Northeast Regional discussion

[crescent-zephyr]

"Dedicated" IMO seems to be more of a suggestion, than a standard from my observation when riding these days. With that said, there is one conductor I get once in awhile who seems to stay dedicated to the business class car when he works the train. He has a great sense of humor, but is no non-sense when a situation warrants it.

The Carolinian used to have a dedicated Business Class attendant - I'm not sure if they still do or not. Coach and Business Class Attendants are part of the On Board Service Staff - the Conductor is part of the operations staff.

 

[TheVig]

The Carolinian used to have a dedicated Business Class attendant - I'm not sure if they still do or not. Coach and Business Class Attendants are part of the On Board Service Staff - the Conductor is part of the operations staff.

I've observed the role being staffed by one or the other on the Carolinian.

 

[austm]

HI I would like to travel on the northern regional train from DC to NYC. The only train that has a checked baggage service is the Cresent,. The acela does not suit timetable wise for the date I need so my question is about NER. There is no way I could lift or pull down a large suitcase. I know there is a red cap service but that will help you get on but not get off. My question is does the northern regional train have space at the end of the carriage for suitcases and if so, how much space? Does the train start the journey in DC as this would mean you would be more likely to get one of those spaces. Thank you in advance for your help

 

[AmtrakBlue]

HI I would like to travel on the northern regional train from DC to NYC. The only train that has a checked baggage service is the Cresent,. The acela does not suit timetable wise for the date I need so my question is about NER. There is no way I could lift or pull down a large suitcase. I know there is a red cap service but that will help you get on but not get off. My question is does the northern regional train have space at the end of the carriage for suitcases and if so, how much space? Does the train start the journey in DC as this would mean you would be more likely to get one of those spaces. Thank you in advance for your help

Some NERs originate in DC, some originate in Virginia.

You should be able to request a red cap meet your train in NYC. Ask the conductor to radio ahead for one.

There is some space at one end of each car for larger bags.

 

[austm]

Some NERs originate in DC, some originate in Virginia.

You should be able to request a red cap meet your train in NYC. Ask the conductor to radio ahead for one.

There is some space at one end of each car for larger bags.

Thank you. One more question, is there a regular sales pattern. I can see $35 for July trips which seems very reasonable but wondering whether I should wait a while for a sale.

 

[MARC Rider]

If you really want to have seat on the Northeast Regional facing forward, all the business class seats in the 2x1 club-cafe business class seats face forward. These are found on the Vermonter, on the 65/66/67 overnight trains to Boston and on one of the Roanoke trains (151 southbound, not sure of the number on the northbound version.)

 

[AmtrakMaineiac]

Thank you. One more question, is there a regular sales pattern. I can see $35 for July trips which seems very reasonable but wondering whether I should wait a while for a sale.

Amtrak uses yield management like the airlines so prices tend to go up as you get closer to your travel date. I would grab it, if a sale happens you could always cancel and rebook.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

HI I would like to travel on the northern regional train from DC to NYC. The only train that has a checked baggage service is the Cresent,. The acela does not suit timetable wise for the date I need so my question is about NER. There is no way I could lift or pull down a large suitcase. I know there is a red cap service but that will help you get on but not get off. My question is does the northern regional train have space at the end of the carriage for suitcases and if so, how much space? Does the train start the journey in DC as this would mean you would be more likely to get one of those spaces. Thank you in advance for your help

Just happen to be sitting near the luggage area. The area on the left and the rack on the right are for luggage that can’t fit above the seats. The floor area on the right is not available for luggage - it is the wheelchair accessible seating area.
The rack can also be converted to a bike rack.

 

[JoshCVT]

Yesterday, train 134, delayed roughly an hour from its start in RNK, added an extra 89 minutes in delay between BCV and ALX. I understand that with the train that far off schedule, it's not super surprising to have a delay joining the RF&P, but would conductors typically announce that situation before the stop at Burke Centre, or are you as a rider just going to learn about it when you pull up and hold along Eisenhower Avenue before the switches for an hour and a half?

I ask because I've got a trip coming up in a few weeks in which I'm riding CVS-ALX to pick up Metro to National Airport. I've got plenty of padding for an hour late into Alexandria, but 2.5 would be a different story. If they're likely to announce that major a delay in advance, then I'd probably take my chances, but if it's going to be a surprise, I'll be hopping off at Burke Centre and coughing up for Uber the rest of the way.

 

[TomPittsfieldMA]

On a BC car on the Cascades form Seattle to Vancouver BC teh attendant said the seats are not turned because of their age: they are liable to break and no spare parts are available.

 

[EchoSierra]

If you really want to have seat on the Northeast Regional facing forward, all the business class seats in the 2x1 club-cafe business class seats face forward. These are found on the Vermonter, on the 65/66/67 overnight trains to Boston and on one of the Roanoke trains (151 southbound, not sure of the number on the northbound version.)

Not only this, but they still do flip these seats because it's a single lever and does not require tools. It's so easy that a passenger could (but probably shouldn't) do it.

 

[Amtrak25]

On a BC car on the Cascades form Seattle to Vancouver BC the attendant said the seats are not turned because of their age: they are liable to break and no spare parts are available.

The Horizon cars are 10 years younger than Amfleet-1. I don't buy that excuse.

 

[Rasputin]

On a BC car on the Cascades form Seattle to Vancouver BC teh attendant said the seats are not turned because of their age: they are liable to break and no spare parts are available.

It is amazing how often people will come up with a rational-sounding excuse for not providing a service.

It is right there in the Big Book of Amtrak Excuses - Page 313.

 

[PVD]

It is amazing how often people will come up with a rational-sounding excuse for not providing a service.

It is right there in the Big Book of Amtrak Excuses - Page 313.

If they are talking about the Horizon splits, it might be true.

 

[lordsigma]

My most typical train travel is between Wilmington, DE and NYC. Wilmington being in the middle of the route, seats can be hard to find as it is. Luckily, for my next trip (booked before they started the backwards seats) it made economic sense to use Acela northbound and business class southbound. Amtrak changed my seat on the southbound but its still forward facing.

Going forward, if the price difference between coach and Acela/business is too high I'm going to consider Greyhound. Two hours isn't too bad on a bus, and I'd rather do that than ride backwards. Schedule isn't quite as convenient but is doable- Port Authority is actually more convenient to my destination (theatre distict) than Penn Station. Luckily, I ususally am booking a few months in advance and often am able to get cheaper fares- sometimes Acela is actually lower than coach.

Point is- I doubt I'm the only NEC rider who will consider other options to avoid having to pay top dollar to ride forwards.

If riding forward is essential I believe you can ask the conductor to help you find a forward facing seat - and they can ask if anyone is willing to switch. The vast majority of people don't care about riding backwards and I'm sure there is probably almost always someone who would voluntarily swap seats if asked - I certainly would. With Greyhound you lose quite a lot of legroom and its much less comfortable - for me it's way more of a downgrade than riding backwards on Amtrak but to each their own I guess... (I'll ride forward if I have the choice but I really don't care if I have to ride backwards.)

I don't have an issue riding backwards, but I know some do. What's interesting to me is that so many people talk about how Amtrak needs to be more like European trains, Now they have it and they don't like that idea.

Many people also praise Brightline as a model too. And guess how the seats are configured on Brightline..... Granted they have all assigned seating. Seems like going to all assigned seating is probably the best way to resolve this issue.

 

[PVD]

I would imagine a good bit of the bias is cultural, since most of us are in tune with riding forward as a norm. Not such a big deal in most of the rest of the world. As it becomes more common, less and less young people will be acculturated to the ride forward good, ride backward bad concept. But it certainly is a big change for many of us.

 

[jis]

I would imagine a good bit of the bias is cultural, since most of us are in tune with riding forward as a norm. Not such a big deal in most of the rest of the world. As it becomes more common, less and less young people will be acculturated to the ride forward good, ride backward bad concept. But it certainly is a big change for many of us.

At least in India no one seems to care much as half the seats are facing backwards in all varieties of Sleepers and also in General Second Class and Suburban EMUs which covers almost every rider in the system.

But as far as the US goes it does not matter what the rest of the world does. We will obsess about whatever catches out fancy and this is one of our favorite obsessions for a while.

 

[PVD]

At least in India no one seems to care much as half the seats are facing backwards in all varieties of Sleepers and also in General Second Class and Suburban EMUs which covers almost every rider in the system.

But as far as the US goes it does not matter what the rest of the world does. We will obsess about whatever catches out fancy and this is one of our favorite obsessions for a while.

Yes, and since much of the rest of the world accepts it and doesn't have a major problem, that suggests that it is mostly psychological, not physiological.

 

[jis]

Yes, and since much of the rest of the world accepts it and doesn't have a major problem, that suggests that it is mostly psychological, not physiological.

I would put it a bit differently. There is a group of people for whom there is a genuine physiological problem. The other parts of the world have figured out a way of accommodating them to general satisfaction following the norms of compromise prevalent in those societies.

Afterall almost everywhere half the seats face forward, so it should not be all that difficult to find a way to accommodate all those that have a genuine physiological problem (a cohort much smaller than 50% of the travelers) to face the way they need to. Heck they are able to accommodate the elderly on lower berths and ladies in special accommodation set side for them for those that desire so, This is no different in principle.

 

[PVD]

Which is why i said mostly. I do believe that the number of people who claim a physiological reason to oppose sitting facing the rear is much greater than the actual number. A bit like the I can't have gluten crowd versus the people with a physical condition like celiac sprue.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

The vast majority of people don't care about riding backwards

I do not think that is a correct statement. I think the vast majority of people would prefer to ride forwards in the direction of travel.

As far as brightline is concerned... they should be flipping seats as well but we finally got them to take off those terrible wraps so one victory at a time! haha.

 

[west point]

I have a very high level of liking to look at what is passing any window whether local or a new vista. That is why rail is my preferred method of travel. By auto I always share driving if others can share. RRs means a regular speed train is preferred not HSR in Europe or Acela in the USA.. I prefer riding forward as the zoom in when watching outside is much more pleasing than a zoom out! Backwards riding does have an upside when traveling along other main tracks as a visual of CTC clear signals can indicate a train meet is about to happen. ABS not so much.

Backwards riding especially when viewing out the railfan rear window causes a false visual of continuing zoom out even when stopped! 3 - 10 minutes depending on how long rearward viewing was done.