Lower Level Coach

[Kevin L.]

I've been having this nagging question for a while, but what pray tell, is Lower Level Coach?

On some trains it actually costs more than a roomette upgrade, or in all other cases, a considerable portion of the roomette upgrade. Is this the equivalent of business class?

Also, Amtrak's general rooms can only accommodate 2 adults maximum? (Because it'd be nice to /4 the sleeper fare)

 

[p&sr]

I've been having this nagging question for a while, but what pray tell, is Lower Level Coach?

On the Western Trains (Superliner equipment), the regular Coach seats are all on the Upper Level. The Lower Level sometimes has a few seats too, next to all the toilets and the luggage racks. It is for people who don't want to ride on the Upper Level (which has all the good views, and the only access to the Lounge and Dining Cars).

On some trains it actually costs more than a roomette upgrade, or in all other cases, a considerable portion of the roomette upgrade. Is this the equivalent of business class?

Far from it.

The only advantage of the Lower Level is that you don't have to climb a flight of stairs to get to it. So it is typically reserved for people with limited mobility. Otherwise, you generally cannot and should not have such a seat. It needs to be reserved in advance, by special arrangement.

 

[Amtrak839]

It's a coach seat on the lower level of a Superliner. They are the same as any other coach seat, except for their location in the car. I believe there are only 12 of them. All other seats can only be reached by climbing stairs, so they need these seats for people who can't.

A roomette (the most common sleeper room) can accommodate 2 adults max (you could also bring a very small child). A bedroom is designed for 2 adults, but can accommodate 3 fairly easily, as long as 2 people are willing to share the reasonably wide lower bunk. A family bedroom (found only on Superliners) can accommodate 2 adults and 2 children.

 

[the_traveler]

It looks like it costs more, but it is the same fare as any other coach seat. The only difference is that you are guaranteed a seat on the lower level.

 

[Guest_The_Cardinal_*]

The only advantage of the Lower Level is that you don't have to climb a flight of stairs to get to it. So it is typically reserved for people with limited mobility. Otherwise, you generally cannot and should not have such a seat. It needs to be reserved in advance, by special arrangement.

Lower Level seats can be reserved via the online booking system. I always sit in the lower level coaches when I travel from Oregon to Chicago and vice versa. Motion sickness issues. It has been my experience that while they do use some of those seats for people with mobility issues, the majority of those seats are used as "overflow" when the train is overbooked.

 

[AlanB]

The only advantage of the Lower Level is that you don't have to climb a flight of stairs to get to it. So it is typically reserved for people with limited mobility. Otherwise, you generally cannot and should not have such a seat. It needs to be reserved in advance, by special arrangement.

Lower Level seats can be reserved via the online booking system. I always sit in the lower level coaches when I travel from Oregon to Chicago and vice versa. Motion sickness issues. It has been my experience that while they do use some of those seats for people with mobility issues, the majority of those seats are used as "overflow" when the train is overbooked.

Correct. A certain number of lower level seats are blocked out by the system and can only be reserved by those with disabilities who call Amtrak on the phone or visit a station. The remainder are available to anyone and can be booked online.

 

[sky12065]

The only advantage of the Lower Level is that you don't have to climb a flight of stairs to get to it. So it is typically reserved for people with limited mobility. Otherwise, you generally cannot and should not have such a seat. It needs to be reserved in advance, by special arrangement.

Lower Level seats can be reserved via the online booking system. I always sit in the lower level coaches when I travel from Oregon to Chicago and vice versa. Motion sickness issues. It has been my experience that while they do use some of those seats for people with mobility issues, the majority of those seats are used as "overflow" when the train is overbooked.

Correct. A certain number of lower level seats are blocked out by the system and can only be reserved by those with disabilities who call Amtrak on the phone or visit a station. The remainder are available to anyone and can be booked online.

IIRC, aren't they also handy for families with children sometimes?

 

[RailFanLNK]

My girlfriend and I and her two teenage daughters had to sit in the lower level coach seats from Glenwood Springs CO to LNK. At first I wasnt' too thrilled until I figured out the luggage was just outside our door and so was the toilets. The view wasn't all that bad and we never had one person walking through. Really we had alot of privacy and my girlfriends daughter ended up laying down behind the last row of seats and sleeping all the way home laying down. I also ended up sitting in the lower level coach seats last year during National Train Day to DEN. The bad thing this time around was that they had two sets of seats pointing at each other so it made it hard to sleep even though we were in a party of 4.