wahoonc

I have used a variety of Amtraks over the years. Roll on service is going to be great, however Amtrak is at the mercy of Congress for funding and we know how well THAT has been working out.

I have found the absolutely best bet with Amtrak if you positively want to get your bike on board is to go with a folder in a bag. Many of the stations don't have baggage service, I strongly suspect that they won't have roll on service at those either. I am trying to figure out how they plan to offer roll on service at places like Charleston, SC and Fayetteville, NC where they don't have the elevated platform. I guess you could hand it up to the baggage guy...

Aaron

irwin7638

Those services have been available for years. The newer cars are supposed to be in service and I was told a couple of months ago that the roll out was on schedule, but they aren't yet. I know I will be taking a trip in April, I wouldn't be surprised if I have to box my bike. I'm certainly hoping it gets done. We have one train with roll on service from Kzoo to Chicago, from Chicago I can take 6 different trans continental trains. Sounds sweet to me.

Marc

Lone

<admin edit: removed political comment>

edthesped

Talk about out of left, or should I say right, field...

Still no capital limited, makes no sense to me. Greater Pittsburgh Airport has a bicycle assembly area and what appears to be a marked route onto the trail from the parking lot, I've only seen the signs not actually followed them, so they must see some commercial value in accommodating people riding the trail. Yet Amtrak with a line that parallels the GAP and C&O remains oblivious to any commercial value.

Papa Tom

Of course it is, but why do we have to keep clicking back and forth to the site for a description of each route? Wouldn't riding AMTRAK be just a little easier if the "Cascades" route was called the "Vancouver to Eugene" route? And why is the "Capitol Corridor" used to describe a route on the west coast? To the best of my knowledge, the capitol is in DC, which, if I remember right, is on the EAST coast.

I don't want to waste any more space in this thread with this, but I'm just making the point that everything about AMTRAK seems to be geared toward pushing customers away in frustration. I hope this is a move toward a more friendly, more practical service.

staehpj1

Just me, but I suspect that they really can't even begin to compete on purely practical basis. I can't imagine many would pay more than airfare (a lot more if they get a roomette) to take three long days to go coast to coast for purely practical reasons. I suspect that a substantial portion of their riders see the train as an idealized link to to something more romanticized and less as the most practical way to get from point a to point b. For some the train ride is the primary purpose for the trip. For that market their naming probably sounds much more appealing.

Papa Tom

You're probably accurate, staehpj1, but the reality (as I know it) is that AMTRAK's business has been on the downslide for decades now. Perhaps it's time to try a new marketing strategy.

Cyclists have been screaming for station-to-station service for years. If AMTRAK is going to try appealing to this market, why not do it 100% and make a big deal about it? Once you've realized that the Capitol Corridor route doesn't go anywhere near Washington, DC or the surrounding states, and once you've finally figured out where the individual routes do go, you still have to figure out which stops along the way are now equipped to handle bicycle passengers.

Either pit or get off the shot, AMTRAK.

BobG

Should ACA re-name the "Northern Tier" the "Bike Ride from Anacortes WA to Bar Harbor ME". Or the "TransAmerica" The "Bike Ride from Yorktown VA to Astoria OR"? Or maybe we could follow the airlines example and call it "ACA 504". And California's Capitol building is located in Sacramento, thus the name "Capitol Corridor" for a rail route which is a corridor to Sacramento and beyond from the other routes.

The original post of this thread serves to point out that Amtrak is finally making an effort to provide better service for cyclists. But why do folks keep asking about Amtrak routing and baggage policy details on Bike Forums? My posts on this thread are to point out you can go directly to the source of information in the time that it takes to post a question here here asking others to look it up for you!

Walter S

I don't see my preference for riding a train as romantic. I find it to be more relaxed, more time to enjoy natural beauty, easier to take my bicycle, stations more accessible by bicycle, usually friendlier people. If I enjoy the ride I don't mind it takes longer.

Papa Tom

>>>>But why do folks keep asking about Amtrak stuff on Bike Forums? My posts on this thread are to point out you can go directly to the source of information in the time that it takes to post a question here here asking others to look it up for you!<<<<<

That's a big part of the issue, Bob. I tried to use AMTRAK for business trips during the 2K's and I found the information at the website to be so convoluted that I most often gave up after ten minutes and booked an airline flight instead. With bicycle information, I have found their website to be useless. And forget about calling the info line or chasing down a conductor and trying to ask him/her about bicycling policy.

I, for one, ask questions about AMTRAK here on the bicycling forum because I want definitive answers from the mouths of people who have been there and done that. Anytime I've ever asked an AMTRAK rep a question about bicycling on AMTRAK, they preface the answer with "I don't THINK" or "As far as I know." It's the same reason I would post a question here about bicycle touring in Italy, rather than contacting the Venice Chamber of Commerce about it.

And to answer your question, the names "Northern Tier" and "TransAmerica" provide enough information by themselves to hint at where they go. Names like "Crescent" and "Empire Builder" do not, and in my opinion, are an unnecessary hindrance to finding the AMTRAK route you want, fast. Worse than that, it makes following discussions of AMTRAK routes on a forum like this even more of a nuisance because you constantly have to refer back to the AMTRAK site to have SOME idea of the region people are talking about.

EDIT: Walter, I don't think staehpj1 meant that trains are "romantic" in the sense you might have interpreted. He was suggesting that rail riders choose to do so because of the simpler, more scenic,and more relaxed vibe that trains provide.

BobG

Neither do I. One of my most relaxing trips was taking the "Montrealer" from VT to Montreal. The "Canadian" from Montreal to Regina SK. Then a long 2 month bike trip south through the western states finishing near Santa Fe NM. Finally a return east on the "Southwest Chief" and "Lake Shore Limited" Yes, there is a bit of romanticism in those route names and each train ride was 3 days of anticipation of and reflection on a wonderful bike trip.

edthesped

The Capitol Corridor is a Northern California route and the Capitol Limited is the one that parallels the C&O and GAP. Very confusing for sure. I spent a couple of years in Germany and traveled extensively by rail but have yet to find a good reasonably priced trip on Amtrak, however, being able to take bikes would offset fares that are frequently higher than flying.

Walter S

I doubt we'll see roll on service at all stations. You would need an Amtrak official involved in the loading process for safety, security, liability reasons. Some of the "stations" are hardly more than a covered loading area. Amtrak doesn't have the staff to support this without substantial cost that I question them accepting.

edthesped

Agreed but certain stops seem to make good business sense, even if only done on certain days of the week. I would think that being able to put bikes on and off in Cumberland would open up a new market, myself being one of them. My daughter rode from Pgh to DC last summer and when I picked her up at the Amtrak station in Pgh it looked like a good 30% of the passengers getting off the train in Pgh were GAP/C&O cyclists. Maybe it was an atypical day, who knows.

irwin7638

I would not expect to see roll on service anywhere without baggage service. The other stops are simply not scheduled enough time to allow access to the baggage car. Regarding the other service questions which have been mentioned; we are dealing with a government service that operates in a perpetual state of bankruptcy. If there was a real demand for passenger service, the private railroads would not have deserted it in the late 60's.

Marc

CliffordK

I've taken my bike on the train a few times over the last decade or so. At least for the Eugene-Portland line, it is nothing new.

It costs about $5 extra for the bike. In the station they point you to the baggage car where you drop off (and later pick up) your bike. It is fairly convenient.

A couple of times I just wanted to leave my bike at the station, but they wouldn't secure it inside the station with "baggage", and had no place outside to secure it other than just chaining it overnight on a rack (no doubt thieves can guess a bike at a train station isn't being watched overnight). So, the only choice was to pay the extra $5 and take it with me.

Around here, Amtrak has both train and bus routes. I assume you could take it on the bus, but it would be laying down, and a bit tighter storage.

mev

For what it is worth, when lived in Portland, OR a few years ago - the roll on service on the Amtrak Cascades let me get on/off at multiple different stations. For example in addition to getting on/off at Eugene, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver, I also
- departed in Tukwila. The train itself made a brief stop, but they alerted me in advance, I got off train - went to front baggage car and got the bike as they handed it to me.
- embarked in Salem. Again, I dropped off the bike at baggage car and then went back to get in my seat.

The roll on service on that train was a bit different than traditional baggage service. In addition to not boxing the bike, one dropped it off or picked it up directly from baggage car. Also, there were explicit reservations for the bike as there was limited number of hooks to hang bikes. I'm not sure what Amtrak will do on other trains, but if it is like Amtrak Cascades then one might be able to do this at more stations.

irwin7638

I hope that's what we get, but I'm not going to get my hopes up.

Marc

staehpj1

Bingo.

B. Carfree

There is a way to get some very low fares on Amtrak, assuming you make a relatively normal number of purchases over the course of the year. They offer a credit card (Amtrak Guest Rewards). Each purchase dollar yields one point (extra points available for certain purchases). The card often comes with anywhere from 1000-1500 free points. Assuming an opportunity cost of 1% (what you may get as a cash back payment from other credit cards), then the 1500 points a trip from Eugene to Seattle costs me is equivalent to $15. I don't know about you, but that seems like an incredibly reasonable price to me.

Then again, I have the advantage of using my guest rewards card for a home business that racks up many thousands of dollars of purchases each year, so I ride the train regularly without ever paying a cash fare. This comes in very handy when I ride the Coast Starlight to California since the point cost of a sleeper for two is extremely cheap compared to the cash cost.

CliffordK

I'm not sure I'm ready to ride the 10 to 15 miles to the train station with my folder. I suppose it needs some adjustment (fitting?) and a good tune-up. I imagine it would still be a little awkward. Perhaps it would be a reason to consider a Bike Friday.

So far, on the times I needed to bring my bike, it wasn't a problem (in Oregon), usually with advanced ticket purchases.

I did get kicked off the train once in Italy for taking my bike on the train despite "compacting" it with removing the wheels. Perhaps I would have been fine with a super-sized bag. Another time though, I was just fine.

indyfabz

You could not be more incorrect. Ridership and revenues are up and have been climbing for years. Indeed, 2012 was a record breaking year. More and more states have been chipping in with subsidies because they have heard their residents voices for increased rail options. The Keystone service between NYC and into PA is a great example. The Hiawatha service between Milwaukee and Chicago is another. And that's not even mentioning record ridership on the Northeast Corridor. Even the premium priced Acelas and usually mobbed during the week. The extensions of some of some NEC trains into VA has also attracted a lot of ridership.

staehpj1

I have to agree with some of that, but find that I differ on a number of points.

• The scenery is very good on some Amtrak routes.
• On the subject of nicer people... Assuming you mean staff, that seems to vary with the size of the station. The small station in the middle of nowhere usually has nice helpful staff. The big city stations are more likely to not be much different than big city airports in that regard. If you mean other passengers I've usually met nice people on both.
• Accessibility by bicycle... I have generally not had a problem getting to or from either.
• Amtrak does win on the ease of taking a bike if the stations in question have baggage service.
• I have generally found the length of the Amtrak ride to be a hassle. It means more time away from home for a given tour, and I'd rather either spend a three more days on the road or get home three days sooner than sit on the train for three days. If I want to go to from my home in the mid Atlantic region and ride the West coast, the train adds close to a week to the trip. That is less of a big deal for me now that I am retired but it is still a pretty big hassle.
• Comfort... I actually find the train seats to be much less comfortable if I want to sleep than airline seats. The length of time on the train ride compounds that discomfort. It does help that you can get up and walk around or go sit in an observation car for a change of pace. Also if you opt for a roomette you can eliminate that discomfort, but it is crazy expensive unless you are sharing the roomette.
• One Amtrak plus that you didn't mention... On the airlines, changing plans is a huge hassle and often is a big expense. Changing plans with Amtrak has been super easy in my experience. If you want to return home a few days later or earlier it is much easier with Amtrak and generally can be done with no extra cost, and just a quick phone call. Changing airline plans often results in a horror story.

Universally available roll on service would be nice and would make me likely to choose the train more often than I have in the past.

Papa Tom

Wow! That's not what I've read and heard lately, but if it's true, they should build on the success by encouraging new and different types of riders to get on board. Making the trains more bicyclist-friendly is a great start. For me, giving the routes more easily-identifiable names would also help.

staehpj1

I have thought about this a bit since my last post and the more I think about it the less I think the names of the trains are a deterrent to potential passengers. Here is my rationale:

1. Folks just looking for the best way to get from point A to point B would go to the web site and enter their endpoints and dates into the form. They wouldn't even see the names until they did that. I know that when I wanted to book travel where I primarily wanted to go from A to B, I never went looking for the route name. It is kind of like booking a flight where they don't even bother to name routes at all. I'd think you would typically go to Amtrak.com where the home page lets you pick "From", "To". and the dates for travel.
2. Folks browsing an online map or the glossy brochures looking for an excursion would likely find the names charming. BTW, unless things have changed they do a really good job of selling the routes in those glossy brochures.
3. Folks looking for an excursion on a particular train would likely find the Amtrak names appealing.
4. All would likely find the names charming during and after their trips when talking about them to friends.

So basically it seems to me that folks looking for pure utilitarian travel don't ever really need to deal with the names and folks looking for an excursion are likely to like the names.