Recently, my fiance and I took an Amtrak trip from Boston to Detroit for Christmas. We originally chose to try it because it was much less expensive than flying - while also being less stressful than driving out.
We boarded the train in Boston and had a very pleasant trip (save for our dining car experience - which while the food was good, the service was atrocious!) all the way to Toledo...and that's when things started to go wrong. We sat 2 miles from the Toledo station for close to an hour before we finally were able to get off (and that was at 6:30 AM). We were then supposed to board a bus to take us to Detroit (it was scheduled to leave at 6:30 AM). When the bus driver finally let everyone on the bus at 7AM, we started for Detroit. We got to the depot in Detroit and I was extremely glad that my future in-laws were waiting for us, because the bus depot was not in a very safe location.
Our return trip was scheduled to leave from Toledo at 11:59 PM. It was delayed multiple times until it finally arrived at 1:30 AM. During this interval, the passengers were instructed to line up because the train "would be arriving in 5 minutes" at approximately 12:30 AM. We later heard from the woman in line in front of us that the last time she had left out of Toledo, she have waited 6 hours for her train because it had been delayed. When we finally went to board the train, my fiance and I had to deal with conductors who did not care that people may be in groups, and we uncooperative when questions were posed to them. Also, there were a handful of people who had no seats on the overnight train. We arrived roughly on time, and with all of our belongings (which not all airline passengers who check their bags can say).
The pros that Amtrak offers - larger seats, actual meals and affordable snacks, larger bathrooms and more overhead storage - are very nice. However with the supposed benefit of being able to bring more luggage with you (and the unavailability of checking bags on some rail services) comes the disadvantage of having to carry all those bags with you every time you change.
Overall, be wary of the benefits of long distance train travel...though I think I will give it another chance before I write it off completely.
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Comments: 7
The only train ride I have ever taken was a relatively short trip from Germany to France. I was seven at the time and the only thing I remember about the train itself was that when you went to the bathroom, the toilet "flushed" right onto the tracks. LOL! and gross. USA trains aren't like that, are they? Maybe they are.
I'd like to take another trip by train sometime, but only if it is a direct trip - no changing lines. I like air travel, but since the security has gotten so tight and the customer service has become non-existant, I avoid it whenever possible. I prefer to "cruise" in my PT cruiser.
Take care of yourself. I appreciate all of your comments on my work.
Thanks for sharing. I've often thought about taking a train trip across the country. I'll have to think about that now that I've heard your story.
We, too chose it as an alternative to flying (one too many delayed flights including a 30 hour trip home sitting in airports) made us say no way.. too much hassle and too much money!
Here's hoping we have a decent experience.