Is the Empire Builder RORO?
05-22-17, 10:51 AM
#26
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So I am still unclear on this issue. If there is no option to "add a bike" on the Amtrak website does that mean that I am not allowed to bring a bike onboard. We are looking to take the Maple Leaf this Saturday morning and I am not able to add a bike. The Albany/Rensselaer NY station for that morning on the 10am train does not have checked baggage.
If anyone has brought a bike on Amtrak without the add a bike button being available or the bike being check baggage please let me know. Thank-you
If anyone has brought a bike on Amtrak without the add a bike button being available or the bike being check baggage please let me know. Thank-you
05-22-17, 11:01 AM
#27
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So I am still unclear on this issue. If there is no option to "add a bike" on the Amtrak website does that mean that I am not allowed to bring a bike onboard. We are looking to take the Maple Leaf this Saturday morning and I am not able to add a bike. The Albany/Rensselaer NY station for that morning on the 10am train does not have checked baggage.
If anyone has brought a bike on Amtrak without the add a bike button being available or the bike being check baggage please let me know. Thank-you
If anyone has brought a bike on Amtrak without the add a bike button being available or the bike being check baggage please let me know. Thank-you
"Add a bike" is only for trainside checked service or carry-on service because, in both cases, reservations are required. Assuming you are not talking about a folding bike, the only other way you can travel with a bike is to box it and travel between stations with checked baggage service.
The Maple Leaf service does not appear to offer either carry-on or trainside checked service, and the Maple Leaf does not have regular checked baggage service, so you are out of luck.
Last edited by indyfabz; 05-22-17 at 11:06 AM.
05-11-19, 08:24 AM
#28
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I have booked , with no bike option or charge, from Portland (where I know I need to buy bike) box to chicago . I then transfer (rail) to Illinois town. The Illinois train shows carry on service but no baggage. I assume I will have to get bike box off train (hopefully) unbox and carry on with rest of luggage?
05-12-19, 10:48 AM
#29
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@bikeforum142 My experience with Amtrak and the Empire Builder is that yes, you will need to get the box with the bike off the train in Chicago but unless you use RORO from Portland, which should be an option, you will need to claim the bike (in box) at the baggage claim.
My advice would be to use RORO rather than the box and get your bike option checked off now. The bike gets treated less roughly when they hand it down to you from the baggage car*. You will need to add the fee for the bike option at some point in the journey because they will NOT take the bike without the extra fee. There is no carrying the bike onto the train in some cases. Trains without the proper cubicles in the coaches require you to hand the bike up to someone in the baggage car. On trains with the cubicle spaces, each space is reserved and you will not be allowed to load your bike if the spaces are all taken.
When I did Amtrak to Seattle with a transfer to Mt. Vernon via the Cascade ?Express? there was no checked bag option in Mt. Vernon but they let me use RORO to get my bicycle onto the Cascade train. If you are unsure I would recommend you call Amtrak to see what your options are, but if they accept the bicycle option to be checked when you are ready to purchase an online ticket all the way through to your destination you should probably be o.k. (You can try buying a dummy ticket without hitting the purchase button just to see if they will sell you a ticket with that configuration.) RORO from your start in Portland makes the most sense because otherwise you will need to unbox the bike to have it ready for RORO in Chicago for your transfer.
In my experience using the Empire Builder (2X), the only good reason to travel with the bike boxed as checked baggage was that during the transfer in Chicago from my first train, Lakeshore Ltd., was the lack of having to take responsibility for the bike during the six hour layover between trains. Since the box was checked through to my destination, they just kept it and loaded it on the next train for me. When I used RORO, the second time, I needed to either keep the bike with me the whole time or leave it with baggage check for an extra fee (which I did.) Your situation might be the same, depending on the layover time.
P.S. Since you already have your ticket with no bike option checked, you definitely will need to contact Amtrak to get that added. The no extra charge for the bike doesn't mean they'll take the boxed bike at no extra charge. That becomes a matter of paying when you check in. It was $10 for the box and another $25 or something for the bike in box when I did this a couple of summers ago. RORO becomes a better deal when you don't have to add in the cost of the box.
*It's instructive to watch how they unload the boxed bikes when you are waiting on the siding for them to hand down the RORO bikes. The baggage handlers must not be bike owners from the look of things. They just want the boxes off the train with as little strain on their backs as they can manage. Just pushing them out of the car and flopping them onto the baggage cart seems to be the best way to accomplish that.
My advice would be to use RORO rather than the box and get your bike option checked off now. The bike gets treated less roughly when they hand it down to you from the baggage car*. You will need to add the fee for the bike option at some point in the journey because they will NOT take the bike without the extra fee. There is no carrying the bike onto the train in some cases. Trains without the proper cubicles in the coaches require you to hand the bike up to someone in the baggage car. On trains with the cubicle spaces, each space is reserved and you will not be allowed to load your bike if the spaces are all taken.
When I did Amtrak to Seattle with a transfer to Mt. Vernon via the Cascade ?Express? there was no checked bag option in Mt. Vernon but they let me use RORO to get my bicycle onto the Cascade train. If you are unsure I would recommend you call Amtrak to see what your options are, but if they accept the bicycle option to be checked when you are ready to purchase an online ticket all the way through to your destination you should probably be o.k. (You can try buying a dummy ticket without hitting the purchase button just to see if they will sell you a ticket with that configuration.) RORO from your start in Portland makes the most sense because otherwise you will need to unbox the bike to have it ready for RORO in Chicago for your transfer.
In my experience using the Empire Builder (2X), the only good reason to travel with the bike boxed as checked baggage was that during the transfer in Chicago from my first train, Lakeshore Ltd., was the lack of having to take responsibility for the bike during the six hour layover between trains. Since the box was checked through to my destination, they just kept it and loaded it on the next train for me. When I used RORO, the second time, I needed to either keep the bike with me the whole time or leave it with baggage check for an extra fee (which I did.) Your situation might be the same, depending on the layover time.
P.S. Since you already have your ticket with no bike option checked, you definitely will need to contact Amtrak to get that added. The no extra charge for the bike doesn't mean they'll take the boxed bike at no extra charge. That becomes a matter of paying when you check in. It was $10 for the box and another $25 or something for the bike in box when I did this a couple of summers ago. RORO becomes a better deal when you don't have to add in the cost of the box.
*It's instructive to watch how they unload the boxed bikes when you are waiting on the siding for them to hand down the RORO bikes. The baggage handlers must not be bike owners from the look of things. They just want the boxes off the train with as little strain on their backs as they can manage. Just pushing them out of the car and flopping them onto the baggage cart seems to be the best way to accomplish that.
Last edited by hilltowner; 05-12-19 at 11:03 AM.
05-12-19, 11:29 AM
#30
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@bikeforum142 My experience with Amtrak and the Empire Builder is that yes, you will need to get the box with the bike off the train in Chicago but unless you use RORO from Portland, which should be an option, you will need to claim the bike (in box) at the baggage claim.
https://www.amtrak.com/bring-your-bicycle-onboard
And you are correct about being charged. If you box the bike and check it, you don't get charged when you make your reservation, but you will be charged at the station. Or at least you should be.
Mt bike using Carry-on on the Vermonter:
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05-17-19, 08:02 AM
#31
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In 2013, I took Empire Builder to Chicago, then from Chicago took the Capital Limited to Pittsburgh for GAP and C&O. Then a week later, the reverse on the same routes from DC to Chicago and Chicago to home on Empire Builder. Amtrak transferred our checked bags and bike boxes for us just like airlines transfer your checked stuff.
I have no clue on the current system, but if it was me I would box it up and let them move the bike from train to train so I did not need to deal with it.
Empire builder by the time you get to Seattle, their food selection might be limited in the lounge car and dining car. (Lounge car goes to Portland, dining car to Seattle.) You might want to bring some food along for eating on the train. I always ate breakfast in the dining car but other meals I ate food that I brought. One trip I did the roomette thing, that included meals in the dining car.
Amtrak can be a bit rough on bikes in bike boxes. If I was to do it again, if I had anything fragile I would not put it in the bike box. I used steel frame bikes on all my Amtrak routes and I left the rear derailleur and chain attached. But if I had a bike with a replaceable derailleur hanger, I would remove the rear derailleur (and chain) so that it did not stick out towards the side.
The attached photos are of my bike box when I arrived in Portland on one trip. There was no actual damage, but I was nervous until I could inspect the bike.
I have no clue on the current system, but if it was me I would box it up and let them move the bike from train to train so I did not need to deal with it.
Empire builder by the time you get to Seattle, their food selection might be limited in the lounge car and dining car. (Lounge car goes to Portland, dining car to Seattle.) You might want to bring some food along for eating on the train. I always ate breakfast in the dining car but other meals I ate food that I brought. One trip I did the roomette thing, that included meals in the dining car.
Amtrak can be a bit rough on bikes in bike boxes. If I was to do it again, if I had anything fragile I would not put it in the bike box. I used steel frame bikes on all my Amtrak routes and I left the rear derailleur and chain attached. But if I had a bike with a replaceable derailleur hanger, I would remove the rear derailleur (and chain) so that it did not stick out towards the side.
The attached photos are of my bike box when I arrived in Portland on one trip. There was no actual damage, but I was nervous until I could inspect the bike.
05-17-19, 11:11 AM
#32
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That looks very much like a poorly boxed bike. I am sure they give few guidelines other than 'must be boxed', but it is up to the person doing the boxing to do so in a manner that prevents any parts from poking through the box - up to an including positioning your shifters in such a way that they are not daggers intent on freeing themselves from the box.
BTW...This is what the web site says about boxing:
The fee for checking a bike as baggage is $10.00. This is subject to change without notice.
- Check your bicycle at the station at least an hour before departure.
- Bicycles/bicycle trailers may be checked in a bicycle container for $10.00, in lieu of a piece of baggage. Bicycle boxes are sold at most staffed locations for $15.00 per box.
- Bicycles must be partially disassembled in order to fit in an Amtrak bicycle box. Loosen and turn the handlebars sideways, and remove the pedals. Amtrak does not supply tools for disassembling.
- It may be helpful to disassemble and reassemble your bike before your trip to avoid any surprises. Some parts, especially pedals, may be especially difficult to remove.
- Attach your name and address to the box.
05-17-19, 01:44 PM
#33
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That looks very much like a poorly boxed bike. I am sure they give few guidelines other than 'must be boxed', but it is up to the person doing the boxing to do so in a manner that prevents any parts from poking through the box - up to an including positioning your shifters in such a way that they are not daggers intent on freeing themselves from the box.
I am guessing that the bike was tossed out of the baggage car onto the concrete with nothing to cushion the impact. I am not sure what else could have caused the velcro to come unstuck from itself.
05-19-19, 10:47 PM
#34
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Required boxing Portland Empire
As concerns the Empire builder the confusion starts at the West terminals----yes terminals!! same name two terminals one Portland and one Seattle that join in Tacoma--- and it HAS been the case that the Portland one did NOT have a RORO handling baggage car so you had to box there going to or from. I never saw a "bike reservation button" to use there (as they don't have the availability?). I will certainly find out in few days before if I do not have to box bike and also learn if they will have box for me. I will have tape, marker etc. I can HOPE they now do RORO but I will not depend on it.
The bigger concern is debarking going West. The only information I could get says they will RORO at East Glacier even if not a regular baggage stop. I think this is summer option only. I sure hope so!!!
Another piece of advice for boxing. Make sure any loosened bolts are not going to vibrate off and get lost!!
The bigger concern is debarking going West. The only information I could get says they will RORO at East Glacier even if not a regular baggage stop. I think this is summer option only. I sure hope so!!!
Another piece of advice for boxing. Make sure any loosened bolts are not going to vibrate off and get lost!!
05-20-19, 05:05 AM
#35
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Heading east, the two consists of the Empire Builder join at Spokane, WA.
05-20-19, 10:22 AM
#36
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05-20-19, 11:07 AM
#37
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It was fun going through the Cascades the nearly 8 mile Cascade Tunnel during daylight. As we would traverse one of high trestles I would say "Let's rock the train!" and start leaning against the window. That made some people uneasy.
05-20-19, 11:17 AM
#38
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05-20-19, 11:20 AM
#39
Every day a winding road
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Yep. Been there. Done that. Three times on the way to Seattle.
It was fun going through the Cascades the nearly 8 mile Cascade Tunnel during daylight. As we would traverse one of high trestles I would say "Let's rock the train!" and start leaning against the window. That made some people uneasy.
It was fun going through the Cascades the nearly 8 mile Cascade Tunnel during daylight. As we would traverse one of high trestles I would say "Let's rock the train!" and start leaning against the window. That made some people uneasy.
