Anybody ever use the Amtrak/VIA North American Rail Pass?

[gopunk]

around 600 bucks for use of a pass for 30 days... unlimited rides in united states and canada... i'm thinking about using up my summer vacation by going on a little train trip. anybody ever do this?

i figure the trip is gonna cost at least 1k... most likely more, since i'll probably want to spend the night at some locations.... food... souvenirs.... misc things that pop up. but i think it's worth it for being able to hit up everywhere in the united states and canada i've ever wanted to go... i'm gonna hit up toronto, montreal, and LA... those are pretty much for sure...

experiences? advice?

 

[Heisenberg]

For the love of God don't set foot on Amtrack. My mother, sister, and I took it one year as transportation for vacation because they thought it'd be fun. Trust me, between the derailment and the two heart attacks, it wasn't fun.

 

[Aquaman]

if you do it ...........let use know how it was

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[tcsenter]

I'm going to Denver via the California Zephyr (Amtrak) leaving tomorrow.

Traveling by train is alright. The good things are the freedom to move about at will, from car to car, to the restroom, and the generally more spacious seating arrangements compared with air travel. The meals are generally better than you get on a plane, but that isn't saying a whole lot given how terrible plane meals are. Bring money if you plan to eat in the dining car - $$$.

There is a snack car, you can go get coffee or juice, sit in the observation car, move around a little. Some people bring coolers or bags loaded with all kinds of munchies because they don't want to pay the train prices for meals and snacks. Bring something to read or pass the time. Oh and bring bottled water. That stuff that comes out of the water dispensers on the train has a funny taste and smell to it.

The bad thing is that 24 hours on a train is about all I can stand. Its way more tolerable than 12 hours on an airliner, but 24 hours begins to push it. I met folks who had been on the train three straight days, getting off for only 15~20 minutes to walk around during a stop. Some actually didn't seem to mind too much. I would be ready to leap off after two days.

The restrooms are tiny, like a plane, often messy and not very clean, but there are changing rooms that are more spacious. A sleeping car is expensive, but might be worth it if you were going to be on that sucker more than two days.

You may start to smell a little ripe after 24 hours. Bring a wash cloth, or some of those moist facial wipes, and deoderant, so you can freshen up after riding for a day or two.

 

[vailr]

Some of the Amtrak sleeper cars ($$) actually have showers. Be sure and bring earplugs and an eye mask if you're in coach, if you want to get a good night's rest. They run the air conditioning at night a little cool, so be prepared for that. Also, it may be less expensive to use Amtrak.com's "Rail Sale" (online ticket purchase only).

 

[tcsenter]

Well, ok, add a couple more bad things to train travel.

People die on the trains, then you have to stop and wait for EMS.

Amtrak trains are almost always late, unless you're riding a well-run (well funded) commuter train system. But Amtrak? Expect an hour late departing and an hour late arriving. My train was four hours late arriving at Denver, only about 45 minutes of which due to some old guy going into a diabetic coma and having to be pulled off the train. The rest was due to:

- one hour late departure
- waiting for freight trains to pass because freight takes priority
- poor condition of tracks along many stretches
- tracks being serviced/repaired

Its a damned shame the US is about 40 years behind Europe in rail travel and even more more of a shame the Bush Administration wants to dismantle and defund this staple of public transportation (which can and should be far better than it is). I've heard many people say they would take the train if only it were reasonably reliable. There are thousands of miles of track where trains could go 80MPH+, but the tracks are in such poor shape trains are only able to go 30MPH~40MPH.