Recent content by LauraPX

Re your car attendant's tipping speech -- Amtrak's Service Standards Manual does prohibit employees from soliciting tips. That is spelled out on page 6-11, in chapter 6 ("Crew Functions & Responsibilities"), section 5 ("Employees – General Guidelines"), subsection (n) "Tips/Gratuity Handling")...

Thank you for the link, I have saved it with my other Amtrak links. Interesting that they have the info on the berth sizes so well hidden. Perhaps they thought it would be bad PR and scare away business, but I think openness is a better policy so passengers know what to expect. Boarding the...

joelkfla Thanks, what a great chart! Could you please provide the url for this? I tried to find info on berth dimensions on the Amtrakwebsite, but the pages I found just gave the room dimensions. This is the one for the family bedroom: Amtrak Family Bedroom At one time the Amtrak website had a...

An internet search revealed a taxi company in Maysville, Geno's Taxi, phone 606-564-8911. I would give them a call in advance of your trip and ask about the late night pickup and also what their policy is if the train is running very late. In a town of less than 10,000 people it is unlikely the...

>> I depart 3/21 & return the 3/29. All but the Coast Starlight (roomette) are listed as family bedroom which I don’t understand. I received the car #’s & all the room #’s say 015. << That's a good time of year; still a lot of snow in the mountains, but around the equinox so the days will be...

>> The SWC takes through the hot and humid southwest. << Er, hot and *dry* southwest. The southeast is hot and humid, the southwest is hot and dry.

>>Probably been asked before but besides looking out of the window, what other ways do you entertain yourselves on an Amtrak train, whether coach or sleeper? Watch movies on a laptop? Etc.<< Audio books are the way to go. That way you can read and enjoy the scenery at the same time. Regular or...

The Torpedo Room is closed for the summer, but as it's near the Berkeley Amtrak station it's a great destination for a beer fan! Since you're a local you probably know only the Capitol Corridor trains stop there, so the service isn't terribly frequent. I think there's a bus to the North Berkeley...

Will this really be a replacement station, or an additional station? If a replacement, this doesn't look like a good location. It doesn't seem to be near downtown Newport News, or even at a transit center. City Center Blvd. looks like it would be a better location than Bland Blvd. One of the...

When the blankets were sold as individual items in the lounge car, travelers reported that there was a limited supply and it was best to buy one soon after you board. The same may be true of the amenity kits. Other travelers suggested bringing a beach towel or bath sheet from home, which could...

I agree with the hostel suggestion. I have stayed at the HI hostels in Philly, Baltimore and D.C. All three were clean but I agree that the hostel in D.C. is a large hostel and it can be noisy. The hostel in Philly is quiet and is a one seat ride from the 30th St. Amtrak station, just a couple...

The Thruway buses aren't bad for a short run (2 hours or less), but they are not a good option for longer trips. I'm not tall, but I find the legroom isn't great, you can't get up and walk around easily like you can on a train, and there's no food or beverage service. That bus ride from San Luis...

New York to L.A. via LSL & the Texas Eagle would cover 9 meals, though you could get whatever meal you wanted for lunch in CHI between trains. I was just playing around on the Amtrak web site and was surprised to see that the roomette fare CHI-LAX, departing 5/13, is $670 on the Southwest Chief...

An interesting topic. I was told at one point that your sleeper ticket entitles access to the entire train. Obviously you can't take up a coach seat that is needed for a coach passenger, though. I remember reading a trip report some years ago where a sleeper passenger used a pair of coach seats...

OK, I'll bite. Where is POS?