The Worst Things You Could Do On Amtrak

I've found that the train stations are usually in a rough part of town, so if your train arrives in the middle of the night, you may want to consider getting a cab or Uber to your hotel instead of walking there. People pulling luggage at 3:00 a.m. are easy targets for the bad guys.

I just rode Amtrak from Norfolk, VA to Providence, RI and those conductors were NOT playing. I was in the Quiet Car and no, if ands or buts...they made sure there was QUIET in that car. Really appreciated. Also, "One ticket, One seat"...announcements!! And I had no seat partner the entire trip! Don't know how that happened, but it was great!

Also, when they say "No Smoking", they mean it. I was on the City of New Orleans several years ago when a guy got caught smoking. They warned him not to do that, but he did it again, and got put off the train at the next stop - which was one of those tiny Mississippi backwaters. I have no idea how he managed to get where he was going, but it wasn't on the train!

Definitely one of the best pieces of advice y'all have always given is to avoid creating a time bind for yourself. I was on the Sunset Limited when it collided with a semi-truck near Houston around mid-day; we didn't get to New Orleans until 8:30 the next morning, approximately 11 hours late. I had to cancel a hotel reservation. Fortunately, the sleeping car attendant on the City of New Orleans, the next leg of my trip, was so super nice that she made me an Amtrak believer again!

Great advice. Always build an overnight stay into a cruise connection, coming by train or plane. With Amtrak — it’s delays, with air, it’s delayed luggage.

Great advise. Most of our trips on Amtrak have been great. The best advise you gave was “plan on being late” for your destination.

I have heard you give the same advice about tight connections multiple times, and after watching this video it finally went through my thick head. Going cross country this August, riding the Cardinal from New York to Chicago, then the Southwest Chief from Chicago to LA. Instead of stressing about the 6 hour window to get off the Cardinal and board the Southwest Chief I opted to change my travel dates a little bit and get off the Cardinal enjoy two days in Chicago then board the Southwest Chief. The slight increase in cost of the hotel stay far out weights the chaos of missing my train out west. Thank you for your insight and advice!

When we did the Zephyr we met a couple who'd been booked on the previous day's train. They'd had trouble getting an Uber so in a panic called in favours from friends and made it to Emeryville on time. They then relaxed, had a coffee and... missed their train!

Years ago - when the Northbound Crescent rolled into Charlotte - the train would have a 20 minute slot to re-fuel, but often either Charlotte/Mecklenburg Police or Amtrak Police would run a K-9 through the train. It would arrive between midnight and 1am. It was a “smoke stop” but often kind of panicky folks would be exiting the coaches as we were trying to get on. It wasn’t unusual to start then stop the train for somebody who had gotten off and suddenly realized the train was leaving..

16:40 Its too bad that Amtrak wont let single riders purchase 2 coach seats so you can have that extra room. I was told by an Amtrak reservation agent that its not that Amtrak wants the extra fare, they want the available seat for a passenger. Great video guys, very informative.

I wish Security would have been a little more serious last time I took the Crescent. There was a man sitting directly behind me who raved, cussed and ranted mostly the whole way. His offensive speech (some of it to ppl on his cellphone) continued until the little girl, sitting with her Mom behind him (who began the trip giggling and playing with her toys) finally dissolved into tears. I gave her some candy, at one point, that I had, in an effort to convince her that we others aboard the train, weren't all monsters! The Steward came by several times on her busy duties back and forth, and would try to shush him, to no avail. As soon as she left our immediate area, he'd crank right back up. I spoke to the Conductor later about this, and he said if he had been made aware, the man would have been put off the train at the next stop. From the, "If you see something, say something" Dept.! (I was thinking the Steward would let him know.) BTW this was many years ago. Due to the increase in incidents since then, Security has probably been tightened.

Your comment about security was good to hear. I always wondered about that. And the thinking you are on a train for 12 hours, but in reality a person booked a mixed use & 10 of those hours is on a bus is so wrong.

Just found your channel. Train service from New Orleans to Mobile, Ala. is being restored in 2024. I think they have overcome the political barriers.

As an avid amtrak rider, this is great. But I’ll add a few more. -Some people think that food on long distance trains are free for everyone. They’re not. Unless you have sleeping accommodations, expect to pay for everything. -Amtrak takes the Quiet Car rules seriously. Break them and you’ll find yourself moved to another part of the train. -Assume there is ventilation on the train. There is no AC or heating elements on the train. -Get to the station when the train is supposed to depart. I recommend getting there 30-45 minutes prior, at least.

Back in the mid 1980’s I personally seen the Conductor on the Chief have passengers removed for doing stupid. I love your channel too!

Very good tip at the beginning about mixed service. Here's my experience, which will provide more advice for viewers. Back in 2006, I booked a trip from Tacoma, WA to ABQ, NM. It was Coast Starlight (mostly) and then SW Chief. The CA portion was a lot of "mixed services" (bus and other trains). I had no idea why. I later decided to splurge and go with a Sleeper Car for the Coast Starlight. I made the changes over the phone a day or so before departure. Here's why the trip was initially booked as mixed service: The online reservation system simply tried to get me from point A (Tacoma) to Point B (LAX) to Point C (ABQ) as quick as possible. It routed me on mixed service so I could hopefully get to LAX early enough in the day so I could catch the outgoing SW Chief the same day. Coast Starlight arrives in LAX 4-5 hours AFTER the SW Chief leaves, hence the reason for mixed service in CA the way I initially booked the trip. Sometimes, a person will want to book a long trip in segments rather than plugging in your start point and ultimate destination, otherwise you will end up with mixed service.

Thank you for posting this helpful information! I've watched a lot of your videos, however this one makes me not excited about train travel. Perhaps, I am not understanding. So if my train is scheduled to pick me up let's say at 3:30 p.m. I should plan on it being late, perhaps by several hours. As well, during travel I should plan on a longer ride as well. However, the train does not wait a single minute for any passengers running late, which makes sense I guess since the train is already late. The passengers better not dilly dally getting on or off between trains or they'll be left behind or stuck on the train they no longer need to be on. This sounds like a lot of anxiety. Remind me of going to the doctor's office where we are required to be there on time if not early and then we sit around and wait an hour plus to be seen by the doctor.

You should do a amtrak podcast for videos that are just talking vs when you show you're traveling. Great video 📹 👍

On my bucket list trip in October every train was either early or on time. I rode the City of New Orleans twice, the Empire Builder, the Coast Starlight, the San Juaquines, Throughway bus from Stockton to Sacramento, the California Zephyr. I called the 800 number as rewards member and told her which train I wanted and when and she set it up perfectly.

Over the Christmas holidays I was taking the Coast Starlight from Oakland to Seattle. When I got to the station I told the station agent that I have limited mobility and would need some help. He said he would help me. Usually they give me a ride in the baggage cart. The only help I got from the station agent is he carried some of my luggage. My car was at the very end of the train and I had to walk the whole distance. I wasn’t sure I would make it, but I did but needed to sit down to recuperate.