Empire Builder.from St Paul to Chi Train very late 3 hours getting to St Paul but getting to Chicago no major issues. Staff in St Paul very good and efficient Train clean and boarded fast We did have to stand for about half an hour before we boarded. If you really wanted a seat there. Asian salad from cafe was about $10 and tasty and lots to eat. Got 2 salads , 2 half bottles of red wine and a muffin for $40. read more

Easy online ticket purchase and Union Depot is such a cool place to wait. There's an exhibit of the Historic Stairs that you shouldn't miss. read more

Amtrak - Train Stations Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

The trains don't run on time apparently. Some friends and i booked a train to chicago from minneapolis to go see one of our favorite bands. There was a 4 hour departure delay that pushed our arrival too late, so we had to cancel and drive instead. thankfully we got a full refund, but totally let down after looking forward to it for so long. TOTAL BUMMER. read more

I had a couple of Amtrak rides this fall coming and going from the Saint Paul terminal. Very kind staff, facilities are clean and easy to navigate, and the amenities in the station are great! read more

This transportation hub in the St. Paul area is very easy to navigate to get around. The signage was very easy to locate and to read. Since I was taking the Amtrak to Chicago, I needed to wait in the Grand Hall. Granted this area has been remodeled, but till has that historical feeling. There are various seating areas, along with working areas and area for playing games. Several of the areas were closed such as the Amtrak Lounge. Once the train had arrived, the employees were very helpful to assists guests to locate the appropriate train to board. read more

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My first trip was coach from Seattle to Redwing, Minnesota Our first car we had first had no hot water and then the electrical system puts, and there was burnt wiring, smell all over and they moved us to another car the car they moved us to it was covered in so on the headliners or black mold, and as the first car when you went to the restrooms, there were holes in the floor in the corners of the walls and broken cabinetry reminiscent of beat up old camper toilets as we had to use it on our trip back we realize those toilets were also the same way as they were on the way back we opted just spending an extra five $600 so we could have a room a roomete we noticed the upgrade in restrooms. There were no holes in the floors and in the walls and just a few broken items scratches and dings that have been made many years ago. The lower bunk on our roommate was comfortable enough, but the upper bunk was less thickness than a mattress pad. Again, about four hours to six hours and into our journey, we were out of hot water therefore, the showers that we were able to use we weren't because it was all cold. It did not get repaired. We went to one meal in the dining room because of my broken back and still that was a journey we had to go through four cars to get there. and had planned on having our breakfast brought to our room, but we were informed that all people going to Seattle in a couple other destinations had to get out of their room by 6:30 and go to breakfast or stay and wait for the person here to remake our rooms for the next customers that don't feel like we're a valued customer at all. You have to get up at six. Remove all your things and let someone clean your room that don't happen at hotels and they don't make people at airplane standby the door before they land so it's convenient to clean them for the next customers what's up? read more

The review is for the empire builder train that goes from Seattle to Chicago with a boat load of stops in between. This was indeed once in a Lifetime experience in that I will never do this in my lifetime again :( Really wanted to enjoy the trip but started on a sour note with an hour delay which never got communicated at the station/terminal... it's like, it was the passenger's responsibility to keep track of the train or something. On the way back, there was another delay. Plus, the train malfunctioned or something after it left the platform, that they shut the power off to the train to repair it, locking everyone inside for an hour without being able to use the restrooms and everything. The train itself was old and dirty. The tray tables were filthy. The customer service was really rough. The bathrooms looked like they were never cleaned. Only positive was that the seats were comfy and the observation deck car is nice. I would not recommend Amtrak to anyone! read more

Amtrak - Menu for cafe - Train Stations Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

The staff on the Empire Builder are excellent. We rented a bedroom so we could have our own bathroom. Bedrooms are very expensive. On our trip from East Glacier, MT to St. Paul the bathrooms in our entire car did not work. This was a known problem for days that Amtrak did not fix. In fact it was a known problem on and off for months. The train is NOT well maintained. Not only did we have to go to another car to use the bathroom but our car reeked because the bathrooms weren't working. After weeks of trying to get a partial refund from Amtrak they only agreed to a measly amount. I would never recommend spending the money for an Amtrak bedroom to anyone! read more

Booked for a last minute business trip out of town... Last minute day before ticket from Saint Paul Minnesota to Milwaukee Wisconsin the day before cost me $161 round trip which wasn't bad considering a $400 one way ticket price. Unfortunately.... The 2:30 arrival turned to a 2 1/2 Hour delay that wasn't properly communicated unfortunately. Overall an older train that could use some updating but it gets your from point A to B. Gone are the days of riding the train for great views of the heartland and Americana in style. But it still gets you there safely on one piece. I will do when in a bind.... read more

Amtrak - Upper level Coach car - Train Stations Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

Nice clean place my son was accommodated just as they said for underage child and he made it safely to Milwaukee! I want to go one day!

I do not understand some of the Yelp complaints, some from one-time passengers. Some first-time passengers are just not familiar with the system and some the complaints about Amtrak sound a bit unreasonable. I've travelled by rail Twin Cities to Chicago, and other longer routes, since I was a student, beginning several years before the start of Amtrak. I've had a few negative experiences by rail,tiny and they have been delays caused by major snowstorms in the mountains affecting eastbound trains. The longest delay was about 3 hours. Airline travel used to be fun, but no longer with long boarding times, stressed flight attendants and passengers, minimal service, snacks instead of meals, and tiny seats. The current pre and post flight waiting times may be double or triple the flying time.. I've spent hours in airports waiting, with little real information, with the delays causing missed flights. Amtrak has been wonderful, an easy means of travel, with improvements every year. The employees are courteous. I love travelling by train, sitting in the observation car, eating in the dining car or relaxing in your wide coach seat. read more

We take the train overnight 13 hours from St. Paul to Williston, ND and back every so often. It is fairly easy to navigate the site to purchase tickets and check train times, they also have an app. The prices can vary drastically, depending on timing and day of the week. I tend not to know ahead of time when I'll be going so I purchase tickets a day or two before. The prices are higher if you wait to purchase. I highly recommend the sleeper car if you are going overnight. It is much more expensive than the coach (regular) seats but it comes with complimentary dinner and breakfast, and you can sleep in a cot in your own room. I would also purchase this kind of sleeper car if you have kids. The attendant oriented me to the sleeper room and took my dinner order (they can bring it to the room). He also folded out the cot for me. The coach (regular) seats aren't terrible, sorta like airplane seats, but they can recline a bit farther and you have much more leg room. Now with Covid, if you are in a regular seat, it is much less busy and you won't have to worry about someone sitting next to you, which would happen before the pandemic hit. I like to bring my own blanket and travel pillow, especially if I am just on the regular seat. It was $95 for the coach seat overnight on a Thursday night and $230 for a sleeper car overnight on a Sunday night. The bathrooms are better in the sleeper cars than the regular seats as well. All of the workers and servers have been very nice to me. It's a little overwhelming the first time but a breeze the second time. The only thing that can really ruin the whole trip is when the train is delayed. This almost always seems to happen FYI. And sometimes it's been delayed at least 4-6 hours which is crazy. Other times, just a half hour. I don't have kids nor a certain time to get to places so it's not too bad for me to take the train. read more

Amtrak - Sleeper car with a complimentary drink. - Train Stations Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

Look, I know things happen and it wasn't Amtrak's fault my train was delayed FOUR HOURS recently but tell your guy not to chew me out for trying to settle into my compartment at 3:00 AM! because I was making noise during QUIET TIME. Nobody cared about MY quiet time as I tried to catch up sleep!!! I didn't appreciate being scolded. read more

I purchased the super liner roomette from Minneapolis to Minot, North Dakota. It seemed to be a better deal financially since a flight back home was double the price, of course you are sacrificing the time it takes to reach another state, but since my trip started at 10:30 pm, it means I would just sleep the whole night. Customer service was very friendly, if you purchase a roomette you are considered VIP and can wait in a private lounge they give you a code for, an attendant will come by and let you know when it is time to board the train. Roomette looked clean and my attendant was extremely friendly, what was most important to me was having a lock on the door while I slept, since I was traveling alone. I felt safe the entire time and it was great to have a bed where I can lay flat and sleep. Only thing I would recommend is bring an extra blanket and wear heavy clothing! Since you are next to the window during winter, the room can get cold, I did forget to turn the little heater on, but I am not sure if it would of done much, I wore my coat and put the blanket over me and I was nice and warm after. You also receive free breakfast in the morning, and there is a bathroom near. Don't forget you also get a military discount when booking. read more

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I hate this depot location. It is a haul to walk all over hell and the bathroom is a schlep too. We got a call saying that there will be no one there to assist us to get in so I got our driver to take care of helping us get all our stuff in for a weeklong trip to Seattle. There is some assistance once you get to the train, but at the station there isn't much if any staff around. I wish they just improved the original station, it was so much easier to get to and get dropped off and picked up. This was a nightmare. However on the train we were taken great care of. The rooms are bunks with a foot long stair to climb up, no good for handicapped folks. I slept on the floor for comfort. Thank God the toilet was in the room. This trip is a beautiful view in northern Montana. In spite of the discomfort we had great service from a guy who acted more like a personal valet. read more

My trip was on the Empire Builder from St. Paul to Chicago and back. I decided to try the train again after 20 years because I was not seeing any cheap flights, nor did driving my old car and trying to find parking in the South Loop seem wise. In many ways it's more civilized than air travel; there aren't the hideously long security lines for starters, and boarding with 2 carry-ons was a stress free experience at both stations. The seats are roomy and comfortable. The non handicap bathrooms are a little tight, but no worse than a plane, and it's much easier to walk around the train and get to them. Staff are generally helpful. I saw one conductor go out of his way to make a woman with a walker comfortable. We did have some problems with the PA system in my car- the volume was often too low and we missed some announcements. There are 2 food options- the lounge car has much the same kind of grab and go options as you would find at a nicer gas station on the highway. The dining car has sit down service with prepared to order food. The staff take reservations for the dining car when you board if you are at an origin point, but if you get on at an in-between stop like St. Paul, you have to ask. I won't claim it's haute cuisine, but it's decent food. The experience of sitting at a table with other random passengers is also nice - on the return trip I was next to a university music professor so we had a lot to talk about ( I work in a university library & consider myself a musichead) We were diverted to a side track to let a freight train go by in both directions. This made my Chicago arrival late, but only by an hour and my sister was able to track the arrival. The return trip managed to be on time in spite of this delay. If my next trip to Chicago involves the whole family or other drivers, it may be more economical to get the car in good shape and drive, but for a solo trip, I would take the Empire Builder again. read more

If a 0 was possible, so be it. After I recover from this Amtrak/Union Depot disastrous experience, I will return to expand. After numerous calls to Amtrak, it is a lost cause to call Amtrak customer service. Simply put, I will never enter the St. Paul Union Depot again. Starting with the Amtrak phone agents, masters at spinning unique stories to different customers about the same train departure and/or arrival. Blatant lies and scapegoating customers. The intersection of incompetent Amtrak management, line operations, all colluding with the powers within the City of St. Paul. All I can say is I am so glad to be home. read more

Terrible customer service, the train car providers are always cranky, never smile, and always act annoyed when I ask for something. I take the train every other month from Williston ND to Minneapolis. I travel with my son who is under 2. We always travel in a sleeper car and never receive positive customer service. My family travels by train to visit us and have all had the same experiences. Do not rely on the train being on time. Although in it has been a lot better in 2017 then previous years, there has been times where it has been delayed for us anywhere from 8-12 hours. We have traveled in the regular car downstairs and upstairs. Try to pick seats away from the car doors if you are going to be over night as it's loud when people are going from one car to another. Most of the time people are able to sit with two seats for themselves. We travel by sleeper now that I have a baby and it's much more enjoyable. We can close the door and have personal space to be active. There are two chairs that fold down to a bed, there is also a bunk above. Rooms are very small I would not recommend traveling two per room, especially if you are elder! Also you get a complementary meal with the room. I love the family room sleepers, so nice but very very expensive! They have a little larger bed that folds to a couch, also has a shower and bathroom in the room. Complementary Meal comes with the room! Play around with dates and you can sometimes snag a family room sleeper for the same price as a regular sleeper! Also play with dates for better pricing! Prices increase during summer. read more

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Set aside your entire day for a ride with Amtrak. (MSP to MKE) They pushed back the arrival time every 45min for 3 hours. We arrived at the MSP station at 7:30am for an 8:00am ride and didn't board the train until 11:00am. Also the train was absolutely packed. With covid sweeping the area I was nervous about this but assumed they would take extra precautions during this time. Unfortunately this was not the case. Really nice workers for the most part, lots of leg room, beautiful scenes, not too much elbow room though. Got to MSP at 7:30am, arrived in MKE at 6:00pm. Take a car if you are debating this option. read more

I'm on the StPaul to MKE train, 800-200. The train arrival to STP was 35 minutes late. We boarded 100 people and we're off. You find a seat, load your luggage in the above rack and have a seat. There are 2 electronic plug ins for power supply. I have ample leg room, the seats recline to almost laying down and the views along the mighty Miss R, are wonderful. First stop is Red Wing, Winona, LaCrosse, Tomah, the Dells, portage, columbus and Milwaukee. The car I was in was clean, bathrooms were messy but useable. I will do this again and I recommend the the train. read more

This is about Amtrak's parts of Union Depot. I recently completed two round-trips on the Empire Builder that started and finished at Union Depot, and thought I'd share my experience. First, the main desk to check-in, check your bags, or buy tickets is at street level, by the Kellogg street entrance. If you already have your ticket printed, and don't have bags, you can skip this part...unless you are in a sleeping car, in which case you have to talk to the staff to get the code to get into the sleeping car lounge on the concourse level, two escalators above. The staff were friendly and helpful, even on the busy times. The concourse level is beautiful, restored to a look that dates to a century ago or so. When you exit the escalator and go through the doors to the concourse, you veer a bit to the right as you walk to the opposite wall in order to reach the sleeping car lounge. If you are going by coach, you can walk to your left to the end of the concourse. Get yourself near a window and you may see the train arrive! The sleeping car lounge is fairly comfortable, though it may be hard to find a seat if there are a lot of passengers. Complimentary filtered, cold water and hot coffee are available. While there is a desk for an Amtrak staff member, I never saw one seated there. Instead, they came a few minutes before the train was to arrive to escort you to the top of the access to the platform. If you don't walk with the other passengers from the lounge, you'll need to show your sleeping car ticket to the Amtrak staff member guarding the door. Sleeping car passengers get to wait beyond the door until the arriving passengers detrain. If you are lucky, the single escalator will be going down when you head to the platform (they do reverse it, but one downside to being in the first group to board is that you may get there too soon); otherwise, you can take the stairs. There is also an elevator, but I left that for people who really needed it. A tip: If you are heading east, and want a sleeper, book train 28. The Portland section is at the end of the train, so you have a shorter walk. Likewise, if you are arriving from points east on a sleeper, book train 7, since you are closer to the escalator. There is only the one access point at the western end of the platform. The platform is well-lit, but the Empire Builder is a long train. Also, remember that the platform is exposed to the elements. There is a roof, but that doesn't stop the temperature or the wind. You'll probably want your jacket while you walk to your car. The one problem I noticed for first-time arrivals at Union Depot is that they didn't know how to get to the street. This is something I blame Union Depot for more than Amtrak. There should be clear signs with large arrows indicating the way to the escalator, and another big sign should be outside the doors to Kellogg indicating to street level and curbside pick-up. There's a sign saying baggage claim, but that doesn't always mean street level; it does at Union Depot, though. On the whole, Amtrak's staff were helpful. I would have preferred the sleeping car lounge be closer to the gate itself, and better signs will help, but arriving or departing at Union Depot is a nice experience. read more

The Empire Builder experience. Just finished a trip from St. Paul,MN to Seattle, WA with my 13 year old son and Grandma. This was a wonderful trip and highly recommended. At first I thought it was going to be "too" long of a trip, 37 hours on a train. In reality it was just what we needed, time to pause and see this beautiful country. We had two sleeper cars for three people which was really nice. We slept through most of North Dakota as we boarded the train at 10:30 PM. Once you hit the last third of Montana the scenery is amazing, all you want to do is look out and enjoy the view. Food was decent considering you're on the train. This was a trip that we will always remember compared to the "typical" trip on a plane. Again, highly recommend this experience! The staff was great, ask for the 30 year veteran (his name was OC). Enjoy read more

A great method of transport to Chicago if you're planning on hanging around downtown for the time you're there. Leave the driving to them and forget the hassle and expense of parking in the downtown area. You can always hop on a bus or the L, or hail a cab if you must get around to more out of the way places or if you'd rather not walk far. It's comfortable and roomy in Coach seating. You may get up and walk and stretch as often as you like. While on our return leg, we wanted to have dinner in the Dining Car and by doing so, we were seated with another couple, Shelly and John from Ohio, and we had a very pleasant conversation with them over dinner. We met as strangers and left as friends. It would be an exceptional train ride if certain people would take their 'ad nauseum' cellphone conversations to a more lively area of the train instead of imposing their noise upon those passengers around them who are trying to either sleep or read. read more

Well Amtrak you lost a life long passenger this morning on the epmire builder , 02/03/2019 east bound, paid over 300.00 dollars for a ticket ,round trip , I have breathing problems ,let gentleman that assigned seats know of problem , I woke up this morning ,walked into dining car and asked to buy a cup of coffee after was told in a very rude manner by the host that cafe car was two cars back. Explained to host in dining car about breathing problem , while laughing , he says I know but the cafe car is two cars back get your coffee there , very humiliating in front of other passengers after riding Amtrak for over 30 years , I am DONE !!!!!!!!! read more

St. Paul has a beautiful restored train station which serves as a transport hub with no red cap service-- much like Birmingham but it is accessible for strong people. There is practically no food service. read more

This was my first experience taking the train. I started out in St. Paul with a destination of Minot, ND. The customer service agents were awesome...helpful, cheerful. great experience overall. I took the train back from Minot, ND to St. Paul, MN. I arrived early, retrieved my checked bag, then asked about getting a cab. The agent asked me if I wanted to save $40, which I did, then he directed me, with clear, concise directions how to take the bus to light rail for $2.25 (rush hour price). His information was spot on....take the 54 bus to Terminal 1, if you need to go to terminal 2, go downstairs to light rail, first stop is terminal 2...not sure if I would do this route at night, but morning trip to airport is super easy. read more

Having to listen to noise levels of up to 120 plus dB. A wedding with a DJ. Showed readings in a phone decibel reader to multiple security officers without any assistance. People in line for trains are going to suffer possible permanent hearing damage. Amtrak has absolutely no concern for it's passengers. read more

Union Station is a beautiful building to visit, but unfortunately situated in a sketchy neighborhood. Many transients around the front exterior, graffiti on nearby buildings. I rode the Metro from downtown Minneapolis and spent more time getting to/from the station than I spent inside photographing. read more

The Empire Builder experience? The conductor took my suitcase. When I detrained (delightful word), I asked her where it was. She said it was at the baggage claim. I walked all the way to the other end of Union Depot and waited for my suitcase, which never showed up. The man at the baggage claim said he never got it and I better run back because it's still on the train. Why he couldn't radio anyone to make sure the train didn't leave without my suitcase I have no idea. I ran back. The guys at the gate needed to be explained to. They let me go handle the situation myself. The conductor in question didn't even recognize me when I told her what happened. We slowly tracked down the bag she had taken from me, hidden from me, and sent me on a wild goose chase after. When I asked her for an explanation, she threw me off the train. I've always preferred to travel slowly, by train, at least twice a year. Now, never again. You've alienated me forever, Amtrak. Goodbye. read more

This review is for the Empire Builder trip from Saint Paul, MN to Chicago, IL. We booked a Superliner Roomette for $551.80 with a AAA discount, for round trip tickets from St Paul, MN to Chicago IL. Upon arrival at the Union Depot station in St. Paul at 7:30 am, for an 8:00 departure was just fine, seeing as we did not have bags to check. It was the only line of people in the station, but the signage was confusing, and the arrival and departure screens had yesterday's information displayed. We just asked people in line and they told us we were in the right line. Since we had the roomette, we really did not have to wait in line, but there wasn't any communication of this through online ticketing, or on my eTicket receipt, which was disappointing. I suggest that whatever depot you are at, just go to an Amtrak counter, tell them you have a Sleeper room, and ask them where you should wait. The staff were all very courteous and helpful, and on the way home, our train was changed to another track, and the staff was very good about seeing that we got to the right train. The Superliner Roomette is small, but adequate for an 8 hour ride. We mostly just sat in the seats, they do recline and become a bed if you want, and there is another top bunk which will did fold down during part of the trip. It is really quite comfortable, and you have your choice of leaving the door and curtain open, or closing it for privacy. The bathrooms are small but close to the sleeper cars, and I never had any trouble except the one time that an elderly lady was on the pot, and didn't lock the door. That was embarrassing for her I imagine. Be sure you lock the potty. On the way home there were more bathrooms near our sleeper car, along with a pretty big shower room. Our first trip to the dining car, we were reprimanded by an Amtrak server who told us "usually you wait by the door" and then another server very curtly told us that we needed to sit on the same side of the table, as other diners would be joining us. I think they could be a little warmer with this message, since we had never ridden this train before, and it was pretty obvious. They could also include this information in the announcements, or maybe even send out a brochure of what to expect on the train, and where to go in the depot if you have purchased a sleeper car. The food in the dining car was adequate, and the signature Amtrak steak was actually really good, but the veggies are just your run of the mill gross soggy canned veggies. Bring cash so you can be prepared to tip your servers, but if you are in a roomette, the meals are included. You can purchase alcohol and pay for it at the end of your meal. Union Depot in Chicago has many options for eating and drinking, so don't worry if you get there hungry, as long as you have some time, you will be able to find something good to eat. The special lounge for sleeper room riders had some cut up cheese and veggies, and coffee, but I did not try them, as we were not hungry. All in all, this was a very fun trip, and I recommend traveling on the Empire Builder as a fun way to travel. If you have kids, or are traveling with another couple, there is also an observation deck, where they have a Park Services person who talks about the history of the area you are traveling through, and chairs and tables where you can play games, very nice if you want to get out of your room for a while. read more

Dirty windows, bathrooms and sadly they don't provide pillows in couch anymore. Left on time!! Beautiful season for travel though.

I would not recommend this as a form of traveling. This ride was extremely rocky, and uncomfortable. The service was not very good either. Every trip I have traveled with Amtrak was atleast three hours late. Lastly, it took over an hour to leave the station. This is not ideal for timing, comfort, or convenience, I do not recommend amtrak. read more