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I traveled from Chicago to Washington on Southwest Airlines to start my trip for the Christmas/New Years holidays, as booking coach on the Capitol Limited is a fool's errand if you're not drastically far in advance. Tickets were nearly twice the cost of my flight when I booked it (got a good...

I saw this quote from Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner: https://chicago.suntimes.com/2023/11/21/23971484/amtrak-ridership-thanksgiving-holiday-empire-builder-chip No paywall, but you have to sign up with email to read the article. Not to bash endlessly on Mr. Gardner, but is this claim actually...

I took the Lincoln Service - Missouri River Runner train on Friday, November 3. We were four hours late into St. Louis due to some random events - a truck stuck under a bridge, a drunk person on the bridge over the Mississippi River. But we also left an hour late due to equipment malfunctions...

I took the Lake Shore Limited 6/22 CHI-ROC and 6/26 ROC-CHI. This is a segment I travel a couple times each year. Previously I always rode in business class, but since the elimination of this class of service, I have been riding in coach. Demand remains clearly high - outbound the listed...

This was my first long distance trip on a Superliner train. I have previously taken the Texas Eagle from St. Louis to Chicago, but that doesn't seem to quite count. The train arrived six minutes late, with the arrival time accurately predicted by the Amtrak app. One note about the Harper's...

If I booked a ticket Chicago to Philadelphia, on the Capitol Limited to DC and transferring to the Northeast Regional in DC to Philly, are there any consequences if my travel plans change and I simply don't get on the transfer in DC? Presuming no checked baggage and no implications for a return...

I was interested in learning about why Amtrak operates as it does in the event of major/catastrophic delays, like with the Auto Train situation. - Why does Amtrak not back up the stalled train to the nearest station, so that passengers can freely disembark? I imagine there are liability...

I currently have a (refundable) Amtrak coach reservation for 12/27. However, my holiday plans may be changing, and I'm looking to book a different ticket on the same day, on an entirely different Amtrak train (yes, I'm very popular). I'd like to book now to lock in a low fare, even though my...

There's a lot of info on this site about long-distance routes that have seen sleeper car reductions since the onset of COVID-19. I was wondering if we could pool our collective knowledge to track coach car reductions from pre-COVID times. For example, I've seen the Lake Shore Limited is up to...

Over the holidays, I will be traveling on a Superliner overnight for the first time, ABQ to CHI. As a solo traveler, my preference would be a window seat, but I am likely going to need to use the bathroom at least once overnight. I haven't been on a Superliner in some time, so I'm curious to...

On a date I'm looking to travel this summer, a bedroom is showing available for zero points in the app. Obviously a glitch - would Amtrak honor the ticket? I'm guessing no...

I've usually been a business class traveler on the Lake Shore Limited, but with its removal looks like I'll be in coach for an August trip Chicago to Albany, and then Albany to Chicago. I was curious if there is any potential advantage in booking coach on 448 vs 48 eastbound, and 449 vs. 49...

My 5/23 trip Bos-Chi now has this bus segment. Is it really a five hour bus trip? Doesn't seem possible. Should I expect any passengers beyond those ticketed on Amtrak?

My first attempt to avoid flying for environmental purposes has been thwarted by Amtrak's service cuts. I'm considering Greyhound instead of flying. The issue is my trip would be 12 hours Rochester to Boston with two transfers. Granted, you only hear the horror stories, but I've seen a lot of...

I had a $20 E-voucher from before the pandemic. I (cleverly? not cleverly?) tried to evade its 12/31/21 expiration by purchasing a $20 ticket (value fare) on an Illinois corridor train (I live in Chicago). I had (and have) no intent of actually taking this trip but was hoping I could modify...

I went to book an LSL ticket today and saw the price had increased pretty significantly despite the train still being 10% full, same as last I checked. It seems that fares for Wednesday/Thursday trains in May/June/July eastbound all have elevated prices while the rest of the days of the week...

I will be taking a Wednesday trip from Rochester to Boston on the Lake Shore Limited in May. I'm going back and forth between coach and business class and was curious if anyone had insights on what the volume of ridership is generally like for this segment. Judging by 2019 data, it seems like...

I am looking to book a three segment trip, two in business class and one with a saver or value fare. If I had to cancel, what fare rules apply?

As far as I can tell, the three long distance routes with business class are the Lake Shore Limited, Palmetto and Coast Starlight. The first two makes sense: LSL is a Viewliner train and needs a cafe car (split with business) for coach passengers who can't use the dining car, and there's no...

As a somewhat light sleeper, would there be an advantage in booking lower-level Superliner coach seats? With seating for only 12, it would seem to be a quieter, calmer spot. However, would there be noise concerns from people descending the stairs to use the bathrooms on the lower level? I've...