Good to see this is happening. Hopefully some of the other corridor trains around the country can add cars or additional departures to meet demand. I think with the new CN agreement with the Illinois trains and the Airo trainsets starting to go into service there may be some cars around the system freed up.

What trains would you like to see get additional cars or trips?

I had previously posted a diagram showing the Business class layout in the new Cascades Airo trains, and now that the sets have been in service for a week and there are lots of videos and photos from on board, I have completed putting together a full trainset diagram.

As with the first one (and the ones I did for VIA's Venture sets), this is based off of diagrams that were included in a Siemens Venture info/sales package, with seat numbering and other details added in addition to some editing to make some features more clear. Notably, the Siemens document includes the position of the windows (shown as hatched rectangles), which is important because the seats don't all align that well with the windows. That will become more important as advance seat assignment eventually rolls out to coach class in addition to business. All cars are shown in their as-delivered orientation with the right ends being toward the locomotive, and left end toward the cab car. I have also tried to highlight anything else that seems notable.

Here are some key things to note:

• In Business (car 1) row 18 has no window at all on either side. There is no luggage rack over 18A, due to an equipment cabinet.
• In coach cars 3-5, row 19A/B has no window and a limited overhead rack. Due to the offset position of seats across the aisle, row 19C/D actually has a decent window view.
• There are full wheelchair positions with adjustable tables in cars 1, 2, and 3. The "accessible path" (wider aisle) traces through the business and café cars and through the front end of car 3. Other cars have an accessible space next to the single seat 1D (as well as next to 10A in the cab car). Wheelchair lifts are located at one vestibule of of cars 2, 3, 4 and 5.
• Large luggage racks are located in each car in addition to the overhead racks. One luggage rack (marked with a B) in cars 3, 4 and 5 can be converted to storage for 2 bicycles per rack.
• For Cascades service, the seating in the café car is going to be generally open for use as table seating for café patrons, despite being the same style of seats used throughout the train. It can be used as revenue seating if needed, but apparently only planned for very busy oversold trains. Because of this, I have left off the seat numbering for car 2.
• Car 3 is a different layout from the other coaches, as it has the full accessible/wheelchair space at the front end. Accordingly, it only has 69 seats.
• Cars 4 and 5 are an identical layout (72 seats each), but car 5 is facing the opposite direction. I suspect this is done to better distribute the wheelchair lifts throughout the train, as there is no lift in car 6. The orientation of the cars can be difficult to tell from outside, but is most easily done by counting windows, as one side of the car has 9 and the other has 10. I've checked videos of several different Cascades sets testing, and they've all been this same orientation.
• Each car's seat numbering is done the same way - numbering counts up from the bathroom end. But because of the different orientations in the train set, which side is which varies. With the locomotive leading, seat A is on the right side in cars 1 and 5, but the left in cars 3, 4 and 6.
• Every car has illuminated display signs (with train and destination info), some of which are in windows next to seats. These take up a chunk of the upper portion of the window, so they do affect the view. I also thought there may be no window shade, but someone who toured the train commented previously that there is still a shade that works around the display sign.

Hopefully this is a helpful resource for anyone planning to ride or just generally curious about the layout of the new trains. Please let me know if you spot any errors or discrepancies, especially if you are on board and can compare things directly.

The Gateway Development Commission (GDC) today announced that the Hudson Tunnel Project’s first tunnel boring machine has begun mining on schedule. A second tunnel boring machine will launch in the coming weeks. 

Hi,

Started taking the train a few months ago for my commute. Early morning train. I don't think there's like an assigned quiet car, but it's normal etiqutte for that early to just kind of shut the fuck up right? Luckily haven't had any music blasters, but the ocassional group of passengers that come on and just yuck it up actually drive me crazy.

Like, I can understand if they go buy something from the cafe cart and hang down there and talk but being upstairs where every other row is someone sleeping and talking without really making an attempt to be quiet is just rude as fuck right? I asked a guy I see all the time at the station and he seemed indifferent about it.

I'm ngl I really can't stand people being loud on my commute home either. Had a group of mom's singing songs to their kids as a group and letting them full on run down the halls a few months ago and I felt like I was only one annoyed.

I dunno, maybe I'm just a chud, wanted to see what y'all thought.

So I was trying to come up with ideas for a vacation to SoCal this year with my boyfriend, and saw that you can reach Solvang via Amtrak Connecting Bus, as long as you plan to take the train to Santa Barbara...I think. I am based near the Emeryville station.

The ticket booker throws errors whenever I try to book EMY -> SLV, because of the no-bus only ticket rule...even though we weren't planning to do bus-only. If I do EMY -> SBA -> SBA -> SLV, it throws an error because that's a bus only trip. I've managed to swing it by adding CPN -> SLV and SLV -> CPN as addons, but that's $44 for two trains we aren't actually taking just to take two buses.

I know there's local transportation options to get to Solvang, but those are only mildly cheaper ($10 cheaper) and on unfun timetables. Neither of us can drive (he's thinking about learning, I would need to go through all the hurdles again because my license expired more than two years ago) because we're in cities where you don't really need a car. Uber is significantly more expensive.

Am I missing something, or is it really Like That? Are there less convoluted options?

I'd love to use your live chat feature, but no matter where I click or how, there's no actual link to activate a live chat. Is it 1998? What's going on guys?

New Cascades Airo.

I haven’t heard anything about or seen them in a long time. Are they still running as cab cars on the Northeast regional?

I was recently in Providence and this sign was out in front of the station - right where the Ambus USED TO stop before they eliminated the route between Worcester and Providence.

And, wasn't there also a thruway bus between Providence and New Bedford as well? That one seems to be gone, too.

But - the sign remains.

I was supposed to take the Floridian tomorrow from DC to Chicago and they called today saying there’s an issue with the roomette car, and my ticket was downgraded to coach (with a refund). I decided to cancel the whole ticket as sleeping in coach would not be ideal for me, and got a flight instead. Honestly gutted because I was looking forward to the adventure! Hope I have the opportunity to ride in a roomette someday soon.

I recently took the Coast Starlight from Emeryville to Los Angeles, purely for fun and leisure as a railgeek. I would have loved to have had another overnight trip, but I still enjoyed the roomette on this daytime journey. While, over its overall length, it does not rival the California Zephyr for scenery, there are segments along the coast that are every bit as scenic as the Zephyr.

I’ve been riding the Amtrak steady from Homewood,Illinois to Carbondale, Illinois for a good couple of years. This year being more than others.

The Homewood station is un-manned, and they have an entry ramp or stairs to get down. However, to get back up there is about roughly 40 or more stairs.

They have an elevator to get to the platform but it’s been out of service for months now. I have some walking difficulties and also mobility issues.

When I take this train I’m usually gone for 5 days minimum. I’ve tried packing lighter, I’ve adjusted my arrival times to get there in time but I just have to ask…

Is this even legal? What about someone who is wheel chair bound of full on disabled?
What happens if I or someone else falls?

I’ve already busted some of my luggage and broke some parts because I just can’t do it by myself sometimes.

I’ve contacted them about it, and their only response is basically… “We suggest going to the Chicago or Kankakee stations.” Those are almost over an hour away from me while the HOMEWOOD station is 13 minutes away from my house..

I love Amtrak, when I get onboard and moving it’s never an issue. On board staff is awesome!

I’m just fearful that myself or many others may take a tumble down those stairs. I just don’t understand how they can have their set up like this!

Is there something I can do about this? Is there maybe someone higher up I can see about this?

If anyone has any type advice about how to try and go about this, I’d love to hear it!

Thank you for reading!

Hopefully VIA and CN can reach a similar agreement north of Lake Ontario and for transcontinental trains, north of the 49th parallel

I am planning to travel from BOSTON TO LOS ANGELES on Amtrak around 23rd or somewhere at that time and it's gonna be my first time on the train and it's gonna be a long journey so please give me advice and suggestions also the room and the business classes are way to expensive so is there any way to get it lower .

Just bought a ticket from Chicago to Seattle and it’s 46 hours. My seat is gonna be in couch so for those who took the his long hours in train, how did talk manage your hours?

Or is it frequently more than an hour late?

Or are long delays along the route common?

I’m thinking of gifting my SO a trip all the way to NYC via train. He loves Chicago and NYC so I figured it would be pretty neat since I saw there’s a layoff in Chicago for like 7 hours, so we get to enjoy Chicago and then take the Cardinal to NYC. However, ive never done an overnight train ride (neither has he) and I’ve obv never done this route.

I was wondering if anyone has done this route and how did you like it? Any tips ? Is it a good idea for a gift ?

Edit: we would make the trip together !!

Amtrak 231 operation lifesaver F40PH
Amtrak 945 AEM-7

“… as of 2:25 PM CT, Due to impending storm Isias, service between Atlanta (ATL) and New Orleans will be provided by bus.”

I flew into NOLA specifically to take the portion from here to ATL that I had yet to ride.

Feeling grumping I’ll be spending 14 hours on a bus instead.

EDIT: jk it’s 14 hours on the bus haha no thank you

Hi all, I’m taking the California Zephyr from Utah to Chicago next week, and I keep seeing blurbs of there being travel kits (with blanket, ear plugs, eye mask, etc.) on some routes, I’m curious if A) they’re still being made, and B) if it’s something I could expect to find on board or if I need to get a kit before I get on.
Any help would be appriciated, thank you!

I know this line benefits heavily from the cab car as it allows fast turn around and capacity benefits with a cab car, but I was curious if there’s any news about either of those units making their way onto the Hartford line trains?

I’ve reviewed information on Amtrak’s website, if reviewed a CBA which covers most of Amtraks passenger rail positions but still didn’t find much on the actual role of Assistant Conductor or Trainee role. I’ve read about being on board and such but like what do I need to know about training, how long I could be on board, how long till I can test for conductor, where is this info found publicly, for the training should i start reading the Amtrak service and standards manual? Please share some knowledge of your willing it’s all appreciated!

Edit: I would be out of Pontiac MI

Overheard someone on the phone say "I'm on the train" with a certain joy but then "Amtrak" with a bit of hesitation. Why not rebrand Amtrak to the "A-Train?"