Hiawatha or Metra

[SteveSFL]

I'm visiting relatives north of Chicago on Sunday. I will be flying into Midway (arrive 9:00AM) and taking the Orange Line to downtown. My relatives live up near the Wisconsin border, so I can take Amtrak Hiawatha to Sturtevant ($24) or I could take Metra UP-N to Waukegan ($7.50).

I have a $400 voucher from a cancelled ticket that I could "refresh" by using it to purchase the Amtrak ticket, and it's "Double Days", so I'm leaning toward Amtrak. Also, SVT is a bit easier for them to get to than Waukegan.

The question I have is how boarding works for the Hiawatha in Chicago. I have taken it from SVT to CHI but never the other way around. And any other Amtrak travel I've done from CHI has been LD-Sleeper so I was boarding from the lounge. Do I just buy my ticket at the ticket counter and then go wait in that coach lounge? I've heard horror stories about the boarding from CHI, but on a Sunday morning should it be something to worry about?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Steve

(And I'll be back at CUS in two weeks for my big western LD trip -- can hardly wait!)

 

[amtrakwolverine]

The Hiawatha boards from the north gate. The train is unreserved so no matter where in line you are just walk thorough the cars until you find a empty seat. The train will arrive in Chicago Unload then they will start boarding right away after that as it is a short turn around time to stay on schedule. The only other train that boards from the north is the Empire builder so 90% of the passengers in the north lounge are for the Hiawatha. You can buy your ticket online the either pick it up from the counter or the Quick track machine which looks like a blue ATM.

 

[Eric S]

As mentioned, the trains are unreserved, and there is also no attempt to direct passengers for certain destinations into particular coaches, so just board and find a seat in whatever car you'd like. I'm guessing you'll be taking either the 10:20am or 1:05pm departure - just a note that the north boarding lounge can be pretty congested at times, especially when passengers waiting for the Empire Builder are also waiting there.

 

[MikefromCrete]

Just get on the train when the announcement is made. If you're taking an early train, there should be plenty of room in the north boarding lounge. People tend to line up before the announcement, but there's no real need. Just get on, find an empty seat and sit down.

 

[SteveSFL]

Thanks! I am going to try to get the 10:20 train. I have no baggage so if my flight is on time, I should be able to make that with no problem. I will plan to get the ticket at the ticket counter since I need to do an exchange of my voucher, but if time runs tight I can always just do it on line and do the voucher later.