Amtrak train info w/pics!All Aboard-Choo-choo!UPDATED

[sorul82?]

Hi Everyone!
I am new to train travel in the US but have lived so close to the tracks that the engineers waved everytime they saw me(my bedroom window was less that 20 feet from the tracks. I have been on a 30+ hour train ride in Russia but never in the US

I am traveling from Virginia to Orlando December. My mother and two 18 year old girls would like to take the train. If we do it would be out of Raleigh NC as I refuse to drive or even take the train out of Virginia stations as it will add hours to the triip(like 3x as many as just driving to Raleigh in the first place)

Here are my questions.
1) any possibility of getting a roomette and 2 coach seats and being able to switch out?
2) is there parking near the Raleigh train station?

We are thinking of driving a rental car one way or flying down and taking the train back to limit the number of days the girls miss in school.

Any comments or suggestions? We live in Virginia about 45 minutes from Winston salem and 1 hour from Roanoke and I work in Roanoke VA

Thanks for info in advance.

oh, I think I know what you are asking.....can you buy one roomette and share it between four people? Two of you sit in coach for awhile and two in the roomette, then switch? I don't know the answer as I don't know how they ID you to get into the roomette area.

As for the Raleigh station, yes there is parking right there at the building. If you get there early enough, you can park for free.

 

[sorul82?]

Also, is there a rental car service at the train station in Orlando? I thought I heard there was
Thanks!

There's a Hertz counter at the Orlando train station, however the actual Hertz cars, from what I understand, aren't at the station. Hertz picks you up in a van and takes you to the car rental place itself. I haven't done this, so my info is all gleaned from these boards. Perhaps someone with firsthand info will chime in later.!

The rental cars are right there in the station parking lot. The fellow manning the counter when we were there is a huge Disney fan. His excitement was contagious.

 

[Miffy]

oh, I think I know what you are asking.....can you buy one roomette and share it between four people? Two of you sit in coach for awhile and two in the roomette, then switch? I don't know the answer as I don't know how they ID you to get into the roomette area.

I hadn't considered that this was what the OP meant. How dense of me!

Even though I stayed in a roomette, I also am not sure about how they ID you when you get into the roomette area, since, except for going to the dining car, we stayed in the roomette area (which is separate from the coach seats) our entire trip. They looked at our tickets when we boarded and of course collected them (leaving us with a stub).

I don't know if they'd allow you to switch back and forth with the rest of your traveling party.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

 

[torinsmom]

Hi Everyone!
I am new to train travel in the US but have lived so close to the tracks that the engineers waved everytime they saw me(my bedroom window was less that 20 feet from the tracks. I have been on a 30+ hour train ride in Russia but never in the US

I am traveling from Virginia to Orlando December. My mother and two 18 year old girls would like to take the train. If we do it would be out of Raleigh NC as I refuse to drive or even take the train out of Virginia stations as it will add hours to the triip(like 3x as many as just driving to Raleigh in the first place)

Here are my questions.
1) any possibility of getting a roomette and 2 coach seats and being able to switch out?
2) is there parking near the Raleigh train station?

We are thinking of driving a rental car one way or flying down and taking the train back to limit the number of days the girls miss in school.

Any comments or suggestions? We live in Virginia about 45 minutes from Winston salem and 1 hour from Roanoke and I work in Roanoke VA

Thanks for info in advance.

I don't know if you would consider driving a few miles farther to Cary, NC. They have a huge parking lot located right beside the police station. The parking there is all free. I departed from Raleigh one time and I felt very leary leaving my car there while I was gone. It's in a bad part of town and the lot was packed.The Cary station is newly renovated and there are a lot less passengers getting on there. We won't do Raleigh again since we discovered Cary. The station name for this one is CYN.

 

[la79al]

Asking you experts here, 1 adult traveling with 2 preschoolers, could I safely do an overnight train by myself? I am concerned about not being able to watch the kids while I sleep. (They would also be asleep, obviously) I'm thinking DD (4.5) would sleep next to me and DD (2) would sleep on me. I am strongly considering the autotrain but would like to go without a room to keep costs down. Any other reasons for me not to do the train with the 2 little ones by myself?

 

[LuvEeyore]

Yes I was asking if it was possible to buy 2 coach seats and 1 roomette for 4 of use. The two 18 year olds are very responsible and considetate of others.
I hadnt thought of Cary...I'll need to check this out on a map. I am not sure about what to do at Cary though if the train is late. Will we be able to get Mom on the train in a wheelchair in Cary?

 

[lisa-upnorth]

Asking you experts here, 1 adult traveling with 2 preschoolers, could I safely do an overnight train by myself? I am concerned about not being able to watch the kids while I sleep. (They would also be asleep, obviously) I'm thinking DD (4.5) would sleep next to me and DD (2) would sleep on me. I am strongly considering the autotrain but would like to go without a room to keep costs down. Any other reasons for me not to do the train with the 2 little ones by myself?

if it were me I would try for the roomette.I just cannot sleep when I am watching my kids I am not saying it is not a safe place but I could not do it-it would be me staying awake all night and that is NO FUN!!

 

[torinsmom]

Yes I was asking if it was possible to buy 2 coach seats and 1 roomette for 4 of use. The two 18 year olds are very responsible and considetate of others.
I hadnt thought of Cary...I'll need to check this out on a map. I am not sure about what to do at Cary though if the train is late. Will we be able to get Mom on the train in a wheelchair in Cary?

I believe all Amtrak stations would have to be wheelchair accessible by law. I was saying that we had to wait in our car last year because the station was being renovated. It is all done now, so you would wait inside the station. Having been inside the Raleigh, it was really dirty and crowded. At Cary, we were waiting with maybe 10 other people and the station is supposed to be very nice.

 

[torinsmom]

Has anyone ever used the Campus Visit discount that Amtrak offers? It is a 50% discount for the student*(junior or senior) traveling with an adult to visit a college. I am traveling with a friend, and my son is also bringing a friend. My friend is already serving as the friend's guardian for our YES program tickets, so she would be his guardian for this as well. We can visit the University of Central Florida in Orlando one afternoon. Just not sure about paying, as I have a voucher and points I need to use as well. I'm going to call Amtrak tomorrow and see what the details are.

 

[GetGlowing]

Just booked a trip down for the end of Feb from Columbia SC (CLB) to Kissimmee (KIS). This will be our second trip down via Amtrak. A friend picks us up in Kissimmee and chauffeurs us to the parks. It's verrah nice.


ETA: I keep the Amtrak app open on my Droid when we're waiting on a train. We took the train from to and from Dyer, Ind., from Ashland, Ky., in November, and our return train was delayed quite a bit. It was about an hour late arriving at Dyer (the first stop on the line!) and then we rode for like 15mph for a looong time, finally stopping because there were trees across the tracks thanks to a storm that day. We were about 6 hours late arriving in Ashland. But I'd rather be 6 hours late in a train than in an airport!

My best tip is to bring an eye mask or bandanna to cover your face if you plan to sleep in coach, and to bring earplugs. They drown out the pax who insist on full volume conversations at 3am!

Each seat has two electrical plugs, so bring a laptop, iPad, tablet, phone, movie player, GameBoy (showing my age), whatever to keep you entertained. We really enjoy taking the train, letting them "drive" so we arrive at our destination ready to hit the pavement!

 

[torinsmom]

Just booked a trip down for the end of Feb from Columbia SC (CLB) to Kissimmee (KIS). This will be our second trip down via Amtrak. A friend picks us up in Kissimmee and chauffeurs us to the parks. It's verrah nice.


ETA: I keep the Amtrak app open on my Droid when we're waiting on a train. We took the train from to and from Dyer, Ind., from Ashland, Ky., in November, and our return train was delayed quite a bit. It was about an hour late arriving at Dyer (the first stop on the line!) and then we rode for like 15mph for a looong time, finally stopping because there were trees across the tracks thanks to a storm that day. We were about 6 hours late arriving in Ashland. But I'd rather be 6 hours late in a train than in an airport!

My best tip is to bring an eye mask or bandanna to cover your face if you plan to sleep in coach, and to bring earplugs. They drown out the pax who insist on full volume conversations at 3am!

Each seat has two electrical plugs, so bring a laptop, iPad, tablet, phone, movie player, GameBoy (showing my age), whatever to keep you entertained. We really enjoy taking the train, letting them "drive" so we arrive at our destination ready to hit the pavement!

Is this on the Silver routes? Last time we road coach(a few years ago), they didn't have electrical outlets there, just in the lounge. I hope we will have outlets; it would make it much easier with teens.

 

[LuvEeyore]

Well, I think I am going to do it!! I think us four ladies are riding the rails to get to Florida for our cruise leaving port Cananveral Dec 15, 2012. Here is what I learned and what I think we are going to do.

Leave Cary, NC 9:27 pm Dec 13. 4 coach seats (or maybe 2 roomettes) then leave Florida Dec 22 at 7??pm to return to Cary the next morning

Cary is about 2 and 1/2 hours from the house and has long term parking. Even if we get a roomette(or 2 ) it will still be 600 dollars less than flying.

We will do 2 one day rentals in Flordia with Hertz. The first will be the day we arrive and we will have the car 24 hours to get us from Orlando to Cocoa Beach and then on the 22 so we can do something all day before coming home.

I talked to Amtrak by phone. You can get 2 coach seats and 1 roomette but the two in coach cannot go to the sleeping car and vise versa. Also since Mom travels in a wheelchair, they will do something very similar to the airport. They will help us get her on, then stow the chair until we need it again.

I also like they cancelation policy!! We wont pick up tickets until we get to the train station.

Is the Cary station manned?

To those of you who suggested Cary, Thanks

 

[babygirlamg]

Flying to Orlando but going home on train.....Im leaving from Orlando to NYC and then transfering to Hudson NY.....im confused because i can only bring carry on luggage from NYC to Hudson... so i dont know what to do i dont know if i can pack for me and my daughter and not buy to much in FL to be able to use carryon service for the train.....any thoughts or tips????

 

[GetGlowing]

Don't confuse airline carryon requirements with what you can carry on a train. Amtrak is very generous. We bring a HUGE rolling duffle that we slide under our footrests, and other bags we put up top.

 

[torinsmom]

Yeah, we each brought two huge rolling duffles plus our personal items(laptops, pillow, purse) all as carryon both times we did Amtrak.


Has anyone else noticed that the rates really fluctuate, even for the same date and route? Mid week I checked and was shocked to find that the tickets I had priced a week before(NC to Orlando) at $134 round trip each were $218 round trip. I started scrambling to buy them before they went up more, but then yesterday, they were back to $134 again. Now this morning they are $201 round trip. Is this the norm? Does it depend on what time you check or what? We are traveling in July.Last year, I didn't buy tickets until April for an August trip. I have a refund voucher and I guess I'll have to buy tickets at the station, so I'm kind of dragging my feet. I don't want to go this weekend if the prices will go back down on Monday.

 

[GetGlowing]

Has anyone else noticed that the rates really fluctuate, even for the same date and route? Mid week I checked and was shocked to find that the tickets I had priced a week before(NC to Orlando) at $134 round trip each were $218 round trip. I started scrambling to buy them before they went up more, but then yesterday, they were back to $134 again. Now this morning they are $201 round trip. Is this the norm? Does it depend on what time you check or what? We are traveling in July.Last year, I didn't buy tickets until April for an August trip. I have a refund voucher and I guess I'll have to buy tickets at the station, so I'm kind of dragging my feet. I don't want to go this weekend if the prices will go back down on Monday.

There was a southern routes sale that ended about 10 days ago. Of course we didn't have dates in mind until after the sale. But that could explain some of the rate fluctuation you've seen.

 

[torinsmom]

There was a southern routes sale that ended about 10 days ago. Of course we didn't have dates in mind until after the sale. But that could explain some of the rate fluctuation you've seen.

It happened again today. First thing, it was $201 round trip, then around noon, it was back to $134 and now $155. I hope the rate will be at a good place when I go to the station to buy my tickets. I need to use a voucher, so I'll have to pay in person.

Also, does anyone know if the Amtrak Rewards Points one zone ticket would be the one I'd need to NC to Orlando? I need to buy more points, but that will still be cheaper to buy my 3rd ticket than even the lower rates.

 

[lisa-upnorth]

it should be a 1 zone

 

[torinsmom]

it should be a 1 zone

Thanks!

 

[GetGlowing]

ALERT if you're booked March 3 --


We're booked from Kissimmee to head back north on the Silver Star on March 3. I was just notified by email and phone that the March 3 schedule has changed.

"You will depart on Amtrak Train number 0092 from Kissimmee-FLORIDA on Saturday March 3 at 1:35PM."

That really stinks because we were going to spend the whole day at Animal Kingdom.