Trip from NYC to DC was about an hour faster than the bus, there were power outlets, supremely comfortable, large clean bathrooms, but no wifi. At $49, I'd say it's a win if you do this route often and don't mind paying a premium over the bus. Also, the trains are on time, I love it! read more

I ride the NE Regional and Acela Express several times a year and I'm a pretty satisfied customer. Traveler's Tip: download the Amtrak app for your phone; the latest version is user friendly, and enables you to change your train time with a few clicks. This helped me extend a stay in New York seamlessly, no time lost on the phone waiting in queue. Years ago, when all fares were cheaper (sigh) the major advantage to taking the Acela over the Regional to/from Washington basically guaranteed read more

A detective from the Reno PD boarded our train and asked me, per "intelligence" FROM AMTRAK, whether I was smuggling drugs. I thought he was kidding. Apparently I was supposed to find this completely normal, because customer service said I'd need to call back after the train reached its destination. No apology from the company. read more

BEST EVER!! Especially going first class. All the food and beverages you can drink. The staff was wonderful. Very polite. Very helpful. Truly recommend going first class on Amtrak. read more

Dear Amtrak Customer Service, Just purchased a last-minute coach ticket from DC to Richmond, VA. The regular price is $35. I paid $70. Feels like gouging. I could understand if coach tickets were sold out and I had to buy first class. Not the case. I've purchased last-minute train tickets in several countries where people regularly use the train, and I have not felt so ripped off. The pricing reminds me of airline pricing, which nobody thinks is fair or proper. I understand you're borrowing airline policies for pricing, crowd control, and baggage limitations. These make no sense for train travel. Since there is a monopoly on trains, gouging is exactly that. --David Fischer read more

I am currently on train 93 from Boston to NY... Has anyone who works for Amtrak actually tried the food in the cafe train??? In the morning the microwave my bagel.... really? I'll buy you a toaster, how much are they now $25!!!!!! Than later they give me the worst sandwich I have ever had for lunch..... None of this would bother me as much if the person in the food cart wasn't completely rude, and if the bagel and drink did not cost almost 10 bucks, and the sandwicj cost me 12 with a drink!!! This is what happens when you allow monopolies and government subsidize things... If they aren't going to do it right, let others in the market. read more

Cafe car review: on the 177 Northeast Regional from Boston (Route 128 station) to Newark, NJ. Due to our very tight logistics, we could not grab dinner to bring on train. So 3 of us headed to cafe car, and were very pleasantly surprised with food. Pre-made turkey sandwiches and wraps were totally edible, fresh tasting, and sandwich on good multi grain roll. Fruit cup was very fresh. And there is wine, much needed after a difficult day. [we were a little flummoxed when conductor announced that engines had shut down but would start back shortly only 15 minutes after our departure. Really? Luckily, they did start up fairly quickly. Not sure why we somehow still arrived over an hour late. Better than an airplane - but not by much - bathroom. Still, for a $77 last minute coach ticket it was overall a positive experience. ] read more

Recently, first time in my life my husband and I tried Amtrak and guys our overall experience was really nice. We had coach seats from New York to Chicago and roomette from Chicago to Los Angeles. New York to Chicago trip was okay, we had 5 hours stay over before we catch Chicago to Los Angeles train . Our train from New York to Chicago was more than an hour behind schedule, but it was okay with us because we had some time to catch our next train. Chicago to Los Angeles trip was wonderful, however, there was no free wifi. It was little annoying because we wanted to share our experience with our family and friends in timely manners because they were anxiously waiting but we couldn't do it because our phone signals weren't working properly and we didn't have free wifi. Beside NO free wifi issue, everything else was wonderful. Sleeping accommodation was nice and traditional dining was awesome. I loved, loved food car (traditional dining), the atmosphere, employees and Gabriel (waiter) were really nice and super professional, food was so good and fresh. Because of the traditional dinning experience, I'll use Amtrak again and recommend my friends and family. They made us feel so special. By the way if you buy Roomette ticket and above, meals are free but not wifi :( Oh no! I just found out that they are removing traditional dining (food car), why are you taking everything away from Amtrak. What are you offering now? these things attack people. I don't know if I wanna pay double as compare to plane and eat airline style food. read more

I'm a huge fan of Amtrak - if you sign up for their Guest Rewards, you get points based on your purchases and an accumulation means either a 1-way or even enough for a round trip set of tickets. My husband and I usually take the Amtrak on our trip to NYC; we even took it to Chicago once (which you need to set aside 1 day as it's a 14-17+ hour trip!); the trains are always on time, it's a smooth ride, and you can even go to the 'Quiet Car' for more peace and quiet (usually, it's people who either are reading or sleeping - even music isn't 'technically' supposed to be here as it disturbs others). If you buy tickets ahead of time, it can less than $100 for a round trip (to NY), and from Union Station in DC, it drops you right off at Penn Station, giving you easy access to other transfers. The megabuses can be more budget-friendly, but I like the range of times that's offered on the Amtrak - we are able to leave 3 in the morning and then come back 11 in the evening, rather than cutting our trip short by catching the bus. There's a food cart/dining car, I did try their hot dog and it was actually pretty juicy and delicious :P You're also allowed to bring luggage onto the train; the only thing is, they don't do much of a security check with those. There are multiple stops along the way, so there are passengers coming on/getting off - the trip usually takes about 3 hours or so and we had always arrived on time. There's also a waiting/seating area for Amtrak guests in Penn Station. +extensive and convenient times, early morning to late at night read more

Look if you are going to compare Amtrak to rail transport in Europe, criticize Congress not Amtrak. As the national rail transportation (near) monopoly, it is the only game in town. Live with it. The truth is that Amtrak is better than it was in years past. When I was in college, I loved riding the train because I found that I met interesting people. However, as I got older I realized that the trains were pretty bad and the food was terrible. Today, I really think that both are better than they were a decade ago. Now this is not to say that Amtrak does not have problems. Once they canceled my wife's train and offered to put her on one hours later. Luckily my Representative at the time was perfectly willing to give me the direct phone number to the CEO of Amtrak's office. One call got the problem resolved really quickly. In addition, trains can be easily delayed by switch problems or cars blocking intersections, and the like. But considering what Amtrak was like in the 90's, it is much better today. read more

July 4 The day that America celebrated its independence is also the day I woke up at 6:30am to get on the Amtrack train to New York. I love New York, it's my 3rd favorite city in the world. One of the best things about being on the east coast is I get to go to New York during holiday weekends. And of course, I had to make sure I went to bed at 3am, since I didn't start packing until 2am. Good man. So I wasn't the happiest camper when I got to Union Station at 7:50am. Fortunately finding my train wasn't a problem. Union Station is small enough where it's hard to get lost. And the automatic kiosks that print your tickets are hot. The last time I went to New York, I took the Bolt Bus for $20 each way. This time I wanted to try a train. Why? Because it's been 15 years since I rode a train, because I like the idea of rail transportation which is immune to traffic jams, because the train fare was shockingly not greater than airfare like it usually is, and mostly because I wanted more leg room. So I sprung $63 for a one way ticket and paid $30 to upgrade it to business class. I really liked the idea of sitting in a nice seat with plenty of legroom, and being able to watch the scenery on a brisk ride to New York. We made around...8 stops, but I hardly noticed them. The ride itself was bumpier than I thought. I was expecting smooth transportation, but it was fairly rough. And it was very very loud. I still had fun. I liked the idea of walking back and forth between cars. And I had enough room to take out my laptop and watch downloaded episodes of Doctor Who. I took the time to check out the food cart, which was pretty spiffy. One of my fondest memories of going on Amtrack when I was younger was eating the microwaved hamburgers in the food cart, and of the nice guy who was operating it. I almost went for it again for nostalgia's sake, but I was planning on eating lunch as soon as I arrived, and I wanted to save my appetite. But yeah, sitting in the dining cart and eating preservative-laden microwaved food is awesome, and I'm going to do it next time. I enjoyed my trip on Amtrak. I wish the rail system in the US was as advanced, convenient, and cheap as it is in Asia and Europe. I love the idea of Amtrack, but I'm disappointed in its execution. The trains could be so much faster, cleaner, cheaper - a real alternative method of transportation. But currently, it's something business travellers use for short hops or for tourists to use when they want something scenic. I doubt it'll change anytime soon. But I am so stoked at the thought of taking a train to Chicago or even San Francisco one day - and not have it be an expensive, time-consuming nightmare. We got to Penn Station in a little over 4 hours. I would loved to have taken the train back home, but return fare was going to be around $200 for one ticket. Oy. read more

It sucked. I was forced to sit in a seat that was broken. I was forced to sit in a seat I did not want when other seats were open. I was told that if I didn't sit where I was told I would thrown of the train. The ride was horrendous. The conductors were assholes. One woman while I was trying to sleep kept walking by and pulling my mask up so it fully covered my nose. She had no business touching me. Yes, my mask would slip down but you have no business touching me. They ran out of food for the coach passengers but had plenty for the sleeper passenger. They ran out of beverages soft and otherwise. Train was overloaded. Bathroom had no toilet paper. The brochure and the websites are bullshit. Save your money and fly or drive a car. Amtrak sucks a wopper. read more

This is a review of the first class service from Washington, DC to NYC Positives: Excellent service, comfortable seats, WiFi, no security hassle like the airport - 5 stars Negatives: The food I had was horrible, it was an Antipasto, and I ended up eating again when I got to NYC because I was so hungry. Not only was the portion small, but the quality was poor. Rubbery chicken, so so veggies. 1 - star The interior of the car wasn't all that clean, could have used a good vacuuming read more

A shameless company called Amtrak, it's really an embarrassment for America. I had a ride from DC to Denver last week. Amtrak delayed almost every stations, how amazing. Especially from Chicago to Denver, they delayed over 4 hours, although it compares to my maximum 10 hours delay in 2004 is not a big deal. The staffs are very polite and hard working, but I think in the eyes of CEO only money but people. I am a foreigner from Asia, I think the only way to stop Amtrak keeping torturing people is to let Amtrak to pay penalty for their delays just like the other countries in Asia. I strongly suggest that US government should take over Amtrak for telling Americans "Money is not the most important thing, but people do.". read more

Ride Amtrak a few times now, but overnight episode was my first. Okay, I admit that the blower is stronger as the night drift into deeper darkness. If u have an aisle seat, be sure to bring a thicker pullover to shield yourself from trembles. The ride is smooth and not bumpy. Although the wifi connection lagged during the ride, it doesn't pose an issue for me since I am catching up on my beauty sleep. There's a cafe area right in the middle of the train, with 8 eating tables with cushioned benches. The service can be a lot lousier than expected. I met up a lady at the counter who looked scornful and resentful at every customers. A bad experience that deter me from going to the cafe each time. You can also order your meals during your ride so that u get your fill. I enjoyed the cafe for a brief stretching especially when the journey takes more than 12hours. I love the scenery and occasionally bring up a topic with other passengers who sat near me. It makes my trip less boring surely. I have never met with a delay in all my Amtrak except one that was traveling from Florida, Orlando to DC. We were all held up for at least 3 hours at the waiting area, to make matter worst, we were made to queue up at the unsheltered platform for the train to arrive, and it was like 38degree then. The most unpleasant experience since but the rest of my 10s Amtrak experience had been smooth and enjoyable. I'll definitely hop on Amtrak if I ever make another rail trip in future. Sometimes, rail is much more enjoyable than a flight if time is not the most important factor. read more

3.5-4 stars. Hard to say really. Took the Northeast Regional to get to and from BWI from Union. Evidently that's the most efficient route. On the way from BWI to Union it was around 5:30 or 6 on a Friday and there wasn't a ton of people yet the train was late. Since it's coming from NYC that's not to be unexpected but what was annoying was the screens said that trains could come 2-5 minutes EARLY from posted times on the board (if they weren't running late). This would infuriate me if I was one of those people checking the times on my phone while I was running off a shuttle bus-to find out the 6:05 actually leaves at 6:00??? Just post the actual times please. On the way back to BWI I grabbed the last train of the day which was supposed to leave at 2:20. Of course there was a line down the entire platform and the train was 15 minutes late. As long as I left myself time to get to my plane, I was ok (I made it). However, they still waited, and waited, and waited. Once we got on. To pull out of the station. After we moved up 100 feet again. Once we got on our way it was fine and a quick ride-to BWI it's only 2 stops. The seats have plenty of room and the overheads have plenty of space for big luggage. If I was going to take this on a longer trip I imagine it would be comfortable (and with wifi and cell signal). I'm a plane girl and would rather get there in a third of the time but it's always an option. It's so old school how your tickets don't get scanned until you're actually butt in seat on a moving train. I like the nostalgia though. As long as they're not terribly late I'll continue to take the same route. read more

Dear Amtrak, your service sucks. Every time I take one of your trains, it is always behind. So I get to sit on the train for hours longer than I planned, because for some reason, the trains break down or we get stuck behind a freight car or some other stupid reason. I wish I could give this negative stars. This is why people don't take trains anymore. Maybe try and make sure your trains are actually reliable and suck less. read more

First time train rider, long time admirer. We were in the area a while back for my sister's graduation and had decided beforehand to make a little extended vacation out of it by doing the tourist thing in NYC after DC. The train was much less expensive than a flight so it was a no-brainer. What a really fun experience! Let me break it down... Positives: --No TSA "You Have No Fourth Amendment Rights" type of security. You show them your ID and ticket and that is all, the way it should be. --Plenty of seats in the waiting area, I didn't see one person sitting on the floor. --The seats on the train are huge, comfortable and beat the hell out of any commercial airline. --The views weren't amazing or anything, but it was nice to see Baltimore and New York right out my window. --Plenty of room to walk around in the cars. --Friendly staff and conductor(s) Negatives: --Tracks could use some repair in and around Baltimore, things were shaky at times. --Food and drinks are overpriced and decent at best, but what did I expect? Who cares I guess. Overall, it was nice to be treated like a customer rather than an inconvenience at best and a criminal at worst. If I find myself on the East coast again and need to go city to city, then I won't hesitate to go Amtrak. read more

Best service!!!! We took the train on thanksgiving from NYC to baltimore and I left my wallet in the train. I called the station in dc to have the staff to look for the wallet when the train arrives there. They FOUND my wallet! On thanksgiving night!! Great people! read more

I resolved the situation and cancelled the trip. Amtrak tried to withhold 10% for cancelling, but then completed a full refund after an hour on hold with customer relations. I really wanted to make this trip but with the Parlor Car and the amenities offered at the time of booking, not in the fashion the trip is now running. Update... Cancelled our trip and booked air tickets but now find out they've again changed their minds and have decided to keep the Parlour Car on the Costal Starlight run! You would think that more would be put into the decision making. We really wanted to make the Costal trip :o( read more

ClubAcela in Washington DC Union station is a quiet place to wait between trains or a place to drop off you luggage if you have a long layover. It's available to all passengers who book a roomette. That was about the only good part of the Washington DC to Florida (Deland) leg of my trip. The Silver Meteor is a Viewliner. It is old train that has seen better times. The Viewliners are single decker trains. The infrastructure along the east coast is such that they can only accommodate single decker trains. The roomettes have in-room sinks and toilets. The shower is VERY small. I am a small person and I barely fit. I don't think many people use the shower since there weren't very many bath towels on hand AND there was a garbage receptacle (for coffee, etc.) sitting in the shower room. There was coffee and ice available at the end of each sleeper car. The dining car was adequate since I was only having dinner & breakfast there. It was much older and the tables and seats showed their wear. Same menu as the California Zephyr and Capitol Limited. I walked into the cafe car - equivalent to the lounge car on the Superliners. It was small and only had tables. It wasn't welcoming like the lounge cars and rather sad. I guess if you had a coach seat, it might be better to sit at those table than in the older coach seats. The service in the dining car was good. The sleeper car attendant introduced himself then disappeared. I pushed the "attendant call" button to find out how to reconfigure my bed. The attendant never showed up so I figured it out myself, took down the mattress from the top bunk, and made my own bed. It looked like the top bunk had more headroom than the top bunk on a Superliner but I didn't test it out. You can only sleep one direction unless you have very narrow shoulders and want your head near the toilet. Luckily, my roomette was designed so my feet were facing the direction of travel. I've found that if my head is in the direction of travel I experience a bit of motion sickness... that's just me. I wouldn't recommend this train route. I've spoken to other train travelers and they say the Silver Meteor is their least favorite. Luckily I was only on board from 7:30pm (Washington DC) till around noon the next day (we arrived 1/2 hour later than scheduled). Amtrak "owns" most of the track on the east coast so delays because of freight traffic are not a problem. read more

I like Amtrak because I don't have a car. I don't like Amtrak because I can practically fly across the country for the same cash as a round trip train ride to Trenton. I am a AAA member, I left on Fri at 7 am, I came back at Sun at 9 am. I picked the days and the time because they were cheaper and my ticket still cost $140. Maybe I'm crazy but I think thats a little much. I like it because the trains are on time, usually clean, usually the people are nice, and its pretty roomy. But learning the 'rules' is very trial and error. The gate at Union Station? Yeah, don't stand in line, everyone just crams through. Which train are you on? Make sure you have the right platform and if the train pulls up at your departure time hope its your train and grab a seat. It makes me nervous they don't announce it very well. It also took me a couple times to learn the ticket taking rules and such. Overall it gets me there which I like, but when I travel to NY I will take the bus. Save some that money for the weekend! read more

It was our 1st time taking a train ever and it was such a positive experience! Our East Coast romp started off in DC and ended in NYC with a two day stop in Philly. After researching the different bus options and renting a car, we opted to spend a little more money and take Amtrak (we got a slight discount with our AAA membership). It just seemed more convenient, less scary, and we had never been on a train before. So why not, right? What a relief that it was so easy and comfortable! Our train was one of the regional ones and it was clean. The sights of everyday life you see as you pass by were interesting (I wish I took more pics) but I didn't see as much as I had hoped for. I remember seeing a lot of trees too. Hands down, I'd recommend this to anyone travelling from DC to NYC as a tourist. However, I only give it 4 stars because I didn't visit the whole train. After reading some of the reviews before writing my own, if I had visited the bathroom on our trip I may have only given this two stars. With that in mind, I suggest taking the train but just use the bathroom before the ride. =p read more

Once and done...First leg of round Lincoln service from St. Louis to Chicago was nearly on time but southbound return plagued by delays due to sharing track with Northbound trains.....sitting idle for 50 minutes at a time today is extremely frustrating....good train crew though .....Will drive or fly next time... Also fellow passengers who conduct their business nonstop next to you on the phone is very inconsiderate...Thank goodness cell phone calls are not allowed on planes. read more

Once again, i travel on Amtrak to go to Washington,DC. My mom and brother have never been, so she decided to go on the weekend. Tickets one way for us was $88.00 each. We missed the $66.00 dollars by two days. So we reserved our seats for Friday, for the 8:48 am train out of new Rochelle, Ny. Train was on time and it wasn't crowded. It started getting crowded when we went to the next stop Penn station in Ny. Now compared to four years ago, they try and limit your bags to two carry-ons and two personal bags. I could be wrong about the limits but i know that when students are coming from college or going they just don't have two bags, more like four bags and their carry on. We arrived on time to union station. The crew was nice and was announcing each stop, and i can't wait to go back in Feb, 17. read more

Seats are to close together not enough leg room, got really stiff while getting up. Food trays was broken in front of seats, my drink and ice spill when tray collasped.Cafe worker was really nice and professional. They need to keep toilet seats clean off. read more

True train trip may be good but it's impossible to deal with this company. I spent 4 days trying to talk to a real person. After multiple transfers and holding times of up to an hour and a half I finally gave up. It's not worth the time and effort to try to get help from this company. Bye bye Amtrak. read more

Just got back from a trip on the Zephyr from chicago, and what a bunch of lies that they have hand sanitizer throughout the train... (not even one) the roomette i had gotten was dusty and had not been clean. On top of the that the man in charge of our car made it known that it his car and he was very rude and borderline threatening for his tips. This has happened 3rd time to me, i am done with Amtrak. The employees on Amtrak are horrible. Your better off flying. read more

Took the NE regional to and from DC - NYC today. Supposed to leave at 6:30am, but left late due to Amtrak putting an engine on the train, go figure....and then got to NYC over 20min late due to track work that they failed to notify us of. So glad I gave myself an extra hour for my meeting. Leaving NYC late...typical...and now getting into DC over 20min late...Can Amtrak please notify riders of track work and adjust your schedules! I get the fact that they can't manage their way out of a paper bag, but this is absurd. Oh, and your Internet on train #129 doesn't work. read more

I would rate less than one star if I could. This has been THE WORST travel experience of my life. It is a 7 hour drive from Salt Lake City to Reno. An overnight train seemed reasonable for a college student who doesn't have a car to travel home with. I arrived at the Amtrak station to go home at 11 pm last night and was informed that the train was delayed. UNTIL 2:30 IN THE MORNING. Luckily, my aunts live close by and were able to pick me up. The station was not clean nor comfortable nor safe. They then brought me back to the station later and made sure I got on the train. I found a seat and tried to sleep. My 8:30 am arrival was now supposed to be 11:30. However, very briefly after my stop in Winnemuca, where people were smoking ON THE TRAIN not out at the station, we took a very sudden emergency stop. We have not moved in over an hour and aren't expected to for at least 90 more minutes. The information I have been able to glean from short unhelpful announcements, as calling for an attendant has failed 3+ times, is it was a trespasser situation. Basically, we ran someone who was on the tracks over. We are now stuck waiting for the coroner and are under police control with no idea when we will be released. Our expected arrival time is now 2:30 if not later. This is insane and unacceptable. At least 6 hours in delays for a 7 hour drive is simply awful. This is my first experience on Amtrak and I am deeply disappointed. I will have been on this train trying to go home for at least 12 hours by the time I make it back to Reno. As a college student, Amtrak seemed like a great option. Cheap tickets and a relatively quick overnight train. I was very wrong. read more

Wasn't expecting to leave this review. After all, the reason my son and I took the train from L.A. to Seattle was because our experience on the train from Chicago to Utah last summer was so bad we got a $500 voucher. It was set to expire, so I thought I'd take advantage of some free travel and use it as an excuse to see my brother. Well, we took the Coast Starlight on Monday from Union Station in L.A. at 10am and arrived, right on time, around 8:15pm at King Station in Seattle Tuesday evening. We'd reserved a roomette on the first floor, and our attendant was the very efficient and lovely Sokhavy. She served us our meals in our room, the food was good, and the views are fabulous. The service and professionalism of the entire crew was excellent, there were local guides who would talk the passengers through various parts of Oregon and Washington, and the dining car lady was clear and kind as she called the diners to meals. And most importantly, the car we were in was quiet (no squeaky wheels) and clean, as were the bathrooms. All in all, I must say I was reconverted to Amtrak. Perhaps our experience was an aberration, or perhaps Amtrak is turning things around (or perhaps some routes are just better managed than others). Whatever the case, I'm already planning the next train trip from L.A. to Seattle, as I was won over by the service, the comfort, and the views. And especially by Sokhavy's kindness and efficiency. Give that woman a raise. She almost singlehandedly won Amtrak back a family of customers. read more

I happily used a free upgrade coupon to travel in Business Class even though I had much earlier bought a Saver Fare ticket. When I got to Union Station I was disappointed to learn that the lounge is only for First Class- how very different from years ago when I used to ride the Metroliner and used the lounge frequently. I found Business Class on the Northeast Regional to be comfortable and quiet, because there weren't many people. The seats were large and there were footrests. Although no drinks were served, one could go to the Cafe in the middle of the train and get free nonalcoholic drinks when showing a Business Class ticket. In the future, I would not pay for Business Class but would be glad to use another upgrade coupon if available. read more

My friends and I departed D.C. for New York City via Union Station. The station was very easy to navigate, even with all the shops. We used Amtrak's Red Cap service to board early and dolly the luggage across the platform. Red Cap service is complimentary; however a suggested tip is $5.00 per person. Dallas and Kevin assisted us with our bags and were a pleasure to have help us to our seats. The train arrived on time, and my friends and I were able to secure four seats together with legroom. The train was clean, relatively quiet and child-free. We also had two A/C outlets for charging our electronics. Prices were affordable, and we enjoyed the scenic views of Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Jersey City en route to Penn Station. Sit on the right side of the train; it gets the best sights. Total travel time was 4 hours. Not only was Union Station a beautiful landmark to visit, we also had a positive experience traveling with Amtrak. If you have the opportunity to ride the regional train to or from Washington D.C., I highly recommend it! read more

I had taken the California Zephyr from Reno to Sacramento over the Donner Pass in the 90's and my wife and I planned our five day getaway based on enjoying that same ride again. We flew into Reno from Tucson and stayed at a popular Hotel Casino prior to our planned train ride. We purchased our tickets for the July 16, 2021 8:36AM departure on June 2, 2021. We arrived at the Reno station at 7:00AM just as the station opened. To our total dismay, there was a sign above the agent's window stating the train would not arrive until noon, five hours late! I reminded the agent our prepaid tickets contained our email and asked why were we not informed of the delay. She informed me we had been sent an email about the delay. I informed her we had not received any email regarding this. She told another passenger the same thing and he also stated he had not received the email. We were then told we could take the Amtrak bus to Sacramento that would be arriving in 15 minutes for no extra charge. Our plans could not be met if we waited for the train, so we agreed to take the bus. The Amtrak Bus to Sacramento went as scheduled. However, if we had not arrived early for the normal train departure of 8:36. we would have missed the bus. The delayed train arrival time for Reno would have been known many hours before the scheduled departure time. The failure to inform passengers of the delay is an example of terrible customer service! I cannot recommend Amtrak due to this type of mismanagement! read more

July 1, 2017 to July 17th, 2019- I just got back from my AmtrakVacations prepaid vacation that I paid well over $7,500.00 for. It was the worst vacation I've ever had. Here is a list of the stops we made along the way. Started at Kansas City, then to Flagstaff, then to Williams, AZ to Grand Canyon, then to Los Angeles, Yosemite, then San Francisco, Seattle, Glacier National Park, Chicago, back to Kansas City. Every train runs 2,3,4,5 or 6 hrs late which puts me in a mode where my sleeping is all messed up. In Western part of the country we continually had to stop and wait for freight trains to use the track. We were waiting for several freight trains constantly which meant we had to stop for over an hour doing nothing. I missed seeing the Rocky Mountains, because we went through the middle of the night, I missed seeing Flagstaff because it was in the middle of the night. The roomette I purchased was hard and I got no help from the workers on the train. They would say they would come back and help but never did, so I put up my bed myself. It was either ice cold or very hot, the thermostats don't work. The bathrooms are filthy and usually out of paper towels.. The showers have dirty towels piled up on the floors from previous users, so you don't know what kind of infection you may get. I would ask for help with my suitcases but got none. The workers are rude and just really don't talk to you or care. You can tell they are just putting in their time. They complain of being super tired because of their work schedules. You have 30 min to eat lunch then they make you leave for the next group. You feel rushed and the workers in the food car are rude and talk down to you. One of the shuttle car drivers at Grand Canyon told me to be quiet, or he was going to put me off by the side of the road. I was just asking him if he liked living in Flagstaff. This was in the middle of the night so I missed seeing the city of Flagstaff also. Once you get places there is no transport, so I had to get taxis constantly because I didn't know where I was and Amtrak doesn't wait for you, if not there right on time, they leave without you. I was so exhausted from getting little sleep on the noisy, bumpy train, I missed Yosemite completely for lack of sleep the night before. I also missed Glacier National Park because the train was running so late getting there and I was again exhausted by the time I got to my room. They make you get up at 6:00am to catch the tours. Then if you want breakfast you have to get up much earlier. Do they know we are on vacation? Couldn't they make the tour in the afternoon or later in the mornings. At the lodge in Grand Canyon it was located about 6 blocks from where I was left off so I had to walk with my 3 bags of luggage 7 blocks to get there. Amtrak was a day late to Chicago, so I couldn't use 2 of the entertainment vouchers I'd pre-purchased. It goes on & on, just push you along like you are freight without anyone caring if you missed your tours or not. Half of my vacation was missed because of trains being late and me sitting there, not being able to do anything about it. I was so sick of packed trains, always late, no help & bad attitudes, I'll never use Amtrak again & highly recommend that you don't either. Awful Experience and I'm outraged for all the money I've lost along the way. read more

Recently took a long weekend trip to NYC and had a very pleasant experience. The lack of assigned seats has it's pluses and minuses. If it's a packed train, get there at least 30 minutes early to line up else if could be rough getting a seat if your party is more than 2 ppl. If traveling solo, it's easy. There was a slight delay leaving NYC but only about 10 minutes. It's nice because you can get up and walk around the train, use the restroom and you have power outlets at each set of seats. I still believe it's more expensive ($270 trip) than taking a flight from DC to NYC (flights were $200 - $275 depending on time) so I can't give it more than 3 stars. read more

There are a couple good things about Amtrak. The trains have plenty of leg room, are reasonably priced (though not cheap), and it's nice to not have to go through security, check bags, etc. But, riding Amtrak could be a hassle (demonstrating similar issues as other government-run establishments from the DMV to the ACA). After canceling two trains, I had about 100 bucks stored on an online "evoucher." Unfortunately, I'm not the only "Brian S." in the world, and a different person with the same name was able to go to the ticket office and use my voucher. I have never heard of anything like this! But..I was told this is common, which is absurd. I called up, and the nice woman was able to re-issue me a refund...but I went to the station today and it was gone once again. This is getting tiresome. The employees are generally very friendly, and seemingly capable, but they just don't have the tools available to them to succeed. (They may not be the hardest-working bunch either...there always seem to be TONS of employees around at Charlottesville or Union Station....but none of them tend to be actually working or helping customers). I'll still check Amtrak when booking my trips home, but would rather try to fly if possible and avoid these issues. read more

50 minutes delay one way, no air conditioning in the other and it was 110 degrees. Awful service.

Took the Acela Express up to New York and back for the weekend. I will never fly again. Here's the deal. You get to Union Station (either with a taxi or the metro), you scan the bar code if you've already made your reservations, the tickets print out, you hang out for a few minutes, maybe buy a coffee or a bottle of water, and then you're on the train. It really is, just that simple. We actually, having gotten to Union Station an hour before the train, were too early. That, in an airport, NEVER happens. The ride up was great, we went on Saturday and the train was basically empty. We sat in the quiet car. And, it was quiet. A woman talking on her cell phone got shushed. In a very librarian way. WiFi worked great, got a lot done, and before we knew it, we were in NY. The ride back on Monday afternoon was just as good, we ended up being a lot early, but, instead of being at an airport playing tiddlywinks and since there was another train in 30 minutes, we were able to get out early. That, in an airport, never happens. The Acela representative was snotty. That may be zip coded customer service. Still the quiet car, but much busier, and the two gentlemen who talked the entire way were at least funny. Best way to get to the Amtrak section in NY is on 8th & 31st; I walked by the folks standing outside on a hot, humid day waiting for the bus back to the District and gladly paid $4.50 for a small bottle of water and a 30 minute air conditioned wait for a train. read more

This will be the VERY last time I ride the Capitol Limited to and from Cleveland OH. Waste of time and money. The depot in Cleveland -- doesn't open until midnight- you take your life in your hands if you walk thru Cleveland that late to go to that depot. The train -- usually late-- this time an hour late -- arriving at 3 am -- it STUNK of sweat and body odor in every passenger compartment. Before it reached Maryland the Bathrooms were closed in one car. A total complete mess. NEVER riding that train again. read more