Amtrak multi city trip

[mac]

I have a multi city e ticket for 3 trips next month, two day trips and one overnight. When I arrive at my first station what do I do with my ticket, do I keep the one I have printed or do I need to change it, and how do you find your seat.

 

[jamesontheroad]

I have a multi city e ticket for 3 trips next month, two day trips and one overnight. When I arrive at my first station what do I do with my ticket, do I keep the one I have printed or do I need to change it, and how do you find your seat.

Amtrak's website explains you take it straight to the train, and the conductor will scan it. You'll need photo ID to accompany it.

Amtrak does not assign seats, but carriages. Conductors will direct you to your car. That way, passengers alighting in the middle of the night (for instance) don't disturb those continuing further.

 

[Ze Random One]

At the major terminal stations, you will often be directed to a gate number rather than a platform, and an agent at the gate will check your ticket/ID, and issue you with a slip of paper, the colour of which will indicate which group of coaches you should go to (just ask an attendant if you are unsure).

The seating within the coaches is determined by the attendant for that coach.

Almost all Amtrak tickets are now issued as e-tickets, so the gate agent or train guard will just scan the QR code on your ticket to confirm you are aboard.

There can be quite a scrum for getting through the gate (much like getting aboard an airliner), so heed the advice to be at the gate 30 minutes before departure.

At the smaller stations, it is not uncommon for only one or two doors to be unlocked, the guard or attendant will most likely give your ticket a cursory examination, to be sure you are on the right train, and direct you where to sit. The guard will come around later and scan your ticket.

A few other pointers:
The only alcohol allowed aboard is in the café/restaurant, or a private cabin if you have one.

Because of the length of journeys, the long distance trains stop every few hours for a smoking/leg stretch stop, if the timetable allows.

The TSA occasionally search bags prior to boarding, although I've never seen it. I believe Amtrak policy is that if you object to any search, you can have a refund (Amtrak and the TSA have an uneasy relationship, and Amtrak have been known to throw TSA agents out of their stations for not following railway custom)

If you're on a long distance train with checked luggage, providing both your arrival and departure stations have the appropriate facilities, this comes highly recommended (and is free). If you have a morning train, they are often willing to allow you to check your bags the night before, which is handy if you are traversing a large city in the morning rush hour to get to your departure.

Remember that Coach = Standard (class)

If you're travelling in the western US, the Superliner coaches are very comfortable, even if the track could do with a bit more maintenance to give a smooth ride. The observation car is definitely recommended. There's no such thing as first class seating on these trains, quite frankly the reclining seats on Superliner coaches are as comfy as many first class seats in Europe.

If you're on a budget, Amtrak cafés are not cheap. It's not unheard of for passengers to bring along a coolbox with a few meals' worth of food on ice. On the multi-day trips, some of the crew-change stops are lengthy (can be an hour or so) -- the guard will announce if it's ok to wander into town to find a more substantial discount repast -- although you should note that some US downtown areas are less salubrious than European ones, and mini-supermarkets are much less common in downtown US.

However, if you have a few $ to spare, Amtrak is one of the few western railway systems where you can still get a full three course meal served in a proper restaurant car on all very-long-distance trains. The maître-d' will come through the train a few hours before each meal to take reservations.

If you're meeting a train midway through its journey, you can sign up for email alerts through amtrak.com to confirm that it's running to time (smaller towns often just have a platform with no facilities - not somewhere you want to be standing in the rain for four hours awaiting a delayed service.)

In general, you will find that while Amtrak is somewhat inefficient, the staff in particular are very friendly and welcoming, and Amtrak policies & practices are generally quite customer-friendly. Enjoy the scenery, and don't fret if your train is an hour or two late!

 

[waynenm1]

Couple small points. Very few stations these days have multiple gates, or use more than one or two platforms. Off hand only New York, Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles and San Diego come to mind. At these large stations there will likely be two separate check-in queues, one for coach and one for sleeping car passengers.

 

[island]

The guard will normally put a little docket above your seat either marked or colour-coded for your destination so that if you're away from the seat at a stop (in the restaurant, the loo, having a smoke, etc.) it doesn't get taken by someone else.

 

[185]

Doing something similar in February.

Night train Washington-Chicago < day break>> Chicago-Seattle. :P

 

[Squaddie]

Doing something similar in February.

Night train Washington-Chicago < day break>> Chicago-Seattle. :P

I did the same trip (in reverse) a couple of years ago. The Superliner bedroom was superb, with comfortable beds, shower and a big picture window to look out at the world. There was so much to look at all the time that I didn't even open the books I had taken with me. The food in the restaurant car is mediocre and the menu barely changes day to day, and the staff can be a bit funny about where you sit (couples have to sit side-by-side, not facing, for some reason). The sleeping car attendant was fantastic, keeping the coffee and juice topped up all the way - a tip is expected.

The only downside was the utter chaos at Chicago Union station, with may hundreds of passengers crowding to board several trains at the same time from the same departure lounge and no-one really knowing what was going on.

 

[RochdalePioneers]

Enjoy the scenery, and don't fret if your train is an hour or two late!

An hour or two? Pah! My eastbound Sunset Limited was eight hours late. Had time for dinner and a movie whilst waiting. Then NOPD trying to remove everyone from the station as vagrants because "you can't sleep here sir!" A few us us pointed out that the train was now due at gone 2am, and they backed off....

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[philabos]

As to staff on long distance trains, you can have a good crew. You can also have a not so good crew. Nothing you can do but hope for the best. Not really any way to operate a customer driven business.

 

[waynenm1]

As noted by Squaddie, Chicago Union Station can be quite a zoo, as you not only have multiple Amtrak trains arriving and leaving, but also scores of commuter trains. In fact, according to a recent article in one of the US rail magazines the actual count is about 420 trains per day passing under the 12th St. bridge just south of the station. A smaller number depart to and arrive from the north.

I would suggest taking the time upon arrival in Chicago to scout the station layout.

Also I have found the food in Amtrak diners to be well above mediocre, close to that I had in the diners on the Wien-Warsawa or Muenchen-Roma ICE's. Just don't expect what you might have found on the Super Chief or Panama Limited of 50 years ago (yes, I rode them then)! wf.

 

[jamesontheroad]

Amtrak food has been degraded significantly in recent years, primarily because on board chefs are doing less and less cooking. More or less everything is now plated in advance and reheated on the train, in order to eliminate on board staff and cut costs.

For lots of info on Amtrak and helpful advice from regular riders, head to discuss.amtraktrains.com ... they also maintain the astonishing Historical Amtrak Timetables Museum, which lets you find printed timetables from almost every year of Amtrak's existence.

In April/May 2006 I did one of my longest continuous rail trips - 18,972km Montréal - Chicago - Denver - San Francisco - Seattle - Vancouver - Edmonton - Winnipeg - Churchill - Winnipeg - Toronto - Montréal - Halifax - Montréal. I blogged about it then and every instalment is still online (albeit in reverse order) at jamesbrownontherails.blogspot.co.uk

 

[waynenm1]

As a regular Amtrak rider I actually had a complete collection of timetables from 1971. Although I must admit I culled most of them about a year ago as they were taking too much room in one of my file cabinets. It is true that more items are being prepared at commissaries as opposed to on board the diner; nevertheless the main dinner menu item, the Black Angus top blade steak (and baked potato) is still prepared aboard the diner.

I did a similar trip to jamesotr back around 1998, although without the Winnipeg-Churchill segment. I think that segment is best done in the Nov.-Feb. time frame. I did think that by that time the dining service on The Canadian was not near as good as it was when I took the Canadian back around 1977. Although in the 70's Canadian Pacific still ran the Canadian, by the 90's it was VIA. wf.