland to Spokane you have to box your bike on other routes you don't have to but you can if you want if it's a checked bicycle system on the Vermonter you have to remove the front wheel on the Downeaster you have to hook your bike to the side of the train to peddle and help the conductor power from station to station just kidding it's voluntary it usually cost about $20 to take a bicycle sometimes the service is sold out or unavailable when buying your ticket on the Amtrak website you can see if it's available for you or not does Amtrak allow dogs or other pets any company that doesn't like dogs is no friend of mine and cats exist as well M track allows dogs and cats and carriers up to 20 pounds combined on most of its routes although it can be a hassle except for service animals only 5 pets total or allowed on trains so check the website when you book a ticket pets can only ride if your total journey including transfers is 7 hours or less you can't have a pet in a sleeper compartment and you can't take it to the dining car each passenger can only bring one pet and the pet must be with you at all times it cost $26 per pet can I ride Amtrak with a baby well Amtrak no longer gives out babies to passengers but you can bring your own can I ride Amtrak with a baby who wrote that question I guess I did anyway yes infants and toddlers and everyone can ride Amtrak an infant two years or younger rides free and must be accompanied by an adult 18 or over the infant can ride in your lap and can even occupy a seat if nobody else is using it an additional infant must have a separate paid for ticket at the child fare a kid from 2 to 12 years old rides at the child fare which is half the price of an adult any additional child has to have a ticket at the adult fare when you book tickets on the Amtrak website you enter the ages of the passengers and it automatically figures out the prices for you do Amtrak trains have bathrooms yes of course bathrooms are in most cars often at either end or in the case of double-decker Superliner trains on the bottom level or on both levels depending on the car showers are also available on longer routes there are wheelchair accessible bathrooms as well actually wheelchair accessible bedrooms on longer trains have their own private bathrooms which Amtrak trains have bedrooms any Amtrak train that travels over night has bedroom accommodations few liner trains which are ones that go to New York City or single-level and have four types of accommodation Superliner trains which are overnight trains not stopping at New York have five types rue Mets are the smallest bedrooms have private toilet and shower facilities and Superliner family bedrooms are good for two adults and two children and use shared facilities you can get two bedrooms with the wall removed to make a so-called bedroom suite and all overnight trains have accessible bedrooms big enough for a wheelchair and two adults on other daytime routes there are only seats I did a whole video all about the Superliner roomette if you want to see that the link is in the description Sam Trac have a dining car well some do again it's only the long-distance overnight trains that have a dedicated dining car all of these routes used to have traditional dining service with tablecloths and freshly cooked hot meals and everything now as of this video only these do these others that used to have traditional dining changed in 2019 to flexible dining which is a less formal dining car that has prepackaged heated meals that you can eat there or back in your sleeper car all M track trains except for these four have cafes which offer some pretty nice but simple foods as well Accela trains between Washington DC and New York don't have a dining car but have the usual cafe for everyone and free meals at your seat for first-class pass I did a whole separate video about dining on Amtrak to which I'll link to in the description can you bring food on em track yes you can just don't eat it in the dining car you can eat it at your seat or in your private sleeper compartment if you're in a private sleeper you can drink your own alcohol too otherwise you're supposed to buy it from the cafe can Amtrak run in the snow yes they can and do most snowfall isn't really a big problem for Amtrak trains although ice can certainly cause big delays tracks and weather are monitored when there's a problem although since freight trains use most of the same tracks a delay in one of them can cause delays for Amtrak as well can Amtrak ship my car they can on one route auto train which goes between Washington DC and Orlando Florida with several stops in between you pay a fare is normal and then you pay two hundred and eight dollars for a car for one hundred and forty six dollars for a motorcycle you can also pay extra to be offloaded earlier again these prices are true as of now I checked the Amtrak website to get the real price for you because it can change well Amtrak survived who knows I certainly think so ridership surprisingly does trend upwards our political debates about giving Amtrak financial aid with a very clear and simple message to our House Republican colleagues reject the house approach and don't shortchange our railroads I beseech this House of Representatives to be financially responsible by supporting my amendment that eliminates federal government operating subsidies of Amtrak but the Northeast routes especially are vital transportation options for people they're needed I hope all the routes survive in some places are actually proposing new routes and extensions Amtrak is considering a proposal to expand rail service from Chicago to Toronto on a line that passes right through Kalamazoo and if you can this is why I recommend taking one of the longer routes with a sleeper car patronizing Amtrak not only helps the company and that service stay around but it gives you a travel experience like no other if you just want to quickly get from point A to point B take a plane if you want to settle in and see America for a seat or a sleeper car pay the fare and take the train so how do I buy em track tickets I've always done it right on the Amtrak website it's fairly simple to use and tells you exactly what's available in what add-ons may be possible check the front page of the website to for special deals like buy one get one free coach seats that can slash the price for two passengers even more if you've taken Amtrak let me know what you thought of it and if you're planning a trip let me know that too thanks for watching check out my other videos for travel tips stories from my own travels and my experiences as a type 1 diabetic wanderer as always see you on the rails [Music] [Music]

Channel: T1D Wanderer

Views: 78,500

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Id: WOT4jPy52uc

Length: 18min 21sec (1101 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 24 2020