New Orleans Station

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Amfleet

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I'm wondering what the New Orleans Amtrak station is like? What kind of area is it in? Are there any hotels/inns/motels near by or within safe walking distance? Also if a train like the eastbound Sunset were running late would the station stay open or would passengers be kicked out at closing time? Any more info would be of help. :)
 
The Amtrak Station in NO is downtown near the Superdome and the New Orleans Arena. The area is a bit seedy and not someplace you'd want to be alone at night. There are a couple of hotels withint walking distance but I can't remember exactly which ones as I'm going from memory and it's been 4 years since I was down there. Just use common sense and keep your guard up and the area isn't too bad during the day.

I believe Greyhound also serves the terminal but I don't remember exactly if that is the case.
 
The New Orleans station was built brand new in 1954 and was quite nice for some years. It actually replaced a number of smaller, decrepit stations. 1954 is very late for a train station to have been built. Today it is intermodal with Greyhound...the area is not too nice. The Superdome is immediately next door and there is a large Hyatt Regency hotel connected to that. I have always had trouble getting reservations anywhere in New Orleans(heavy convention city). There is a Howard Johnsons within walking distance or there used to be. It really is NOT very safe....not too many people around, a lot of highways, underpasses, etc. You are NOT within safe night-time walking distance of the French quarter where there are tons of hotels of every kind.

The station's only real restaurant is a Subway. I think there might be something else but don't nothing much. There is not a true Metropolitan Lounge but a small room shut off with coffee and easy chairs...not many seats.

I have no idea what they do about closing....but since it serves Greyhound also, that just might suggest that it stays open all night. But of course since New Orleans is a terminal, and not a drive-thru destination, perhaps there are no buses originating or terminating in the middle of the night either.

Hope this helps some...check hotel directories and note that the station is very near the Super Dome, if you can't find the station on your maps.
 
For food there is a mall south of the station connected to the Superdome by a walkway I believe it's called the New Orleans Shopping Center. What Bill said is correct, it is not safe walking distance from the French Quarter (about a mile) at night. The problem with New Orleans is that when you are in a nice area a bad area is almost always 3 blocks away.
 
I was trying to plan a trip for myself and New Orleans is where I hit uncertainy and my parents don't want me in a rough area by myself late at night. I am still in the planning stages, but maybe I would be better off switiching trains in San Antonio or something. I'm coming for CHI.
 
As much as I love New Orleans having many good friends still living there and spending a lot of time there while in college I can tell you that you probably do not want to go through there for the above mentioned reasons.

Alan went through NOUPT recently maybe he can lend his experiences there to the discussion.
 
I do not know much about San Antonio but I was there two years ago for the Sunset Limited's long stopover and it seemed like a nice area. We were there about 10 o'clock in the morning ,several hours late(imagine that!)I did not leave the area, but I would suspect it is easier to find a hotel nearby than in New Orelans. One of the biggest things about NO is not only its lack of safety but even getting a hotel room is hard to do, it seems to me. If you were stranded there unexpectldy, due to a late eastbound Sunset, I think you really would have a problem.
 
Only probelm there is that my parents don't want me going half-way across country and since they know about the uncertainty of trains, especially the Sunset, I may have to stick to the east coast.

Every vacation my parents go down to our place in Florida along with me and my sister, but I've been getting kind of tired of it so I though they could fly down and I could take the extra time on train. This would still leave me 4-5 days in the sunshine state, which is better than the 7-8 they would be there. Sometimes one just needs to be alone, especially at my age. I'm counting down the days to college.
 
Amfleet,

I can't answer your question of what happens at night in the NOL station, I didn't pay any attention to that while I was there. I did pick up a few local guidebooks though, so I'll take a look through them just to see if they say anything about hours.

However, might I suggest that you change your plan and instead do what I did? I would suggest that you fly down with your family, then leave early so you can take the train home. This would permit you to take the Sunset to NOL, then take the City of NOL to Chi, and from there take the LSL home to Boston.

Setting your trip this way would almost guarantee that you wouldn't get stuck in NOL late at night. The Sunset is due to arrive at 9:20 AM in New Orleans; the City of NOL leaves at 1:55 PM, giving you a layover of 4 plus hours. Short of a major problem, the Sunset is usually not that late getting into NOL from Florida. Even then they have a 3-hour layover window at NOL for the Sunset. There is also a huge amount of padding between the Bay St Louis stop and New Orleans. Note that the Florida bound Sunset only needs an hour and 25 minutes to cover that distance, while the NOL bound Sunset gets almost 3 hours for the same distance.

So your odds of making this connection are very good. Additionally the connections in Chicago also allow plenty of time.

Now I did leave the station while I was in NOL, however I only went towards the St Charles Streetcar Line. I didn't wander in other directions. I would echo what others have said, during the day it's ok. However night could be a whole other matter. I also did not see any hotels in the immediate area.

One also has to be quite careful even walking in this area, as there are very complicated intersections and highway off ramps. So unlike my typical New Yorker cross against the light mentality, even I was waiting for some of the traffic lights in this area.

The first class lounge is called the Magnolia room; it has one TV, a small coffee pot, and a bottled water dispenser. You can get food at the station, although the choices are limited.

If you have any more questions just let me know. :)
 
Thanks for the help guys, but my plans just got shot. Ran it by them and the said due to "High Terrorist Threat" and "Late Trains" there was now way in hell. It was not the time to argue. I was also planning to go down to Pennsylvania next week on the Acela, but my Mom got tangled up in a bunch of meetings so that trip got cancelled. The next ride could possibly the Acela to New York, then the Silver Star or Meteor to Florida in April then flying back. I'll just see what happens. I'm doing the best I can. :)
 
Amfleet said:
Thanks for the help guys, but my plans just got shot. Ran it by them and the said due to "High Terrorist Threat" and "Late Trains" there was now way in hell. It was not the time to argue.
While I doubt that it would help, the reality is that with the high alert you'd probably be safer on the train than on the plane. :)
 
Amfleet said:
They're parents, and they're hard to come by. B)
So are sons and daughters! :) Hey, there's always next time and hopefully George won't be able to kill Amtrak before then.
 
Amfleet said:
I'm counting down the days to college.
Me too - senior year is going fast.. but not fast enough! :)

I don't know too much about New Orleans, but I can guarantee that the New Orleans station is open when the Sunset Limited arrives since the train carries checked baggage on board for New Orleans.

I just got back from an Amtrak trip to Yosemite today (Martinez-Merced-Yosemite). My first time visiting - it's awesome!
 
My $.02 worth.

The NO station is tied in with the Greyhound station and it does stay open 24 hours. There is a police substation there (at least there was when I went through in December and January).

Taxi rides to all hotels in the downtown area is $10.00. That fare is set by the city council. The closest hotels that I saw were about a four or five block walk.

I stayed at the Ramada Inn on Gravier going east and I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express on Carondelet going west. Both hotels were very nice but I did book early through hotels.com and got decent rates.

The Holiday Inn is about a block and a half from Canal Street. Once you cross Canal, you are on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter.
 
Don't let anything anyone said, me included, discourage you from visitng New Orleans some time, some day. It is a unique city, I do "like" New Orleans, though I don't "love" it the way I love NYC or San Fracnsico. Our caution was just for the specific question about the area, at night, etc.There is much to see and do---many things going on, not just the Mardi Gras, for example.

I am glad another poster clarified that the station is, indeed open 24 hours, it being Greyhound and all. Now that I think aboutit, I, too , remember a police substation being there last August.
 
I too enjoy visiting New Orleans immensly, I still have many great friends down there. The restaurant scene is second to none, not only with the named places but the holes in the wall as well. The biggest problem with the Big Easy is that there is no easing your way in from good area to bad, it goes from really good to really bad fast.

I was looking at my NO map last night and NOUPT is on Poydras St. right next to I-10. Immediately on the other side of I-10 is one of those afroementioned bad areas. The projects in New Orleans are no joke. I made the mistake of getting lost in that area so I speak from experience.

By all means go to New Orleans and enjoy the city but it's probably worth it to wait. Go for Jazzfest even if the prices go up in town a bit the acts that play there make the extra price worth it.
 
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