Question about 17 yr old son's upcoming trip

[Patti]

Hi,

I just found this forum and thought I might get some input about my son's upcoming trip.

He will be traveling from Phoenix, AZ to Dallas, TX. There will be a 3 hr layover in San Antonio, TX. Is anyone familiar with the 'arriveontime.net' shuttle service from Phoenix to the Amtrak station in Maricopa?

I'm concerned about the 3 hr layover. Since he won't be changing trains, will he be allowed to stay on the train during the layover?

And last of all, is there anything to do that might interest a 17 yr old on the train, such as video games?

Thanks,

Abbylu

 

[WICT106]

If he wants video games, he'll have to bring his own along. Oh, and make sure to bring along headphones!

The connecting shuttle services that Amtrak uses are usually pretty good. One thing that absolutely must be pointed out regarding the Sunset Ltd. : Amtrak doesn't own the tracks that it uses. Most tracks that Amtrak uses are owned by the private freight RR companies. IOW, the tracks aren't "public" in the same sense that highways are. The freight RRs also handle all of the traffic control over their own tracks (which means that Amtrak has to follow the directions from the private RR traffic controllers. Again, this is different than the airlines where everything is taken care of by the FAA). What this means in practice is that Amtrak is highly subject to the whims of the freight RRs. In the case of the line that goes through AZ, the tracks are owned by the Union Pacific RR, a railroad that has been strongly suspected of being outright hostile to Amtrak's presence over its (private) rails.

This same route also has a lot of freight traffic congestion. Translation: just like highways & airlines, this line can see more than its share of delays & rail traffic jams

Which brings up another topic: most americans have been completely oblivious to the high levels of freight traffic going over the rails during the past decade & a half. Consequently, they are surprised, sometimes unpleasantly, to find their own trains get delayed for lots and lots of freight trains. This is something that is far from Amtraks' control.However, that's a topic for another post

Other members of this forum who are more familiar with the operations of the TX Eagle will be able to answer.

 

[AMTK@AUS]

Your son will be on one of the through cars from Los Angeles to Chicago, so he will stay on board the train in San Antonio. As long as his ticket says train 422, hes fine. Good luck!

 

[Trogdor]

Theoretically, he will stay on the train, in his assigned car, all the way to Dallas. Train 422 is actually a through-car service connecting two trains, trains 2 (Sunset Limited) and 22 (Texas Eagle), in San Antonio.

However, if the Sunset Limited (the train through Maricopa) is running late, it can miss the connection in San Antonio. In this case, Amtrak will probably put passengers on a bus to catch up.

In the last couple of weeks, the Sunset Limited has been doing much better, on-time-wise, however, often that three hours is still not enough to allow for the connection.

Don't worry, though, as no matter what, Amtrak will ensure that he gets to his destination.

 

[jccollins]

Is anyone familiar with the 'arriveontime.net' shuttle service from Phoenix to the Amtrak station in Maricopa?

No, I have never heard of this one. I tried typing in http://www.arriveontime.net thinking that it is their web address but it doesn't work. Where did you hear or find information about this shuttle service?

I know that White's Shuttle (19984 N John Wayne Pkwy. Maricopa AZ. 520-568-4404) connects from Phoenix to the Maricopa Amtrak Station and meets every train. This is the only service I know of serving the Maricopa Amtrak Station, but is quite expensive at $55/person one way between the Phoenix Airport and Maricopa train station.

 

[Anthony]

$55 one way. Wow, that seems excessive. Isn't the Maricopa station only something like thirty miles from Phoenix?

 

[jccollins]

$55 one way. Wow, that seems excessive. Isn't the Maricopa station only something like thirty miles from Phoenix?

Yup - it sure is! There was an article in the Phoenix paper about six-eight months ago about how White's is charging nearly twice the one way Amtrak fare from LA to Maricopa just for the 30-40 mile ride into Phoenix. I guess that's what happens when you have a monopoly of the market, though. Quite a few passengers arrive in Maricopa without realizing that it is isolated from the city and that they'll be stranded there. The result is they are often glad to pay the $55 ea just to get into the city.

Why, oh why, can't Amtrak arrange a thruway service MRC-Phoenix? :angry:

 

[saxman]

I've riden the San Antonio to Dallas train and it is not a bad ride. The Dallas Station is nice and you can connect from there onto the DART light rail and the Trinity Rail Express which goes back to Fort Worth. I guess someone might pick him up. Give him some money for food or he can bring some along. Cards, headphones, magazines are a good idea. They do play movies in the evening in the lounge car which is open to anyone.

Chris

 

[RandyJay]

I think everyone else has it pretty well covered, just be sure he knows he will be "captive" for quite a few hours on this journey. Books or an MP3 player are good options too, although the view out the window can often satisfy me for long periods of time! Also have some cash for buying food and drink as needed. The lounge car is a good place to escape the routine of your seat and socialize. Remember to safeguard valuables and electronics when away from your seat - "missing" items are pretty rare on the train but better not to tempt anyone.

Yes, it's possible given the Sunset's tendancy to lateness that he will be on a bus for a portion of the trip - the decision point is El Paso, TX - if the train is late enough at that point to miss the San Antonio connection, passengers bound for Ft. Worth, Dallas, and northward are bussed up I-20. Not as much fun as the train, but he will still get there! The Dallas station is nice if he has to wait and has good access to I-35 and downtown.

 

[jccollins]

I would recommend visiting the dining car for all meals rather than the lounge. By the time you factor a whole bunch of junk food from the lounge, you can purchase meals from the dining room for about the same price, the food is of much better quality, it will kill a bit more time, and you have a nice opportunity to meet and talk with other people travelling on the train. I would highly recommend enjoying at least one dinner in the dining room for a change of pace, anyway. If price is a major concern, Amtrak always have an evening's special (usually pretty good, too) for just $11.00.