I absolutely love taking Amtrak to NYC and even as far as Philly. You never have to deal with traffic or worry about the weather. You know that in about 3.5 to 4 hours you will get to your destination- the most you will generally encounter is maybe a 20 minute delay, even if the weather is absolutely horrible. One time I had to get Mississippi for work but there was a huge blizzard and Logan canceled all flights. Amtrak saved the day! I took a train down to Baltimore and flew out of BWI. It was a looong day but I made it! Obviously Amtrak is more expensive than taking the bus, but you pay for the comfort and conveniences, like again not having to worry about traffic and weather. I also love that there are outlets for every seat so I either get a lot of work done or just watch movies on my laptop. I take the train a lot for work so I take the Acela frequently rather than the Regional trains. The Acela apparently has more legroom (I am short so I never notice a difference, but taller people have informed me that there is a difference) but even the Coach Regional seats have as much legroom as a first class seat on a plane. Even the bathrooms on both are very spacious! The Acela also has a fancier cafe car BUT they rarely ever have most of their good food selections and you have to ask for three things before finally finding something they have. Somehow they always have the cheeseburger though, but beware, it is not very good! I have gotten it quite a few times when I want a real meal, but after a few bites I always regret my decision and wish I just got a bag of chips. The pizza is pretty good though so I recommend that if you are looking for a meal. Best advice: if you are hungry, get to the cafe car quickly in hopes of snagging one of the good meals before you are stuck with the cheeseburger! OR buy a meal at the train station, that way you have a lot more options. The other cool thing about the train is the rewards points. When taking the Acela, we are lucky because Boston is a "select city pair" with all the main cities. So whether you are traveling to Stamford, NYC, NJ, Philly, or D.C., you automatically get 500 rewards points on the Acela. And since you only need 3,000 points to get a free Coach Regional ticket, it only takes 3 round-trips on Acela to earn a free ticket. If you travel on any other train or to any other city, you get 2 points for every $1 spent (100 point minimum). The only thing I dont understand is why they dont have internet available yet on the Acela and Northeast Regional trains because I am pretty sure those are the most popular Amtrak trains in the country. At first I thought maybe it was too difficult to have internet on the train for some logistical reason, but then I took the train to Maine and THAT had internet! And even airplanes (at least Delta) are now starting to offer internet access on flights so I cant figure out why they cant have it on the Northeast trains. For those who have Blackberrys though, apparently you can use them as a tethered modem. Thanks to my awesome friend who showed me how to do this, I now use my BB on the train to get internet on my laptop. The other interesting thing about the Acela and Northeat Regional trains is the quiet car. If you have a lot of work to get done, you want to sleep, or you just dont want to chance the person next to you trying to start a conversation, then you can sit in the quiet car which is the second car of the train, after the first/business class car. However, there are two things you should know about sitting in the quiet car: 1) It is the car that fills up the quickest. The rest of the train can be nearly empty but the quiet car is always crowded. If you are traveling during off-peak hours, you may end up getting a row to yourself in any other car, but you will most likely get someone sitting next to you in the quiet car, at least by the time you reach Providence. 2) A lot of people dont know about the quiet car and then it becomes even more annoying than the other cars because you hear this conversation ensue... Loud person: Blah blah I like to talk Conductor: I'm sorry but this is the quiet car so conversations need to be kept to a minimum at a quiet whisper and you cannot talk on your cell phone Loud person (right after conductor walks away): What? He cant tell me that I cant talk, I will talk if I want to. Blah blah I am obnoxious Annoyed person in quiet car: If you want to talk, you can sit anywhere else on the train. Why dont you move back to another car? Loud person: You cant tell me what to do, I want to sit right here and I want to talk. Blah blah I am dumb All in all, Amtrak is so much better than driving. It is also much better than flying to somewhere as close as NY or Philly because the amount of time you save not having to get there early to go through security and not dealing with delays, it ends up being a similar amount of time anyway...and then you are already in the heart of the city. read more

The Acela is by far the easiest most painless way to get to and from Manhattan. Hands down. Sure, it can be a little late getting out of Penn Station, but at least you are at Penn Station, not stressed out, stuck in a cab on your way to JFK where you will wait and wait and wait for your JetBlue plane to take off. Once you sit down, you can tune out, stretch out, chill out, and enjoy the ride. I've been more relaxed riding the train than most anywhere else in recent memory. A great time to read, do some work, or get loaded in the cafe car. Contrast this with the tragicomedy of flight attendants rushing to dole out beverages on the ascent out of Boston only to collect your cup a few minutes later as the seatbelt sign illuminates and you prepare to queue up for a cab to get to your meeting in NYC. The scenery coming from Boston in the morning is, frankly, breathtaking, and passing by coastline feels civilized. It's cheaper, easier, with no security thugs to inspect your dirty socks, and feels, gasp, continental. Imagine! Door to door I get to where I need to go in the same amount of time it would take via flying. No joke. read more

Recently took a roundtrip on the Acela Express... which was supposed to be a reserved Business Class seat, according to the ticketing process. No reserved seating. AC power was out of service, but no one was compensated for the loss of service, just an apology. The "Quiet Car": signs clearly state that cell phones are to be turned off & conversations are to be kept quiet, but there is no one to monitor that people adhere to these guidelines... and people do not. There are a lot of stops between Boston & NYC, which "Express" implies that there wouldn't be. This was better than the regular bus, but next time I'd rather take LimoLiner or ZipCar. read more

We have travelled on Amtrak from Newark to Orlando numerous times, staying in a sleeper car and were happy with everything except the food. Last year we decided to try coach since it was MUCH cheaper and all I can say is what a nightmare. Since it is an overnight trip, by the morning there was NO WATER in any of the bathrooms. no paper towels, could not freshen up or use a toilet. Coach was cheaper but not that cheap. this is an insult read more

First class is much more amusing. It's worth it. I love train travel. Not a good idea for impatient people.

Wow, the Acela has really improved since it first started operating. I rode it from Boston to NY Penn on a beautiful sunny clear afternoon last week. Got a regular ticket (not first class) for only $115, and I can't imagine any way the first class could have been any more comfortable than my seat was. I always ride in the first car because it's the least full. I always try to sit on the coast side when traveling southbound and inland side traveling northbound (that goes for the entire Northeast Corridor). My favorite thing about Acela now is the very detailed trip-tracker map you can follow on your laptop or tablet. Wifi included and two plugs for charging. I applaud Amtrak for making improvements to this train ... it's really a pleasure to ride now. read more

I travel from Boston to NYC for business pretty regularly and love the Acela. I won't travel any other way. Let's start with convenience. 3 and a half hours from Boston to NY on the Acela may be longer than a flight, but it's just as fast when you factor in the travel to and from the terminals and all of the waiting around to get on a flight. When flying you have to get to the airport, get your ticket, check bags (if you need to), wait to get through security, hang out waiting to board, wait in line to board, fly, wait in line to disembark, wait to get your bags and then travel from the airport to your final destination. For the Aleca I can take the T directly to South Station arriving 10 minutes ahead of time (I've cut it closer and made the train without a problem, but who needs the stress), grab my ticket at a kiosk, wait in a much shorter line than for the airport to board, travel, disembark in a minute or two and then travel to your final destination from practically midtown. And you don't have to take off your shoes. I've been on a few 3+ hour flights this year and each was miserable. Cramped seats, close quarters, barely tolerable food. On the other hand I rode to and from NY on the 3 and a half hour Acela 20+ times this year and it was as much of a pleasure as you can expect to have traveling. You can work, there are outlets for AC power, you can walk around, eat in the cafe car (not spectacular food, but 10x better than on a plane) and the seats are at least half again as large as plane seats. You don't like the food, carry on whatever you want. I've been so productive on the train I swear I practically produced one project on the train alone! Need to travel tomorrow? Make your reservations online easily and the trains are hardly ever sold out. Tickets are more expensive the closer to your travel date that you get them though. If your plans change it's no big deal. Show up at the ticket window and get on the next train. No hassle. Are there delays sometimes, sure, but you can say the same about planes and probably more often. Grumpy conductors and passengers? It happens on the Acela too, but what did you expect? For the productivity, ease in changing plans, bigger seats and a generally more comfortable travel experience I'll take the Acela any day. Be sure to join the rewards program, it pays off quickly with a few extra perks like buddy passes, access to Club Acela and first class upgrades, which are truly worth it. read more

We recently took our second long distance "USA Rail Pass" journey. Beginning in Albany New York where we traveled on the Lake Shore Limited to Chicago then onto the Empire Builder which eventually took us to Seattle WA, although we stopped at a few places along the way in Minnesota, North Dakota and Montana. We booked sleeping cars on most of the segments, which means you got all your meals included and because on the way back we stayed on the train throughout our trip, (Seattle to Chicago and Chicago back to Albany NY.) you pay only one fee for your accommodations. Keep in mind you're on a train, and sleeping in relatively small quarters is not for everyone, but it works. 95% of the employees are great!!! Food was pretty good! My only issue is apparently on some routes, including the Lake Shore Limited, they're trying something new. Meals are pre-packaged, and the menu is limited, but it was surprisingly good! Definitely better than airline food. The scenic views from the train are fantastic and you end up socializing a bit. You can't beat it! I know the equipment is old but very clean and updated. What most people don't like about train travel are the delays, which has nothing to do with Amtrak. They can't help it. ---Other than The Northeast Corridor and Keystone Corridor. both of which Amtrak owns, ---the rails are owned by Freight Railroads, which put their trains first, for the most part. All in all, we loved it. Hopefully, in the near future, Amtrak will get the funding it needs. read more

I am a big fan of the Acela Express and regularly take it from Boston to NYC. A lot of people hate on the Acela, because the bus is cheaper and the plane is faster, but for me the Acela offers the best compromise by far. The Back Bay station is a 5 minute walk from my apartment (passing a Starbucks for provisions) and there are zero formalities checking in which means you can literally arrive minutes before the train leaves. On board there is plenty of space even in business class, AC plugs everywhere and with a Verizon mifi card in your pocket you have wifi Internet connectivity all the way. Avoid the Cafe Car. From what I can tell it's expensive, bad food, but it's easy enough to pick up a coffee, bottle of water and a sandwich before you get on the train and there are now TSA goons on a power trip to take it away from you. At the other end I find Penn Station is located conveniently enough that wherever I am going is either a quick walk or subway ride away. I don't really like Penn Station otherwise, it's always loud, crowded and hot, so I try not to end up having to wait there. I've been meaning to find a bar close by where I can wait for my train when I have time to spare. read more

I'm a long-time Amtrak customer - we're talking over 20 years here. I even took one of those Silver Meteor trains from New York to Florida when I was a little girl, accompanied, of course, by my family and our family car! I remember falling asleep in the Amtrak sleeper train en route to Florida, thinking about how cool it was that our car was there, too. That's the thing about Amtrak. Amtrak has the makings to be such a fantastic way to travel, but it falls short often in too many ways. The fact of the matter is, with Amtrak, you can pretty much pick anywhere you want to travel in the continental United States, and there will likely be service available, and accommodations for children or cars, like I had with the Silver Meteor years ago, and all rather affordable as compared to other means of traveling, like taking a flight or driving. In the past year alone, I'd venture a guess that I've used Amtrak about thirty times. If not more. And twenty out of those thirty times, things did not run smoothly. Sometimes it would be trouble with the trains (engine needs fixing, something's on fire), sometimes with scheduling (2+ hours late, congestion on tracks causing delays while on trains, last minute cancellations and no room on other trains to make up for it), sometimes with overbooking the trains (people having to stand for hours of their trip, with luggage, even though they paid just as much as everyone else to be on that train), and the worst offender of all: poor customer service. I had a customer service rep at the Back Bay Station who told me, upon incorrectly processing my ticket and forcing me to pay an extra $200 and have it refunded to me in *Amtrak Money* (vouchers) instead of an actual refund, that he is not trained to do anything but process tickets and that instead of talking to him, I should call their hotline, 1-800-Amtrak. It's always better not to talk to people in person, apparently. If you are traveling from Boston, and you have the option of choosing, the Back Bay Station is smaller but easier to deal with, while South Station will at the very least guarantee you a seat (because it's where you're all loaded on for the start of the trip) but it's a huge shebang over there and it's easy to feel hurried there. I always choose Back Bay, as a general rule. Especially with all these new low fare public transport services coming into the picture and making their mark, Amtrak would do well by getting its act together and run a little better all around. There's only so much one can do with a great concept. You can pique my interest by promising me that I can get from Point A to Point B inexpensively. But if it's so often a hassle, who's going to want it? read more

my boyfriend and i missed the mbta commuter train from providence so we hopped on to the amtrak instead. we barely made it and didnt have time to purchase the ticket at the booth thinking that we will be able to purchase it in the train like mbta. the train officer came in and he asked for our tickets so we told him we would like to purchase the ticket... officer "why didnt you buy the ticket at the booth?" us " we didnt have time" officer "you guys cannot just get on the train without a ticket. i need to see your ids" we show him our mass ids. officer "how did you get to providence?" us "we took the mbta train" officer "then why didnt you take the mbta train on your way back too?" us"...urgh because we missed it." officer "well you guys cannot buy amtrak tickets in the train. " and he walks away comes back with another officer and told us that we need to pay $36 bucks each when it normally costs $12. Okay fine, it was bad that we didnt buy the tickets beforehand. But what kind of attitude is this!? It was none of his business either if we took the mbta train or amtrak. It's not like we were gonna get in and not pay for it. The whole amtrak officer trying to act as if he was operating a high-class-top-notch train and looking down on customers was just silly. read more

I am writing this as I ride on the Boston-DC train #163 with my husband and two kids under age 5. We have been kicked out of the quiet car which was a hassle for us but I guess it made sense for them. We continued our ride in the cafe car where we were told we can make as much noise as we can, and even though we weren't given any more trouble about our noise level, the same employee that got us out of the quiet car kept warning us about feet off seats, kids off tables (my son was leaning over to give his brother a bite of his muffin), etc. We felt like preschoolers! Amtrak just killed like 10 people and they should be thankful we are still giving them business, no? I am giving two stars because I have travelled quite comfortably with Amtrak on my own before but this time I am having to deal with more than just traveling with small kids. read more

I've been left in tears twice with Amtrak. There always seems to be a long delay with their Boston to DC via NYC, particularly during the holidays. This is the absolute last resort for me. If you must take it, use Acela as it is quieter and faster. read more

This is a rating for the cafe car. My vegan girlfriend and I recently took a trip to from Boston to New York, via Amtrak's Northeast Regional service. Imagine my pleased surprise to find "Vegan burger" listed on the cafe cart menu! It wasn't bad, either. Although the vegan burger was great, unfortunately the more traditional beef cheeseburger I had for lunch was not: it was soggy through and through, with a hefty coating of easy cheese-like topping. Hence only four stars. read more

Took the 86 from DC to Boston today and had the pleasure of listening to other's cell phone conversations and headphones in the Quiet Car. There was no water in the car's toilets, hardly sanitary in any sense. I reported this to the conductor who said, "so go somewhere else. what do you want me to do about it?" What could I do but thank him for his professionalism and courtesy. When I did make my way to some of the other car's filthy toilets, the water was so hot it scalded my hands. Those who want the federal government to take over management of other essential functions, please consider this. read more

Absolutely worst customer service Employees are terrible. Not sure how they screen employees here but they might want to pay a little more to get decent people. Woman and man checking tickets outside the door were rude read more

Love and hate, if Me and Amtrak had a relationship status it would be It's complicated. Love: Colorful characters, lots of time to read and nap. Hate: The colorful characters are can be jerks. The douche in front moved his chair up and down, trying to get his back arch just right, while I was typing and I asked him if He could move over a chair and He says "I don't like the window seat." I was stuck between a douche and a drooler, Seriously? You didn't solve that problem when you were 3? By the end of the trip I think mold was growing on the armrest. Since my attempt at work was fruitless I decided to read. I will admit that I have some ADD and its hard for me to concentrate but do you really need to shout to your phone about how awesome your IPhone is, like it doesn't already know? If your not in the quiet cart consider getting some ear plugs, I have a pair and they are great for the T, I use'em when I'm not being some weird stranger and talking to people "are you talking to me, how dare you, I was busy reading the advertising", The next time the buds will be part of my packing strategy. Naps are nice but my neck is like a thin peace of pasta and it's hard not to have my head flop down into my shoulder, then I wake up with a neck cramp and then I curse the heavens for not blessing me with a thicker neck; I should have wrestled more, those guys are mostly neck. If I ever get really into body building one of the first things I'm going to add is a little more neck. Consider getting one of those half doughnut pillows but do not buy them at the terminal because you will get raped. In order to defend against the price gouging attackers you may want to try Target or the mall. Self employment is where it's at but If I had to worry about time I would be very upset because Amtrak is slower than Bush. Dear Amtrak, The Japanese have the bullet train and we have Acela? What the crap!? What ever happened to our pompous "we are the best" mentality. We should have private bullet trains that go from house to work and it should be cheap. It should be powered by Mexican immigrants (that's how you'll keep costs down, brilliant business plan, no need to thank me). If institutions complain about human rights violations or unnecessary resource over consumption I just tell them that we are American (that's right we have the whole continent, we called it) and besides Mexicans were meant to serve us, it's manifest destiny, didn't You learn that in high school? Innovation is necessary and personal bullet trains is something that everyone needs but We just don't know it yet, deep down inside everyone wants a personal bullet train. We shouldn't worry about people or resource critics, God will provide. Sincerely, Americo Von Douché PS. My name is 100% American, I have no family descents from any other place and any similar looking names are purely accidental. read more

I love Amtrak. I just wish it didn't have a monopoly on the rails and so the prices could (finally) come down. Amtrak pros: - When all else fails (air, road), Amtrak is there. I took a last-minute NYC-DC train during the snowpocalypse of 2009. It was the only way to get down there and, in the mad crush of stranded people, the Amtrak people were efficient and courteous. I got my tix fast and had a pleasant trip, even through all that snow! I think Amtrak is selling itself as a snow god (those ads about commuting to work during a blizzard?) - rightly so. - Amtrak customer service. More than once I've had to cancel/change/buy a ticket last-minute. More than once I've found myself on some sidewalk in some foreign city talking to an Amtrak person - and they're always nice, clear and friendly. Changing my tix is super-easy and not too expensive (10% fee, I think, and I've changed my tickets literally minutes before the train left). - Train travel is so awesome. I love the soothing ka-clunk ka-clunk, the way I can just drag my bag on and be done with it (no security, no check-in), the way I get dropped off right in the pulsating urban hearts of Manhattan, DC, Philly, Beantown. (Though apparently Obama said now we can take guns on trains? Oh Lord.) I love seeing New England race by - especially that Mystic River place in CT. Between Boston and NYC, it basically takes the same amount of time, door to door, and Amtrak is MUCH less stressful than the awful airport rigmarole. - Amtrak Rewards. Double miles in fall 2011! Yeah, baby. Cons: - They're a monopoly. And thus their prices are way too high. It's a supply/demand problem, people. Citizens of America (esp. the NE), unite and use the trains! read more

I have just had the worst customer service experience of my entire life. I purchased a ticket for a friend and it was attached to mine. The next day I needed to cancel my friends ticket and keep mine. I purchased insurance for the tickets and this insurance was purchased through the Amtrak website in the Amtrak checkout. I did this knowing I may need to cancel my friends ticket and felt better knowing I was covered and took the appropriate action. I called to cancel the ticket and was told that there would be a cancellation fee. I said I purchased insurance and that fee shouldn't apply. That is when I was told the insurance what outsourced. I said that was not made clear and I just wanted my ticket refunded. She said she couldn't help me and transferred me. I then spoke to a man that said no I would be reinbursed fully and he would facilitate the whole process, and then he promptly hung up on me and I ended up with another person and I had no idea who it was and they had no idea what was going on. I had to re-explain the whole story and was told they were insurance, and would not refund me, and that my insurance was not one that covered cancellation for miscellaneous. I then called Amtrak back, rexplained the whole thing and asked for a manager. I was told okay and transferred again. I again was with ANOTHER agent that I had to re-explain AGAIN the whole story and was told I could not speak to a manager and could not be refunded. May I also say the entire time all of this happened, every single agent was rude, aggressive, and condescending. At this point I was so frustrated and upset that I was crying. I told her that I had been put through the ringer, misinformed multiple times, the purchasing of the insurance and it's nuanced policies and outsourced nature was not made clear when I PURCHASED IT THROUGH AMTRAK. I said that I just wanted the 20 dollar cancel fee waved due to the lack of clarity in insurance policy and the horrible customer service. She transferred me to customer service. There I AGAIN explained it all, listened to the same cycle of rude, condescending banter. I made it clear what I wanted and why I felt it was warranted to have my fee waved. The customer service agent then said "I won't refund you because someone was rude" in a mocking tone which tells me that she missed everything I told her about what I've been through or how I felt, and I felt it was an extremely inappropriate response for a customer service agent to provide. At this point I had spoken to 6 people, spent an hour, and needed to leave to go to my grandfathers funeral and I freaked out and hung up. I am at a loss right now. This totally sent me over the edge and it was jarring to go through 6 people that could have helped me, yet refused to- OVER 20 DOLLARS ON THEIR END. Ultimately, this process cost me 40 dollars- 20 dollar cancellation fee and the 18 dollars I spend on insurance that wasn't even effective for what I wanted. I tried to do the right thing- I paid extra for insurance, I spoke to multiple agents and the insurance company, I made it clear exactly what I was seeking and why, and was met with derision, insult, and poor service. This is all over a train ticket. I wanted the 20 dollars back for my train ticket cancel fee, but apparently failure on the companies part to fully inform and serve customers is irrelevant. I hope you guys enjoyed that hour of my life, my 40 dollars, and listening to me cry. Thanks. read more

I live in Boston, but am from CT, so I frequently take Amtrak between the two. Amtrak gets an A+ in customer services. Whenever I am unable to use a ticket, you can get a refund (if it has printed, you get a refund minus 10% of the ticket cost) or use the value of the ticket towards a future trip. This is very convenient for me, especially when my plans frequently change when traveling. I've experienced delays on a couple occasions, but that is expected. I've generally gotten to where I wanted to be within 30 minutes of the proposed time. read more

The train ride from Boston to New York was filled with gorgeous scenery as we passed through Connecticut and Rhode Island. It was so much more pleasant than sitting in a cramped airplane and actually took about same amount of time as flying (if you factor in time to/from airports, checking in, and security lines). The best part was that the Amtrak tickets cost half of what our plane tickets would have cost...sweet, more money to spend on food! :-9 read more

My most recent trip is still underway. I'm In Boston right now visiting family. This trip was one of the rare times I left from other than Jacksonville Florida. Miami this time. Tallahassee is still without the Sunset Limited since katrina. The Miami station was well staffed and gave great updates on train readiness, and boarding times. Train was on-time, but they kept us posted the whole time. I go sleeper as a rule and no different this time. The attendent was supurb the entire way to NYC. NYC I change to the Regional Service to Boston. He was amazing. Dardnell ( I think I have that wrong) was so helpful in getting me "nested" in my roomette for the trip. The Dining car open at 9am, 40 minutes after we left. Eric as well as Gene, provided exeptional service during not only Breakfast, but the entire run to NYC. Talk about being spoiled. On-time to NYC even accounting for a delay during the overnight due to some idiot kid pulling an emergency stop button, Wanting to see what happened the idiot. The date of travel was 08/24/2014 from MIA to NYC. The time reference is because I honestly thing I got my car attendents name wrong. I recommed #Amtrak as often as I get the chance. I am a commerical pilot, and HATE TO FLY COMMERICAL anymore. Go stress free, go Amtrak read more

Amtrak - Public Transportation Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

From Philly to Boston Back Bay the ride was supposed to take 6 hours. That means I was paying ~$55 more to save an extra half hour as opposed to the chinatown buses. The train was delayed. I got into Beantown five and a half hours late. I payed three times more and traveled almost twice as long than I would have on my beloved buses. That is: 11.5 hours for ~$85 instead of 6.5 hours for $27. I missed my interview and couldn't get reimbursed for the ride. The extra leg room isn't worth it. The Chinatown buses are stinky, crowded, hot, and they barely speak engish, but you get exactly what you paid for and in a reasonable amount of time. Don't be a sucker, Amtrak isn't worth your money. read more

Ride was great but when you get off the train you exit through beggars, drug addicts, and drunks to get to the taxi stand. One guy asked for a smoke and when I told him no he got violent with me and threatened us. He also told us everyone "owes" him since he lost his eye in Afghanistan. Really?!?! read more

Took the Acela from Boston back home to NYC. The seats are very comfortable with great legroom, free Wi-Fi and outlets to keep your phone charged. When the train gets up to speed, it really moves. They have a cafe car with overpriced sandwiches, beer and soft drinks. But, downtown Boston to midtown Manhattan in under 4 hours works for me. I would travel this way again. read more

I've used this 3 times (1 roundtrip and 1 one-way). The trains were never on time. One time it was 90 mins late. How does a train get 90 mins late in the middle of June in sunshine? All it does it roll down tracks. One might as well drive from NJ to Boston. You don't really save anything on gas by the train and it def takes longer than driving. read more

Took the Acela Express over the holiday. It was extremely convenient not to have to worry about the weather playing a factor for my travel. The downsides are that the trains in this country are still sub-par and although they try to designate a waiting area at Penn Station it's still full of people with no sense of personnel space and gross people coughing all over everything in sight. read more

Trains have been on time lately from Bos to NY , and even early arriving at destinations. My concern is lineup and wait to get on the train, and finding a comfortable seat. At BackBay its the rush to the door when the train arrives (lately we havent had the commuter rail stopping alongside such that one isnt able to breathe), avoiding the large luggage and bags, and trying out the cushions as seats are available. At NY Penn its a completely different story, where one might get the wrong information as to which gate to use, stand in the crowd awaiting gate announcements (be sure to move out of the way of people getting off, and the tough characters in uniform), and rush to the gate to get in the throngs waiting to go down the escalators to the trains. One can risk all sorts of pushing shoving,and surveillance should the police decide to choose to randomly inspect bags. Last trip people were pushing each other with large luggage to lineup at the gate as instructed by Amtrak personnel - one wonders why the police didnt intervene when patrons complained about be shoved out of the way by aggressive passengers with their oversize bags. Seems like Amtrak should have enough sense to organize people in such a way that they can get on and off the train (getting through the crowd waiting a gate to get on) without safety issues, and aggravation. Now suppose you decided you put up with enough and would like to choose another form of transportation between Bos and NY - well if you need to change a reservation - watch out. Your only choice may be to use a voucher toward a future trip. read more

This review is for the Amtrak Lake Shore Limited which is the other train out of South Station that never gets reviewed, the train itself was very comfortable especially on the Boston to Albany segment but not so much on the Albany to Chicago segment fortunately enough I met a girl in the lounge car who bought a bedroom!! Nothing like having a few cold drinks and getting semi sexy on a train read more

I've taken it to New York multiple times from Boston. The station in boston isn't anything special, but the service is always pretty good. I really like Amtrak and think it's relatively inexpensive (with promo codes/coupons). Plan ahead of time and it's a whole lot less expensive ;) read more

Boston- NYC: The train should have supposed to leave at 6:45 pm. It ended up 2 hours delay. I wanted to go home earl that's why I ended up paying 145$ for business class ticket as everything was sold out. But there is no compensation, no free service, no coupon, no discounts for future business .... All they did was apologizing... AMTRAK !!!! U guys do nothing for any delay . Disappointed... read more

Just finished a trip from Boston south station with a connection in Chicago to San Francisco. If I had to do it again, I would fly to Chicago and do the 2 nights to California from there. Let me first say the sleeper on the Boston to Chicago leg was actually a few inches bigger than the Chicago train. That being said there were a couple of things that were terrible about the Boston leg....1- the sleeper car was RIGHT BEHIND the locomotive car! Not so good. They literally blew the horn every few minutes ALL NIGHT LONG. 2- there was no proper mining car on the Boston leg. Which meant all meals were literally microwaved. Yeah. Which had this been a camp ground or a hostile I wouldn't care. But for what we paid.... Onto the good. And there was a lot good, cool, fascinating about it. Our car attendants (both legs) were excellent! Turn down service, answer questions, explaining things about trains etc. sense of humor. We asked for extra pillows and viola! Pillows. I would suggest that if you like air flow; bring a personal fan. There is outlets in each room. They cannot possibly please everybody on the car with temps. And both my husband and I run HOT. We have a fan going all winter (and we live in NE). The first leg each room had a toilet. Which was great for my 2x pee in the middle of the night. The views were pretty cool. People were rather friendly. The observation lounge was nice. There was a cafe underneath it for light snacks & beverages of all types. It was rather relaxing. Meals were pretty good for a train. They were cooked to order. Dinners are done by reservations. Or you could have your room attendant bring dinner to your room. We did that 50% of the time. Plan on always being seated with other travelers. If there are 2 in your party you will be seated with another party of 2. If there are 3 they will stick a single person with you etc. they have limited seating. It is what it is. I'm very outgoing and it wasn't my favorite part. However, we did meet some fascinating people. Which gave us some interesting conversations. My husband is much more shy then me; so we opted for 50% of meals in dinner car. Dessert comes with every meal. Except breakfast. Each car attendant brews fresh coffee each morning for their car. Which was great! Bathrooms were kept shockingLY clean for a train. All in all, great experience. Would highly recommend. read more

Just ok. I took Acela for the first time yesterday from Philadelphia to Boston and was seated in business class. My feelings regarding taking this route again are somewhat mixed. I probably would take it between Boston and NYC, as it puts you downtown in both cities. The only downside is that the trip from Philly to Boston is 5 hours. While this is less of a hassle than flying, the plane will get you home in about an hour and a half earlier including security lines. The restrooms were large and leg room ample. However, given the price, I would definitely take the regional when travelling between Boston and NYC. The timing isn't much different and the price is substantially different. Now for the bad. The staff, conductors, cafe car staff are nothing short of rude and will barely speak to you when you ask a question. My suggestion, privatize the railroad and let them compete for their jobs as those of us in the private sector do. read more

Crystal p. My gosh. I will never take this train again. Such bad service. The staff were grumpy. And the cars were beyond cold. We stopped in the middle of nowhere without being told why. Or an estimated time to get to our next stop. I'm writing this as I sit waiting to hear something. Been sitting here for an hour for no reason. Next stop ain't but 10 minutes away. Ridiculous. read more

Be it an Acela or coach class on a regional, the comfort and speed far exceed that of a bus or, when you consider the time reaching the airport, checking in and going through security, flying. To summarize all the reviews and the experience of my own: Are amtrak expensive? Yes. Why are they so expensive? If it was the same price as the bus, everyone would go that way, and adding another train is far more difficult and expensive than adding another bus. Are they worth it? Yes. If you can afford the Amtrak fare, don't even think about going any other way. If you can't, get begging your boss for a raise. read more

People were lovely, the train not so much. One of the bathrooms on our car on the Washington to Boston trip was out of order. Considering we were almost full and ended up being stranded for 6 hours in the train during a manhunt in Boston, that became a real problem. read more

So I decided to take amtrak's night train from Boston to DC, should have just taken a flight, going through tsa would have been more pleasant than this experience. Not only does the train have the heat on full blast but they also have the A/C running so my left side is burning up while my right side is like ice. I also decided to sit in the quiet car to try and get some sleep. A couple has been talking loudly to each other the whole ride and keeps waking me up. I finally mentioned this to the amtrak conductor and he announced "this is the quiet car not the silent car!" So why then on the amtrak website does it say no phone noise, no electronics noise and only short conversation at a volume that doesn't disturb other riders? It should say "isn't this a cute idea, we'll do nothing to ensure the car is quiet though" . I don't see myself riding amtrak again. read more

Don't pay extra for Acela! It's always much later than scheduled, so not worth the added expense over Northeast Regional trains. I've missed so many connections (and hours of delays) because they haven't delivered on their schedule. read more

If you are looking for a great way to travel without any hassle, consider taking the Amtrak. Took a trip to DC from Boston and it was the smoothest ride, with little notice of the stops made. I was able to board 15 minutes early, take the ride and then jump right off. It was considerably easier than flying. If you are taking a long trip, consider bringing snacks b/c the snack car isn't always open and its very pricey (not worth the money). Oh, and try to get in the quiet car if you want some peace, since it is likely that there will be screaming kids and/or people yapping on their cell phones. This is my way to travel if I can! read more

On the surf liner right now. THe gentleman with whom I bought my ticket was in a horrible mood. The female conductor was pissy. Really they have a good job. Yes there is construction , but treat us kinder. Had to walk a bit, not bad for me, but elderly folks had a hard time. I ride 1 to 2 times a year. This is the worst service I have had in years!!!! The gentleman who scanned my ticket was the nicest. Oh yes the ticket man also said it is only going to get worse today and next week. Argh. We all have bad days , but leave it at the door. read more