Recent content by Konrad

High speed rail in Australia! Surely you jest - the XPT from here to Sydney takes almost 7 hours to cover 400 kilometres. And that's about 35 miles per hour. :angry:

I speak from experience on the CZ but it may be in the idea that British and Australian passengers are poor tippers. Me, I tip according to the level of service I receive. And that will be at the end of the journey! And service levels vary widely on Amtrak. I have had brilliant service on...

Look, I loath airport security more than most. I've endured pat downs, hand luggage searches and explosive residue detection (and the sooner they get into profiling the better- this Anglo-Australian athiest ain't gonna bomb a plane). But that's the price of living on an island continent. I've...

Be aware that the private bathroom in the bedrooms is pretty much filled with the toilet. Showering is difficult in the costricted space. However, the lower berth bed is luxurious by world standards. It is generously wide and, for single occupants, you get a plethora of pillows to play with...

It's been nearly a year since I travelled on the Cardinal with diner 8400 in tow from Washington to Indianapolis (for Beech Grove). Any progress reports? Any photographs? After a year they surely could have designed and built a whole new prototype.

Oops :unsure: .

1. Eastbound is definitely the best, descending the front range in the dark into Denver happens far too often westbound. 2. As I take bedrooms I can't comment on the ride downstairs but have never had any problems with motion (but then I've sailed around the world without getting seasick). 3...

Too late! I'll be arriving in under 6 weeks But I'll be flying direct into JFK. Might try and fit in a day trip to Albany but I'll go with low expectations of the service and punctuality. Or maybe I might just hire a car for the day.

And for those of us that use the OED (Oxford English Dictionary) the US has nothing resembling first class, either on the ground, or in the air. And that's a great disappointment to those of us that were brought up on the greatness of the US in the 50's and 60's. Now that we can afford to ride...

Book and pay by credit card ASAP. The fare is fully refundable if you cancel or change your plans until you actually print or obtain your tickets. And as previously noted, the fares can only go up as the train fills. We always dine at the Slanted Door (back of the Ferry Building) but it's...

I believe the Ferry Building (SFC) has a Fast Track machine for printing your tickets so the reservation site should allow you to complete your reservation and print out a bar-coded ticket voucher. It's worked for me in the past but there may be a glitch in the new web site that doesn't...

Took the EB in late September a couple of years ago (easbound) and we got the first snow of the season as we passed through Glacier Park (it fell the night before). Made quite an impression on a boy from the sub-tropics. And where can you fly home from to avoid the boring bits - there doesn't...

Try the cost of an international phone call :huh: . And booking online is so easy to cancel or change.

Rubbish, you can travel the length and breadth of Europe with minimal train changes (and oh how I hate changing trains in Chicago). Sure, European services are generally day trains but they move fast enough that you can reach your destination in daylight. The CityNightLine services traverse...

My suggestion is to forget the rail pass - it's just too restrictive. Go to www.amtrak.com and request a booking from LAX to ORL. It'll give you the quickest (shortest) schedule across the country. Adjust your fares to your preferred accommodations (roomette/sleeper/coach) and adjust the...