All the other threads are dead. Who uses/has used Amtrak? Share your stories!

I'm taking Amtrak from Cary to Greensboro tomorrow. It's cheaper than the gas it would take to get there. Now let's see if it arrives in time

5/27/2011 8:16:09 AM

I've taken Amtrak from Raleigh to Charlotte before. It's 30% longer to take the train than drive but it is cheaper.

5/27/2011 8:31:33 AM

Ive taken the train to greensboro twice. The first time it went great and only took about 20 more minutes than driving. The train was clean and quiet The second time the train was an hour and a half late arriving. it was dirty and smelled like shit.

Its not horrible, just take something to do and dont ever plan on being on time

5/27/2011 8:54:53 AM

Yeah I'm not in a rush to get there so I figured I'd give the train a try. It's the early morning train so I figure I'll sleep the way there.

5/27/2011 9:00:03 AM

When I was in college and before I brought my car to State (2002-2004), I would ride Amtrak from Raleigh to Charlotte and back for breaks and whatnot. When I lived in Cary after college, I rode the Amtrak back and forth once or twice because the station was a block from my home off Chatham.

I loved it. It's neat seeing a part of the route that isn't quite 40/85 or 64/49. Plus, there were electrical sockets where I could plug in my laptop and do work or watch movies.

5/27/2011 9:32:58 AM

rode the train from Raleigh to DC two weeks ago. Wouldnt mind doing it again. About as fast as driving since it goes straight to union station without all the traffic I wouldve had to drive through (495 on the weekend is a shitshow). Car was clean and it wasnt very crowded...I had two seats.

v Yeah every seat has sockets. I had my laptop with a Sprint data card and got alot of work done on the trip.

[Edited on May 27, 2011 at 9:40 AM. Reason : a]

5/27/2011 9:39:38 AM

Does every seat on the trains have electrical sockets?

Do a lot of trains have wi-fi?

[Edited on May 27, 2011 at 9:42 AM. Reason : .]

5/27/2011 9:39:47 AM

i hop on that ish every chance i can, when time isnt a concern

5/27/2011 9:43:24 AM

I know if you ride business class on the Carolinian there are outlets at the seats. Not sure about coach. I don't think the NC trains have wifi. I'll probably just tether to my phone.

5/27/2011 9:46:30 AM

add to my topiks!

5/27/2011 10:00:20 AM

All the cars have outlets at each seat (coach included). No Wi-Fi on any of the Carolina trains. If you use cell data be prepared for quite a few spots with no signal.

The only downside is the terrible and expensive food so pack some snacks.

5/27/2011 10:09:10 AM

I've taken it to Charlotte a couple of times and to DC for vacation. Love it. I wish they'd extend service farther towards Asheville so I could take it to visit my Mom.

5/27/2011 10:13:15 AM

I wish they had one to Wilmington so I could ride the train to the beach

5/27/2011 10:16:23 AM

plenty of times back and forth 30th Street Philadelphia - Raleigh, NC

usually about $70 one way

Pros: slightly cheaper, a couple hours shorter than driving, no traffic!

Cons: takes a lot longer than flying

[Edited on May 27, 2011 at 10:34 AM. Reason : , t]

5/27/2011 10:26:27 AM

I've taken the train from Greensboro to Raleigh many times when I went to UNCG

Train was never very crowded so I could stretch out if I wanted. Was great b/c I didn't have a car in Greensboro.

5/27/2011 11:25:31 AM

5/27/2011 11:56:59 AM

I've taken it twice round trip this year from Trenton to Raleigh. It is about the same as the cost of gas and tolls (actually it's probably cheaper now because gas has gone up so much), and if you factor in wear and tear it's significantly cheaper. Time wise it is comparable depending on how much traffic you would hit driving (which can be terrible going through Baltimore and DC). Trains were right on time each time I took it, but I know that isn't always the case.

Both times I took the Carolinian down and the Silver Star back up. Silver Star is usually a little more expensive but is superior because it has an actual full service dining car in addition to the typical snack car, and has better seats. The coach class seats on the Silver Star are the same as business class on the Carolinian. All Amtrak long distance trains nationwide now as far as I know have outlets at each seat.

I have also taken Acela from Boston to New York, which was really awesome, but probably not worth the extra price over the Northeast Regionals which only take slightly more time at half the cost. I wanted to take it at least once though just to do it as I got tired of seeing them roar through town (New Brunswick) every day without knowing what they were like. Acela does have WiFi, though. Amtrak is going to gradually roll WiFi out to all of their long distance trains I think.

I really love train travel. It needs a lot of upgrades to be viable to the masses in this country due to old infrastructure and congestion, but I find it relaxing. I've never been overly eager to get to my destination; it's easy to get work done or watch a movie or whatever since it is fairly smooth and there are outlets, plus it's nice to just look out the window.

[Edited on May 27, 2011 at 3:09 PM. Reason : .]

5/27/2011 3:07:46 PM

I always check them out when I'm going long distances, but have yet to use them. Everytime I check they are more expensive (or at least as expensive) as flying and it takes longer than driving. Thats a lose-lose for me. Though I've never checked for shorter trips though

5/27/2011 3:11:33 PM

My fiancee and I have used the carolinian several times between raleigh and charlotte but nowhere else as that was the route I've ever seen that cost about the same amount as gassing up and driving would. The biggest factor that most people forget is that even if its a little longer than driving you aren't focused on the road for 3 hours and can play on your laptop or if travelling with others just take a nap. With that being said the train that used be the east coast line was pretty trashed up sometimes and generally late due to the long haul with multides more stops.

Forgot to mention, those of you who plan on riding to charlotte, have a friend or taxi pick you up. There's several mens homeless shelters just down the street that can be a sort of rough area even during the day so don't plan on walking to downtown from the station.

[Edited on May 27, 2011 at 3:48 PM. Reason : .]

5/27/2011 3:45:36 PM

Fortunately they are going to be building a new train station uptown soon. Raleigh will be building a new station too eventually, but it is a long way off. I went a little overboard coming up with some of my own ideas for it: http://unionstationraleigh.com/

Once you add a second or third person into the mix the value of taking the train financially certainly does drop drastically. I read an article the other day about the massive increase in use of electronic devices specifically onboard trains and buses in just the last year, and how a lot of the recent increase in train and bus demand may have a lot to do with the ability to use them while traveling just as much as the gas price impact.

5/27/2011 4:03:47 PM

That wouldn't surprise me. It's part of the reason I wish we had a real train system in the Triangle. There were plenty of times in Japan we took the train, even though more expensive than driving, because we could chill and get work done on the train.

5/27/2011 4:24:22 PM

went from Wilson to Tampa back in '99 ... felt like forever (was about 13 hours)

it wouldn't be that bad if it didn't seem like you had to stop at stations every 20 minutes

5/27/2011 4:25:59 PM

I should also point out for anyone who ever rides Amtrak that their guest rewards system is pretty awesome (at least when compared to airlines). They are constantly running specials that give double and triple points. I almost have enough points for a northeast regional trip after only 3 trips. https://amtrakguestrewards.com/

If you do decide to sign up though you should PM me your email address so you can use me as a reference to get us both points.

5/27/2011 4:27:15 PM

I like your ideas for the new station!

Personally I would love to see something similar in design to Nagoya Station. High rise design with restaurants on the top floors to hang out in while waiting for your transfer, meeting people at the station, etc.

5/27/2011 4:32:16 PM

I keep browsing the website and it looks like basically to take the train far south from here (I'm trying to go to atlanta), you have to do it in the middle of the fucking night, and you have to go to the stop in greensboro first which means you basically are going to have to sit there for hours to wait for the train to pick you up in the middle of the night, I could have sworn it was better a yr or so ago when I was looking around so it's actually getting shittier

5/27/2011 11:03:30 PM

it once took me about 7 hours to make the trip from Raleigh to Fayetteville

being stranded in Wilson for 4+ hours sucked

haven't ridden since

5/27/2011 11:16:19 PM

Vulcan91 your site is awesome!

[Edited on May 28, 2011 at 9:28 AM. Reason : !]

5/28/2011 9:27:19 AM

Train was on time and great I was surprised how big Greensboro Station is. The train was also surprisingly full. Every row in my car had people sitting in it and they started yelling at people to move their crap off adjacent seats as we were pulling into Greensboro.

I talked with the volunteer train ambassador for awhile. He's a retired train engineer and was a really nice guy. He said, "Ride the train more often! Your tax dollars are paying for this route."

5/28/2011 10:05:38 AM

They need to put solid wifi on all the trains at least, even if it's $5 more for activation, it would be worth it. I've ridden the train to DC/Alexandria and to Baltimore (airport station) from Raleigh. I've enjoyed both trips, the train was more or less on time both ways as well. They do need to do a better job about cleaning the trains and improve general ventilation as no one wants to smell diaper, even if you're just walking past it.

7/18/2011 11:54:30 PM

^^is the greensboro station good to stick around for a couple of hours? as mentioned in my last post I'm going to have wait there for a while at dark so I hope there's some shelter/stuff to do, was it in a nice area of greensboro?

7/19/2011 12:01:03 AM

They have a lobby area that seemed pretty nice but other than that there didn't seem to be squat near the station. My friend told me that Natty Green's is walking distance from the station so I guess you could get some beers while waiting around.

7/19/2011 12:38:45 AM

I've used Amtrak to get from Mystic, CT, to MetroPark, NJ, when I had to pick up my car after it's arrival from Honolulu, HI. It wasn't a bad ride. I paid about $100 for a first-class/business-class ticket.

I've recently discovered the Auto-Train that runs from Lorton, VA (outside of DC) to Sanford, FL (outside of Orlando) that my wife and I will probably use when we are here in VA.

7/19/2011 8:29:34 AM