What is it like to travel by Amtrak?
I have been taking the train “every so often” since December of 2008, when I found myself needing to get over the pass but did not want to deal with the Winter conditions over Stevens. So, from my perspective, I am talking about the 8 Empire Builder and the 7 Empire Builder.
The blunt, written impression: It’s GREAT! There’s more leg space that what I have between the couch and the coffee table!
The great:
- Leg room. Large seats. Typically, on the routes I take, you don’t have to sit next to anyone unless it’s a holiday and things are full.Now, I can deal with sitting next to people, but sometimes it’s nice to sit by yourself. Who wants to risk sitting next to the smelly guy who’s shower broke last week?
- The price. Amtrak prices for going from Everett to Wenatchee on a non-full train are $19. This, of course, is not a fixed price. The more people that buy tickets, the higher the price gets. Order in advanced and you’ll be fine. Pricing goes to $25-45, but it’s all dependant on how many people are on the train. Once again, it costs more to get on when there are more people (not the other way around).
- The employees. All of them are incredibly nice, they typically aren’t uptight and they won’t try to rush you onto the train into a seat. Also, for people with disabilities they provide very kind, patient assistance (this bit came from my mother).
- Quiet. The train is quiet, and you are expected to keep it that way too. Typically, there are many people sleeping on the train. Besides the inside, you can just barely hear the [relaxing] clicking of the tracks beneath you.
- Bathrooms. Clean. (What else can you expect?)
- Large windows. You can really see the scenery outside, who needs a GameBoy or DVD player if you’ve got scenery?
The not-so-great:
I feel a need to make the point that: There are so few things wrong with Amtrak, and the things that can be disliked have so little magnitude that you really shouldn’t care.
- The seats are a little cardboard-like, but not horribly uncomfortable. It sure beats the bus, though.
- Ticketing. To have it sent in the mail is $15, they don’t have a regular snail-mail option. If you live in an area that does not have a service station, or a kiosk to pick your ticket up from, you must do over-the-phone registration.
- Julie, the automated computer system for phone registrations, was great until about October of 2009. They made it more complicated and a pain. Try and talk to a representative instead of the computer.
That’s about it. I love Amtrak, and have met so many people who have never taken the train before. Try it, I am sure you will enjoy it as much as I did.
