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Does anyone even use Amtrak?

Triumph

Triumph

Lifer
I love the idea of train travel, when it works. But Amtrak has a pretty bad reputation. I know alot of people that have been delayed hours upon hours when using it. On the other hand, I'm thinking the DC to NY route might be pretty consistent, as that should be a major route. Price for round trip coach is roughly the same as price for a plane ticket. The stupid thing is, according to the timetable the Accela high speed train takes as much time as the regular train, but is twice as expensive. Any advice?
 
I've taken Amtrak from Baltimore to NY/Metropark, NJ dozens of times and I've only been delayed once, for about half an hour north of Philly because there was "an obstruction on the tracks." Other than that I've never been late by more than a few minutes. It's a lot faster than flying for that distance because you can basically show up 10 min before your train departs, rather than an hour or more.
 
I spent a month amtracking it around the west coast and as long as your not in a hurry its quite good fun. I did it with 4 other mates and we throughly enjoyed it. Did get delays of over a day though...
 
Originally posted by: Triumph
I love the idea of train travel, when it works. But Amtrak has a pretty bad reputation. I know alot of people that have been delayed hours upon hours when using it. On the other hand, I'm thinking the DC to NY route might be pretty consistent, as that should be a major route. Price for round trip coach is roughly the same as price for a plane ticket. The stupid thing is, according to the timetable the Accela high speed train takes as much time as the regular train, but is twice as expensive. Any advice?
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1 - Try it. I have traveled coast to coast on trains and will do it again. Delays happen it is part of travel. IIRC... the longest I have been delayed 5+ hours on train is about equal to the longest I was delayed at the airport waiting for a plane.

2 - Better seats than on an airplane. You can move around without being dropped to the floor by an Air Marshal😉.

3 - If you are going to NYC you will end up right in NYC. Not on Long Island or in New Jersey with more travel time from the airport.
 
The NE Corridor (DC => Boston and all points in between) is *VERY* good for rail travel... Partly because it's an actual *COMMUTER ROUTE* for some crazy psychotic nutjob people, partly because it's the oldest major rail route in the country, and partly because it's got so many cities so conveniently located (DC, Baltimore, Philly, NY, Boston, etc.). The rest of the country is *VERY* poor.

And the Acela is more expensive because it has better appointments - it's not faster on the NE Corridor because the municipalities through which it passes impose rail speed limits too low for the Acela's added speed to be of any benefit over more than a few stretches.
 
Train is great for short travel, but usually I find that planes are cheaper and faster.

I'm still a train advocate and hope it works... but U.S. just doesn't seem built that way....
 
Originally posted by: Modeps
Amtrak is expensive.
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No. It may take more time but it is actually slightly cheaper to take a train from DC to NYC even ignoring the expenses of traveling to and from the airports.

$160 round trip Washington DC to NYC on Amtrak ignoring discount codes or AAA's 10%.

$161 round trip on Continental excluding travel expenses to and from the airport.
 
Taken it from above Santa Barbara to San Diego and vice versa. Takes longer than driving, but it's cheap and pretty relaxing.
 
The DC to NYP is a consistent train. Its usually like 12 to 15 minutes late due to boarding issues in philly. But its a nice ride.
 
amrak runs miami to somewhere north of NY then back, it's all the same train...being in florida my trips up the state were great, my return trips sometimes 4-5 hours late.

 
I travel between NYC and DC/Baltimore via train quite frequently. It's always been reliable for me, and it's much more convenient and relaxing than driving or taking the bus. You can fly fairly cheaply to LGA or Newark on Independence or JetBlue, but Amtrak will still be cheaper and faster when you factor in travel to and from the airport and security delays.
 
Sweet! I am glad I posted this thread. I fly in and out of DC's airports a dozen or so times a year, and I know everything that it entails. Taking the train means no fighting with traffic to get to the airport, no long term parking, no getting there an hour early, and no security checkpoints. I can take the Metro to Union Station (40 minutes), catch a train (3 hours), then take the subway from Penn to wherever I'm going in NYC. Sounds like it would take just as long as flying.

Thanks, I just wanted to know how reliable it is.
 
Originally posted by: Triumph
I love the idea of train travel, when it works. But Amtrak has a pretty bad reputation. I know alot of people that have been delayed hours upon hours when using it. On the other hand, I'm thinking the DC to NY route might be pretty consistent, as that should be a major route. Price for round trip coach is roughly the same as price for a plane ticket. The stupid thing is, according to the timetable the Accela high speed train takes as much time as the regular train, but is twice as expensive. Any advice?
Click to expand...

I do it a lot for work. The business class is INCREDIBLY comfortable. I no longer use the plane shuttle to go from DC to NY. True the actual flight is shorter. But for that you have to wait in the uncomfortable terminal for an hour (assuming no delay), sit in uncomfortable coach for about an hour and wait another hour to get off/get your stuff. For less than half the price you can sit in what are essentially LAZ-Y boy recliners, you get a 120V AC outlet and it's perfectly quiet... and it has a food car.
 
Originally posted by: Triumph
Sweet! I am glad I posted this thread. I fly in and out of DC's airports a dozen or so times a year, and I know everything that it entails. Taking the train means no fighting with traffic to get to the airport, no long term parking, no getting there an hour early, and no security checkpoints. I can take the Metro to Union Station (40 minutes), catch a train (3 hours), then take the subway from Penn to wherever I'm going in NYC. Sounds like it would take just as long as flying.

Thanks, I just wanted to know how reliable it is.
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You forgot the part about getting frisked by some TSA scumbag at these 'security checkpoints'.
 
Originally posted by: myusername
Take the chinatown bus!
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seriously. it's been a couple of years, but i think it went something like this: the bus picks up somewhere in downtown dc, along k street, and takes about 4 hours to get to port authority in nyc. somewhere around $20. lots of departure times, too. if you aren't in too much of a rush and you can sit still for a few hours (they still make a couple of stops, i believe), this is by far the best way to go.
 
Originally posted by: dolph
Originally posted by: myusername
Take the chinatown bus!
Click to expand...

seriously. it's been a couple of years, but i think it went something like this: the bus picks up somewhere in downtown dc, along k street, and takes about 4 hours to get to port authority in nyc. somewhere around $20. lots of departure times, too. if you aren't in too much of a rush and you can sit still for a few hours (they still make a couple of stops, i believe), this is by far the best way to go.
Click to expand...

woah, really? i can't even drive to New York in 4 hours. how is this possible?
 
Originally posted by: Triumph
Originally posted by: dolph
Originally posted by: myusername
Take the chinatown bus!
Click to expand...

seriously. it's been a couple of years, but i think it went something like this: the bus picks up somewhere in downtown dc, along k street, and takes about 4 hours to get to port authority in nyc. somewhere around $20. lots of departure times, too. if you aren't in too much of a rush and you can sit still for a few hours (they still make a couple of stops, i believe), this is by far the best way to go.
Click to expand...

woah, really? i can't even drive to New York in 4 hours. how is this possible?
Click to expand...

Train speed > car speed
It takes me about 2.5 hours from Baltimore to NYC on Amtrak vs. 3.5 hours driving just to get from Baltimore to any of the NJ->NY crossings.
 
Originally posted by: WhiteKnight
Originally posted by: Triumph
Originally posted by: dolph
Originally posted by: myusername
Take the chinatown bus!
Click to expand...

seriously. it's been a couple of years, but i think it went something like this: the bus picks up somewhere in downtown dc, along k street, and takes about 4 hours to get to port authority in nyc. somewhere around $20. lots of departure times, too. if you aren't in too much of a rush and you can sit still for a few hours (they still make a couple of stops, i believe), this is by far the best way to go.
Click to expand...

woah, really? i can't even drive to New York in 4 hours. how is this possible?
Click to expand...

Train speed > car speed
It takes me about 2.5 hours from Baltimore to NYC on Amtrak vs. 3.5 hours driving just to get from Baltimore to any of the NJ->NY crossings.
Click to expand...

He said chinatown bus??? Buses aren't trains.
 
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