After numerous delays and hassles with the Delta and US Airways shuttles to NYC, I am now convinced that trains are in fact faster than planes - at least between New York and Boston. I ride the Acela to New York whenever I have to go and it's the best way to travel. Space, decent seats, accommodating luggage compartments, and generally on-time service (delayed arriving back in Boston only once). While I usually do business class, I have done first class on Acela as well. Bigger seats and wait service, free drinks and a meal. What with ground delays, gate holds, circling LGA my last Delta shuttle flight in October to LGA took 4.5 hours. Acela makes the trip in 3.5. And I'm downtown when I get there! Cannot beat it. read more

40min. late spent in the freezing tracks as clueless staff kept on announcing "a slight f...in' delay". and not so express with 4 stops before NYC. my bad for not checking out megabus early for planned thanksgiving weekend trip. expensive but comfy, i guess. the food better be good or am gonna freak. read more

I'm a huge fan of Amtrak's Northeast Regional and Acela services between Boston and NY. As some other reviewers point out, there are cheaper options and neither Amtrak service offers a stellar on-time record, but, for a business traveler like me, there just isn't a better option for travel between downtown Boston and Manhattan. The trains are reasonably clean and efficient and the price is still far better than flying, especially if you consider the $50+ cab fare from either New York airport to midtown. That being said, boarding a train at Penn Station makes you wonder what you've done in a past life to deserve that kind of punishment and some of the train crew are....let's be kind and say "a bit eccentric". For example, my trip earlier this week on NE Regional 95 would have been a lot better had it not been for the uniformed Acela crew member sprawled across two seats on a nearly packed train, snoring like some kind of diesel powered construction equipment. read more

I've been taking Amtrak from Boston to New York for just about 2 years now. Yes, I love the leg room and being able to have space. I am not a fan of the delays. If it says 4 hours make sure you tag on at least an extra 30-45mins because you probably will be sitting on the train for that long just waiting for various delays. The same track being used, random inspections or just your average train issue. The last I was heading in NY the train was extremely packed (and smelly because someone thought it just that comfy to remove their shoes ewwww) and yay a 40 min delay for a train that was going out on the same track we were coming in on and then another 25 mins of just sitting there for some random inspection of the train (mind you this was just 10mins outside of penn station really they couldn't wait until the train got to penn station). While no these delays are not going to stop me from seeing my boyfriend in New York and they are not going to drive to me take the uber cheap bus. The convenience of the train is just worth the price considering we normally get $49 tickets because we book well in advance. Still the delays cannot be overlooked, although it is awesome when the train actually arrives on time (this is usually coming into boston though, going into to NY you would be so super lucky not to be at least 20-50mins late). read more

Attempted to purchase ticket on Amtrak Website for Boston to Baltimore (and back). Just a friendly reminder that no one should ever use Amtrak again. Their website will purchase authorize a ton of money out of your account, leaving you with holds on funds over $1000 for a $269.50 ticket (since they attempt a purchase authorization each time you hit submit, and if you bank approves it, that does not mean amtrak will approve it because if your billing info isn't the first set of billing info your bank returns (many accounts have primary, secondary and tertiary billing info, payment processors are expected to check all returned XML data, which Amtrak does not) then they will refuse to help you in any way for hours on the phone, and claim that contacting your bank to help resolve the issue is 'illegal' and attempt to blame the issue on you. As a web developer who interacts with payment gateways and payment processors and ACH processors, I know exactly what their website did, why it is wrong, and why it is their fault. The corporate bureaucracy involved with getting on the phone with a person that can help you is as follows: Call. Press 0. Press 0. Ask to speak with a manger. Denied. Ask to speak with a customer rep, transfer + hold for 45 minutes, 4 hours on the phone explaining the situation (monday) , told it will be resolved by Friday, given exact instructions (step by step) for what to do when you call on Friday. Call Friday and follow steps and be told that everything you were told Monday you were not told. One again told it is illegal for a merchant to contact a bank to tell the bank that the transaction will not be processed (yeah, totally illegal guys, no merchant has ever contact a bank, ever, because of how illegal that is, right? wrong, but hey, uninformed people probably buy that line all the time). Finally have the person admit they were wrong and that it is just an internal policy, have them tell you they can offer you a travel voucher for your outgoing trip, but only after your bank denies the transaction one last time, bank denies the transaction and they say 'it's your zip code, you aren't giving me the zip code correctly' and of course, I am SITTING AT THE BANK WITH THE BANK MANAGER WHO IS SAYING THAT IT IS THE ZIP CODE ON MY ACCOUNT. Offer to put the bank manager on the phone, representative declines and once again says that the issue is with me, that no way could it be an issue with their system. Once again, while I am sitting at my bank, verifying the information as I speak it. Tell them once again you are not looking for anything FREE you are just not able to make the purchase, because they have already purchase authorized so much money out of your account. Told once again it will be 3-5 business days and the transaction will fall off (it should have fallen off right away when they pinged the payment gateway saying they were not going to pursue the transaction that was pre-authorized with the purchase authorization, but that is something the Amtrak programmer omitted). Explain to them that a mom and pop hair salon in rural vermont has a better system that was designed for less than the purchase authorization holds and once again mention I do this for a living so STOP LYING TO ME PLEASE. Told that a travel voucher for your outgoing trip will be made and that you can just hope and pray that the money is back in your account by Monday, because you are expected to show up at the train station with cash to pay for your ticket. Accept this, but tell them you want proof in an e-mail that this is indeed the case, that you have been dicked around all week and do not trust that it is 'in the system'. They tell you they will send an email right away. Boom. E-mail sent. Call ended. Check e-mail, nothing about a voucher, just a bill that says: THIS IS NOT A TICKET Reservation Number Is XXXXXX Subject To Cancellation Unless Purchased By June 28, 2014 Total Reservation Charges: $ 146.70 Ticket Delivery Charge: $ 0.00 ------------------------------------------- Total Charges: $ 146.70 -- Call back, ask the woman on the phone to confirm that it is paid. Woman says 'it's in the system', ask for an e-mail with proof because you were told 'it's in the system' on Monday, but when you called back Friday it was not. Mention that no less than 5 minutes ago, you were told by the customer relations person that they would send an email which would mention the 'travel voucher'. Start to get attitude from the woman, ask her employee id number, refused. Ask her name, mumbled, ask her to repeat it and spell it, mumbled and subject change to transferring to customer relations. Ask to some how not have to sit on another 45 min hold, or if there is ANY way to get some written proof that what is 'in the system' is going to still be 'in the system' the next day. Refused. Hung up on. read more

I'll take Amtrak, including the long-haul overnights, over flying ANY day. Besides the obvious (it's kind of hard to hijack a train and fly it into a building, you're not 30,000 feet in the air if it decides to crash, you can actually get up and move around and significantly less likely to develop blood clots, etc.) the waits are comparable--by the time you've dealt with all the associated hassle of flying, you've wasted at least a full day anyway--and the expense is worth it. When traveling overnight I get a roomette and that covers my seat, a proper bed, food, and access to the first-class lounge in most stations. The dining car food is fine, certainly better than an airline, even though I wish they would have stuck with proper china and silverware. read more

I had to cut the precious time with my family short to make the train on time only for it to be late as usual. The already hour and twenty minute long layover in Martinez turned into a three hour ordeal stuck in a station with minimal security. After being shuffled on board I was unable to get off at my stop due to the lack of dudilegence and effort of the conductors, namely T. Lopez. No announcement was given over the speaker or even a conductor to take my ticket stub and tell me that my stop was coming up. I have been unfortunate enough to have the displeasure of riding with Amtrak and I never want to use this service again. A refund doesn't begin to reimburse what I've lost here today on our nation's birthday. I like to believe everyone's time is invaluable and mine was stripped away without so much as an apology for making me spend even more of my hard earned money just to get back home. By the time I arrive home there will be 2 hours at the most to sleep then a full eight hour work day. This is beyond reprehensible. I am disgusted at the excuse of service I've endured today. Shame on you Amtrak. On the loosely followed schedules, on the careless conductors, and the blatant disregard for your customers. read more

i wish there were more options. Amtrak is unpredictably late all the time; when late they don't provide useful information to the passengers; they don't offer reimbursement or hotel. Take the bus! don't take the train. It's horrible read more

Horrible service! I forgot my bag within the train. The staff there made no efforts to actually search for the bag. The customer service on the phone and in person was also horrible! I understand it's my responsibility for the lost item but these people were just terrible and rude! They probably even stole my stuff for all I know. How can you not find an item on the last stop still baffles me.... And their publicized free wi-fi is a joke! read more

As a passenger on Amtrak going from Albany to Buffalo, significant delays occurred. Freight trains using the tracks are given priority over passenger causing many delays. At least one delay was 30 minutes sitting on the track waiting for two freight trains. If you don't mind significant delays, it is a relaxing way to travel. read more

Acela train stuck in Kingston, on route from South Station Boston to NYC Penn Station. I know there are probably heat/switching issues, but I have an older friend stuck on that stupid train....considering the cost, I hope customers are at the very least reimbursed for their fare. (PS: If Amtrack is going to serve food, it should at least be edible). A lot of money for a nightmare triip. read more

Not many here mentioned the service aspect, but the train crew on the Acela express is extremely rude and careless. You get the sense that you are dealing with government employees having no idea of "service", which you are. Wifi on the train is a joke, since nothing works after the train starts moving. read more

I spoke with the supervisor or local manager Wanda Lynn Melvin at the Boston South Station Amtrak station during my attempt to board with a 10-ride ticket on 5/22. My partner and myself were trying to depart Boston to Providence and she was outside the train with other gate/ticket agents checking tickets. There seemed to be a great deal of confusion regarding the 10-ride ticket and if it could be scanned twice for 2 passengers on the same train. Her customer service skills or lack thereof and generally abusive language and attitude was completely unacceptable. The gate/ticket agents and Wanda were extraordinarily verbally abusive and aggressive. They were condescending and disrespectful to both my partner and myself. At times they raised their voice, used condescending and derogatory language and displayed an extremely aggressive and combative attitude. One gate agent told my partner to "get out of here" because he didn't have a ticket - referring to walking to the other side of the rope because he couldn't use my 10-ride ticket - and when I objected to how he was treating my partner I was told, "we don't have to deal with this". When I returned with a ticket Wanda pretended like I wasn't there as the gate agent took his time examining the ticket in great detail and in a very passive aggressive way said "thank you VERY much" with the emphasis on "very" to make it clear it was sarcasm. As a regular business passenger I have a hard time spending $4800 a year to be abused by Amtrak ticket representatives. read more

how the fuck do you operate a transportation service that is routinely an hour plus late everyday

This beats sitting in traffic, stripping for a TSA employee, or sharing a smelly bus. I haven't taken the Acela because I've never been in much of a rush but a three hour local run from South Station to the New York suburbs isn't bad. If you can book your train in advance, do it, prices rise as the departure date nears. Seats are unassigned and these trains do sell out, so don't be picky about where you sit. I didn't have to interact much with the staff, which is probably a good thing. Overall convenient. read more

Took the train from Boston to NYC over the weekend and am so very glad I did -- I have heard horror stories about the bus rides and the train overall was very nice. I purchased a coach ticket online pretty far ahead, so I was able to get a good deal. The train boarded in Boston about 20 mins before leaving and I was able to get a great seat in the 'quiet' car. The ride was very pleasant and I had the entire row to myself for about 2/3 of the ride. Everyone was nice and if people got on that didn't see the 'QUIET' sign the conductor let them know and they moved on. The bathroom was relatively clean and we arrived in NYC early, which was great. The ride back was a little less pleasant. Boarding in NYC was nuts! They announced the train about 10 mins prior to leaving and there was a huge rush to the escalator down to the platform. Luckily I found the 'quiet' car again (had a long weekend and I really needed a nap). An extremely loud and rude family got on and were yelling around the car -- on the ride up the conductor would have asked the family to move to any other car on the train, but this ride the conductor did not. Several people asked the family (6+ women and children going to providence) to be quiet as it was a quiet car and they proceeded to make fun of anyone who asked them to quiet down and made more noise. The train ride was still nice and the bathrooms relatively clean on the way back, but the entire car was annoyed as people were trying to do work, read, sleep etc on the one designated quiet car. It would have been nice if amtrak is going to have a 'quiet' car they try to curb such rude people. Overall I would definitely take the train again as the ride was very smooth, relaxing and enjoyable. Also, the bathrooms stayed pretty clean all ride which was nice. The views (especially when we were riding along the water) were just beautiful also...and with the available plugs you can sit and listen to music without the fear of draining and not being able to re-charge your ipod/laptop/phone whatever. Luggage areas are also available in the front of the cars near the bathrooms (open/stackable), over the seats (also open which is nice so you can get to your stuff easily) and under your seat. Leg room was great, even if someone in front of you leans all the way back. read more

Don't trust the advertised Amtrak travel times. This is a severely mismanaged service which has been run into the ground. It is NOT the same clock work service your grandparents were familiar with. You'll get somewhere faster taking the China Town bus for half the price. read more

Boarding was a comedy of errors, "all coach passengers enter the second to the last car of the train". Maybe you could put out a cone or something to give us a general idea of where this might be on the platform. After moving from one end to the other ( dragging our bags) when an Amtrak employee clued us in at the last minute, we boarded to cars that had no open pairs of seats. Trudged to the front of the train for the "quiet car," frequently being challenged for not having business class tickets, which aren't necessary for the quiet car. No open pairs of seats there either. Evidently it's acceptable practice to sprawl across 2 seats, put on headphones and ignore anyone in need of a seat. Stumbled to the back of the train, by now speeding down the poorly maintained tracks, making walkingore difficult than any air turbulence I have ever experienced, Arrived in the last car to hear an Amtrak employee announce that was going charge the next person who bumps her with a bag. Hey,lady, we all just want to sit down and get to our destination, Sorry that using the train that keeps you employed is inconvenient for you. To quote my traveling companion, "next time I'll just take zofran and Benadryl and ride the bus." read more

This review is about Amtrak as a co. NOT the station as a whole. I was at Penn Station spent a long day in the Big Apple. Was with my mother for Mother's Day. We had to cut going to the 9/11 Memorial. As we thought we would not have enough time. Well after the train was over 2 hrs late was told to stay by the station. As the train could arrive at any time lol. Staff said it's a signal problem. Well it seems that's not only Amtrak's line but the MBTA's as well. Seem that's a big problem in the rail industry. Just HOW SAFE IS this mode of transport? Then we get on the train no we are sorry for being late. No plz come to the club car for something. Peanuts, water anything. No sooner did we pull out and hit CT. We had to wait 20 mins at a station. My mother is no spring chicken her words. We got back to Boston so late. Amtrak's statement we are not responsible for being on time (they were not so to the point). Just the tracks & the trains itself. My mother said how come the Acela has no problems? They can go right on by. The Acela from D.C. made it to Penn on time. And every other one From D.C. going to Penn then on to Beantown. So I guess if you have lots of money & are a big co. you can pick what to cover. Hit someone then tell the cop well did you read my statement? No wonder why I've always flown everywhere. Trains I've taken them in the past. Key word past. Seems to me they are just getting worse. Next time my mother said we fly into JFK. Plus the tickets were a little less if not the same. Rail is not this glamor mode of transport ANYMORE! That was in the past. Key word PAST. I can WALK FASTER THEN AMTRAK!! read more

e-booked boston to new york reservations. The trip was canceled and i called to cancel the tickets a week ahead of departure. Customer service was rude and generally unhelpful. When they wouldnt credit the card i used to make the purchase and explained i would only be issued a voucher for the value of what i had paid I asked to speak to a manager. They put me through to a mildly rude and also unhelpful gentleman in "Customer Relations" who told me the same thing. I explained the salesperson i spoke to when booking told me I would get refund if i canceled ahead of the departure. This was apparently untrue. ***** Do yourself a favor take the bus.***** The people at Bolt and or MegaBus are helpful and polite and although they dont issue refunds they will allow you to change your booking for 5$ and they are clear about it upfront. read more

This review is for those who choose to purchase food on Amtrak. Amtrak, the train service, get's a pass since it is convenient to get from downtown Boston to mid-town NYC. It's not perfect, because there are delays (at times it just crawls), sometimes irritating staff and that constant DING DONG at every stop, but it beats plane travel for the short distance. The food, however, is as bad as it get's. Remember when planes used to serve food? You were sitting there and whether you wanted food or not, they slid some tray of disgusting, over microwaved, piece of something in front of you, which you attempted to eat and complained about later to your colleagues at work. The reputation became well known that it was awful. Well, I recently had to run to make the train from Boston to NYP. I tried to convince myself to wait until I got to NY, but I was starving, so I headed to the "Bar Car". What a marketing stroke of genius. Feels like you are heading to a bar atmosphere...remember White Christmas, when they were on the train to VT? A Bar, Tables with table cloths. T0day's "Bar Car" is a clinical, uncomfortable, feeling space, with a counter type window to order food. I opted for the Buffalo chicken wrap for $9. The staff grabbed a prewrapped roll up and threw it into the microwave. It came out piping hot and I thought, "is that my wrap, why did he microwave it?" It was cut into 2 pieces, each about a bite and a half. I unwrapped it like opening a bag of chips and it was so hot, the steam wafted out. It was stuck to a cardboard holder you could see that it had lettuce and bleu cheese dressing. I'm not sure who enjoys hot lettuce, but when you heat up bleu cheese dressing, it turns translucent, kind of looks like snot. I tried to put it up to my mouth, but once it hit my nose I couldn't do it. I felt compelled to return it and after hearing that everyone loves that sandwich (I'm sure that most people return to the bar car to compliment the chef after a very fine microwaved sandwich), the gentlemen did return my $9. I mentioned that I thought the sandwich should be served cold, but he did not recommend that. Nice enough, I guess. I just find it hard to believe that's the best option for Amtrak. They have limited facilities, so just serve cold sandwiches and salad, and make them decent. It's almost as if they are trying too hard to offer Hot food. For the $200+ you pay for a one way, I think they could up the game to provide better food options. It would take very little effort. If you can absolutely not make it to a store or deli or convenient mart or anything that remotely offers the idea of food, prior to getting on the train, then do yourself a favor and wait until you get where you are going. The "bar car" if for people with little to no will power. I slipped on this day and it won't happen again. I challenge Amtrak to look at their food service and sit down to test their own food once and awhile. read more

They do not help people who have missed their train therefore they do not care about their customers. I have to take the T underground to get to the station to catch my train, the T had major delays and so I was stuck on it for 40 minutes. I missed my train because of this so I called customer service and they said they can't change my unused ticket to tomorrow and they can't even give me any money back because I didn't call before the train left (uhh I couldn't! I didn't know I was going to miss the train so I got on the T and I have no service down there so I can't call while stuck on the T). They said they have a one time voucher if you miss the train but they said they can't do that to me because they gave it to me 3 years ago. WOW 3 YEARS AGO I MISSED A TRAIN AND NOW YOU WON'T GIVE ME MY MONEY BACK BECAUSE I MISSED A TRAIN 3 YEARS AGO! This company is absolutely ridiculous, I have enjoyed taking it for years and have given them much business but I have to say after this absolute nonsense I will never take Amtrak ever again. Thanks for nothing. read more