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As I write this, I'm on an Amtrak train on my way home from Brother's house after spending the holiday with him and his family, and getting to spend some time with Mom.
It's the first time I've ever traveled by train. I've enjoyed the experience. Some things that stand out:
Expense
It's costing me quite a bit more than it would to drive. Part of that is due to the fact I'm coming home the day after Christmas; the trip up to Brother's was half what the trip home cost.
Meals in the dining car are expensive. The food is microwaved and edible but nothing to write home about.
Time
Travel times for the trip are comparable for what it would take me to drive. The train gets up to about the speed limit on the highway most of the way. There are multiple stops, but they are brief. My first leg from High Point to DC was running an hour late to start, but I had a 3 hour layover at Union Station before continuing on to Baltimore, so it didn't matter. I made a booking error; in the future I won't book a trip with a long layaway like that.
The train has been spot on with being on time for every other leg of the trip.
Booking
Booking was pretty easy on their website. You have a number of choices of stations to get on and off, and you need to do a little research on the best stations to use based on where you're going, and if you need to rent a car (I had EE drop me off and pick me up at home, the BWI station is 15 minutes from Brother's house, so he came and got me at that end). I could have saved money, but not time and hassle by renting a car at Union Station.
Prices tend to climb as the date of departure approaches. Book like you would a plane.
Comfort
I found coach to be fairly comfortable. The seats are wider than on a plane, and there is more leg room, though it can still get tight for the very tall. Business class has even more legroom, more comfortable seats, and slightly wider. If you can afford it, business class is the way to go. I haven't tried a sleeper car; they're really expensive and tend to be booked up. I might try one on my next long trip, especially if my departure time is Oh Dark Hundred again.
Power and WiFi
The trains have free Wi Fi. You can't stream, and it can be a bit slow. I didn't have too much trouble posting to CS and Fratching, but couldn't get onto my online classroom (had hoped to grade some papers). But it kept me occupied.
Each row has 2 outlets that are 3 prong outlets like you'd find at home. I charged my cellphone, and ran my laptop off the power adapter the whole trip. It was a nice feature, and it's available in coach.
Access to the stations
There's none of the TSA asshattery in taking a train. Oh, Union station ran continual propaganda on the widescreen TV about their security; I did see some cops and dogs about. But there are NO security lines to go through, no scanning of bags, no taking off your shoes. I walked into the station off the street . . . literally . . . in High Point, sat in the very nicely refurbished station (very classic and classy style, reminds me of an old time movie), got on the platform when the train pulled and and hopped on. Conductor scanned my ticket after it took off out of the station (the station manager did check that I had a ticket before I got on--took two seconds).
It was quick and convenient as far as getting on went. You do still want to arrive early; if the train hits the station on time, it leaves on time. If your train leaves at 9:14 and you get there at 9:14 you are SOL. They board about 15 minutes before departure at the big stations. At the little ones you have to be on the platform before the train pulls in; they are stopped only for a few minutes before they pull out again. They don't wait for everyone to be seated; if you're not in a seat they still move.
The conductors were pretty friendly though, and tried to keep people organized so everyone gets boarded and the train leaves on time.
The cars were comfy warm. The bathrooms were large enough to move around in, not the closets that planes have. They were generally pretty clean. On the leg up to DC they got pretty dirty by the end and more and more people got on. Some asshat didn't flush and didn't put the lid down, and his overabundance of urine splashed all over the floor. On the trip home, though the bathrooms were clean and well maintained.
The Ride
The cars are fairly quiet. You can hear some click clack, but it's not obnoxious. You can hear the horn, but it's distant, not overwhelming. The ride is smoother than I expected. It wasn't difficult to walk down the aisle at all. Every once in a while you would hit a bump or curve that could throw you off balance, but not often.
Passing another train at high speed is a startling experience.
I had no trouble sleeping on the train, and slept much of the way up to Baltimore.
Baggage
There was no checked baggage on my trip. Two carry ons per person are allowed. Some ass hats brought full sized luggage, and the conductors don't really enforce size rules. One idiot kept putting his full sized bad in short end first and couldn't figure out why it wouldn't go in all the way until another guy took it from him and put it in right. It did make space for luggage competitive. I tucked my laptop bag under my seat and did fine with that.
Some trains/trips will do checked luggage. You have to check to be sure; they'll tell you before you book if checked luggage is available.
In short, I will do the train again. I enjoyed not having to take the effort to drive. The feel of the train was pleasurable, and the upsides outweighed the few downsides. If I need to make a trip that is further than I want to drive, then I'll check to see if a train is a possibility before taking a plane. Just not having to deal with the TSA makes that worthwhile.
It's the first time I've ever traveled by train. I've enjoyed the experience. Some things that stand out:
Expense
It's costing me quite a bit more than it would to drive. Part of that is due to the fact I'm coming home the day after Christmas; the trip up to Brother's was half what the trip home cost.
Meals in the dining car are expensive. The food is microwaved and edible but nothing to write home about.
Time
Travel times for the trip are comparable for what it would take me to drive. The train gets up to about the speed limit on the highway most of the way. There are multiple stops, but they are brief. My first leg from High Point to DC was running an hour late to start, but I had a 3 hour layover at Union Station before continuing on to Baltimore, so it didn't matter. I made a booking error; in the future I won't book a trip with a long layaway like that.
The train has been spot on with being on time for every other leg of the trip.
Booking
Booking was pretty easy on their website. You have a number of choices of stations to get on and off, and you need to do a little research on the best stations to use based on where you're going, and if you need to rent a car (I had EE drop me off and pick me up at home, the BWI station is 15 minutes from Brother's house, so he came and got me at that end). I could have saved money, but not time and hassle by renting a car at Union Station.
Prices tend to climb as the date of departure approaches. Book like you would a plane.
Comfort
I found coach to be fairly comfortable. The seats are wider than on a plane, and there is more leg room, though it can still get tight for the very tall. Business class has even more legroom, more comfortable seats, and slightly wider. If you can afford it, business class is the way to go. I haven't tried a sleeper car; they're really expensive and tend to be booked up. I might try one on my next long trip, especially if my departure time is Oh Dark Hundred again.
Power and WiFi
The trains have free Wi Fi. You can't stream, and it can be a bit slow. I didn't have too much trouble posting to CS and Fratching, but couldn't get onto my online classroom (had hoped to grade some papers). But it kept me occupied.
Each row has 2 outlets that are 3 prong outlets like you'd find at home. I charged my cellphone, and ran my laptop off the power adapter the whole trip. It was a nice feature, and it's available in coach.
Access to the stations
There's none of the TSA asshattery in taking a train. Oh, Union station ran continual propaganda on the widescreen TV about their security; I did see some cops and dogs about. But there are NO security lines to go through, no scanning of bags, no taking off your shoes. I walked into the station off the street . . . literally . . . in High Point, sat in the very nicely refurbished station (very classic and classy style, reminds me of an old time movie), got on the platform when the train pulled and and hopped on. Conductor scanned my ticket after it took off out of the station (the station manager did check that I had a ticket before I got on--took two seconds).
It was quick and convenient as far as getting on went. You do still want to arrive early; if the train hits the station on time, it leaves on time. If your train leaves at 9:14 and you get there at 9:14 you are SOL. They board about 15 minutes before departure at the big stations. At the little ones you have to be on the platform before the train pulls in; they are stopped only for a few minutes before they pull out again. They don't wait for everyone to be seated; if you're not in a seat they still move.
The conductors were pretty friendly though, and tried to keep people organized so everyone gets boarded and the train leaves on time.
The cars were comfy warm. The bathrooms were large enough to move around in, not the closets that planes have. They were generally pretty clean. On the leg up to DC they got pretty dirty by the end and more and more people got on. Some asshat didn't flush and didn't put the lid down, and his overabundance of urine splashed all over the floor. On the trip home, though the bathrooms were clean and well maintained.
The Ride
The cars are fairly quiet. You can hear some click clack, but it's not obnoxious. You can hear the horn, but it's distant, not overwhelming. The ride is smoother than I expected. It wasn't difficult to walk down the aisle at all. Every once in a while you would hit a bump or curve that could throw you off balance, but not often.
Passing another train at high speed is a startling experience.
I had no trouble sleeping on the train, and slept much of the way up to Baltimore.
Baggage
There was no checked baggage on my trip. Two carry ons per person are allowed. Some ass hats brought full sized luggage, and the conductors don't really enforce size rules. One idiot kept putting his full sized bad in short end first and couldn't figure out why it wouldn't go in all the way until another guy took it from him and put it in right. It did make space for luggage competitive. I tucked my laptop bag under my seat and did fine with that.
Some trains/trips will do checked luggage. You have to check to be sure; they'll tell you before you book if checked luggage is available.
In short, I will do the train again. I enjoyed not having to take the effort to drive. The feel of the train was pleasurable, and the upsides outweighed the few downsides. If I need to make a trip that is further than I want to drive, then I'll check to see if a train is a possibility before taking a plane. Just not having to deal with the TSA makes that worthwhile.
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