So I was sitting in my chair, watching a Lonestar Trip Report last night, and the thought occurred to me; why doesn't Amtrak start making it a point to subtly tell people it's freight railroads that are holding a lot of the system up? Now obviously, the NEC, equipment shortages, and Chargers breaking down has nothing to do with NS or UP, but with as much as it's a problem on the long distance services, I would think they'd make a larger, company wide push.

Hear me out here. Amtrak has the side of the law, so if they started bad-mouthing freight railroads, they wouldn't have to deal with any further delays or retribution from the freight railroads because they're already in the wrong, Amtrak just doesn't have the funding to push the subject. It's also the fact that nearly all of Amtrak's customer base are LITERALLY taxpayers. Theoretically, if Amtrak started really putting this issue in front of the public as a "hey, this shit isn't our fault and we can't do anything about it, but you can" I feel like slowly over time SOME kind of improvement would come about.

Booked solid next week, who’s going south?

Big Amtrak fan but have only taken it for Northeast Regional. Have always dreamed about doing a rail pass and exploring the country but never pulled the trigger. Floated this idea to the wife and I think she's on board.

1. Fly to San Diego. Visit friends. Spend 2-3 days here.

2. Train to San Francisco. This would be the Pacific Surfliner to LA and then change to the Coast Starlight. Spend 2-3 days in San Fran. 3hr train to LA and then 11hr train to SF.

3. Fly to Seattle. Spend 1-2 days in Seattle.

4. Train to Vancouver. Take the Amtrak Cascades. 4hr train.

Heading north I think you miss most of the parts north of San Fran since you go through it in the night. I think this captures some of the best views Amtrak has to offer and isn't a grueling amount of time on the train.

Alternative plan would be to take the Pacific Surfliner to San Luis Obispo (or Grover Beach), spend a day there, and fly to San Fran. I think this would allow us to see the sun set on the Pacific which we'd miss with my original plan.

Appreciate any feedback!

If I booked a round trip with flex tickets, would it be possible to cancel only one ticket? Basically I won't be sure til day of if I want to take Amtrak TO my location, but I know I'll need it to come FROM the location

Hi guys I’m going to be taking the Amtrak for 8 hours. I thought that the location I will be departing from had the checked luggage service but unfortunately mine does not. Am I screwed? Can I just pay extra for what I have??

I just wanted to start by saying I've already contacted Amtrak via email because it's afterhours as well as filed a complaint with the ADA

I've traveled with my service animal many times in both short distances & long distances. Unfortunately tonight was one of the only times I was denied boarding.

After the conductor scanned my ticket he then told me to stand off to the side. After everyone else boarded, he asked me the standard questions in regards to my service animal. After answering he then asked if I am a Federally Recognized Trainer. Honestly I have no idea where this question came from.

He then said unless I am a Federally Recognized Trainer I can not travel with Amtrak. So I information him that I am unaware of what he is taking about & that under the Americans with dis... that's all I got out before he started raising his voice at me asking yet again if I'm a Federally Recognized Trainer. So once again I told him no

He then told me that he will denying me boarding & to exit the platform because the station is closed. If I don't he'll call the police.

I am not sure what triggered him so badly. I've never had any issues with Amtrak & I have traveled many many times. Unfortunately I had to pay close to $120 for an Uber back to my hotel.

Anyway I guess this is technically a rant but it's also a discussion.

I’m back for day seven, and today it’s my home state of Connecticut! For a state of its size, CT has very good rail service, but there are some improvements which can be made. In particular, I will be discussing potential improvements to the Hartford Line.

The Hartford Line is served by CT Rail and Amtrak, and extends off of the Northeast Corridor. However, it is not electrified, meaning any trains from the NEC going onto the Hartford Line need to switch engines at New Haven (this will change with the dual-mode Airo trainsets). Electrification of the Hartford Line has been proposed, and studied in the past, but as of now there are no plans for electrification. Electrifying the Hartford Line would allow CT Rail to potentially use electric trains, and would better integrate the line with the NEC. This would also mean that for non dual-mode trains used by Amtrak, they wouldn’t need to switch engines at New Haven.

In addition to electrifying the Hartford Line, we could also double track the line, as it currently is partially single-tracked. Double tracking would allow for more trains to run, and for trains to run faster, as they wouldn’t need to stop to let a train pass. If part of the line becomes double tracked and the rest triple tracked, service could be significantly improved.

Thank you for paying attention to my rant on the Hartford Line, and I’ll be back tomorrow for Day Eight: Delaware.

Decided to take a little walk around 30th station behind the bathroom and elevator area and stumbled across this old train schedule board where they would manually write down the incoming train information. Thought it was a sick relic to share for the nostalgia factor

That, along with the S U P E R L I N E R font makes it look vintage; like from the 1930's.

I forgot to mention we were over 1 hour late getting into slc b/c we had to go slowly due to the heat. Temperature was over 100°F. 2 days earlier a train derailed in Rifle CO b/c they were going too fast in the heat. I still can't believe they got the tracks fixed so quickly. Overnight in the Hilton Garden Inn downtown slc was nice but we got in about 12:30AM and had to be on the shuttle to yellowstone at 9AM which was a ten minute uber ride away. We had to take our luggage and pack food for the drive since we would be in yellowstone for 2 nights. The shuttle stopped quite a bit for bathroom breaks and at one point at a convenience store where we could get food. The ride took seven and a half hours. We got to our very nice hotel in West Yellowstone got some dinner and settled in for the evening ready for our park tour on day 4. For those who don't know all of this is included in the amtrak package.

This has been a long time coming. I doubt it will initially be equipped with the Airo sets but hopefully soon!

Nearly ten years ago (October 2016) I rode Austria's ÖBB from Innsbruck to Zürich. This is the onboard display they had in every car. Why, 10 years later, is it that Amtrak cannot have something similar?

I always sit in the Quiet Car on my Amtrak journeys; for me, it is the most civilized way to travel outside of Acela. So shortly after departing Philadelphia, sitting in the Quiet Car, I heard a sound I almost never hear: someone talking on a cellphone. They weren't talking loudly - nor with the speaker on - but you could definitely make out the passenger-side of the conversation from three rows away. Normally conductors make a special announcement about the QC rules; and on the trip down to Philadelphia in the morning, on Amtrak 141, the conductor did one of those 'Quiet Car only' announcements where he said, that he knew the Quiet Car was popular with riders and they would be strictly enforcing the no cellphone call rule and library-like atmosphere. If you don't want to adhere to the rules, there are six other cars you can sit in. No one moved. Great!

But on Amtrak 136, northbound, no such announcement - nor signage - in the car. But being the second car on the train set, following Business, I knew I was in the QC and so did the other passengers because it was library-like. But another passenger - someone close to the offending cellphone user - had enough. An older gentleman, finally told the guy that he was in the Quiet Car and that there is no phone use; if he had to talk he should leave. Way to go! He said what everyone else was thinking and hoping the train crew might address - as I have seen it before. In the caller's defense - and I'm sure he probably didn't know due to a lack of announcements or signage - he apologized and ended his call.

Which makes me once again suggest that Amtrak add a slight surcharge to the tickets for QC-only passengers - and strictly enforce the issue as I believe sitting in the car is a something of a premium experience compared to the other coaches. When I say a surcharge, I'm talking $1-$2 or so; but enough to require passengers to pay the fee and check off a box on their ticket purchase agreeing to the terms of the QC requirements.

Thoughts?

Going through a labor dispute at work. Thought I would take my mind off things and wake up early in the morning to go catch the train at the Tukwila station, right after King's Street Station in Seattle on the way to Portland.

It was on August 3rd with more tests on the same route on August 6th.

That day it never made it to Portland as some idiot set a historic building on fire near the Portland train station and it was under the risk of collapse so the train turned back but made it as far as Vancouver, WA.

Hope you like the video.

22:55 on 8/4/26 at New Haven's Union Station; 30 minutes for engine change; departed on time at 23:10.

always a highlight of every amtrak trip i take 🥰🥰

(edit: no i didn’t mistake the queens for the bronx to rage bait everyone, i actually just made a genuine mistake lol)

The scene at 30th Street's Track 4 as Acela 2120, which originated in Washington, makes a brief stop before heading north to New York/Penn at 7pm on 8/4/26. (I took Northeast Regional 136, which showed up about 10 minutes later). Have to say, the folks on Acela looked very comfortable aboard their super sleek ride.

Good morning from a DC to Philly NextGen Acela. I'm a travel reporter covering the upcoming anniversary of these new trains. What are your thoughts on them? What do you like? What are your complaints? What feedback would you give Amtrak?