RateItAll: The Opinion Network

My wife and I took the Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle and back. Although we ran into some major delays on the return trip due to the flooding in Wisconsin, the entire trip was very enjoyable. The staff was very friendly and helpful. They apologized for being 5 minutes late getting to Seattle because normally they get there early! Try getting that service on the airlines! We did not have to shove our luggage through a scanner, take off our shoes or otherwise be treated like an inmate in a prison like you are treated at the airport. Although the sleeper cars are a bit pricey, I figured that driving with motels would be more expensive (and tiring). For the sleeper (first class passengers) there was a wine and cheese testing session on part of the trip. The scenery was spectacular from the train windows and there were National Park volunteers explaining some the sights we passed through. I hope AMTRAK service can be expanded and improved and I hope Congress is listening. We need more train service in this country.

So far I have been happy with my experience. Hopefully I don't jinx it by writing a good review. It is better than flying. The kids are not stuck in a seat. If you have kids with you get the family room that way you can have some space for the kids to stretch their legs and be contained away from other passengers. Also a place to do time out. I took the autotrain three times so far. And I took the train from schenectady to Chicago and then to Milwaukee. I like train travel better than airplanes and driving. I think that some improvements can be made. But overall I think that not only is it good to save gas. It is a good way to relax, have a glass of wine and sit back and watch a movie. Or look out the window and see the scenery. (you can't enjoy that when you are busy driving. Though some things about flying are coo (like looking at things from above) You have to remain seated in the airplane. You can stretch your legs on the train. The food is decent too. I like the food. And I am a picky eater, I like quality. I think that improvements do need to be made and more money needs to go into the upkeep of the trains. The Autotrain is probably the best kept of the trains. I love train travel.

Took Amtrak from NYC to Orlando to save money. Positives: Seats were comfortable. Plenty of leg room. My children didn't mind the 24hour ride. My mother liked it (she has a fear of flying). Coach class fare was excellent (I saved nearly $2000). No need to show up 2 hours before. Overhead compartments are roomy. Negatives: The coach car was oppressively hot (over 80 degrees). After numerous complains from the passengers,8 hours later, it was fixed. (We were fanning ourselves with the passenger safety manual). Amtrak overbook the trains I was told by 5% and in this case, everyone showed up. No one came to our car to make reservations for dinner (first class and sleeper are first priority and there was no more space for us). The food at the snack bar was over-priced so if you didn't bring your own food, you were ###t out of luck. Two infants crying for 18 hours (out of the 24) was not pleasant. (Bring your iPod). After 2 hours, the toilet in the car had to be locked because of "blockage". The toilet in the other car had a horrible smell. One the trip back, we asked that the toilets be cleaned--3hours later, one of the passengers took it upon herself to clean them because they were so unsanitary (I suggest refraining from drinking fluid so you don't have to go as often & bring handy wipes). The PA system, did not work (on both trips). All we heard was loud static. God forbid there was an emergency. The worst was on the trip back to NYC when the static came on and wouldn't shut off (AT 3AM)!!! I was told by a friend that she took Amtrak, upgraded to a sleeper and she loved it. My thing was saving money and based on my calculations, 24 hours in an Amtrak sleeper vs. 2 hours on JetBlue. JetBlue won (similar price and shorter time).

My wife and I traveled on Amtrak from Harrisburg, PA to NYC for vacation on the first week of July '07. An overall pleasant experience. On-time both ways, due to the fact that Amtrak owns the rail lines between the two points (so I'm told), so they don't have to compete with the freight trains. Staff was very friendly. Red-Cap service at Penn Station was first-rate, very accommodating in assisting with our luggage! This was our first experience with rail travel and we will definitely travel with Amtrak again!

I travel quite frequently on Amtrak between Jefferson city and St. Louis MO, and I have to say that, for the most part, the trip is extremely pleasant. I travel bussiness class which, for only 40 bucks more round trip (way less than airline upgrades and still costs less than gas) gives me very nice seat with lots of legroom, a traditional power outlet, an included drink and snack, and large overhead luggage racks. The staff is always friendly and I have never had a problem with them. My only grip is that the train is not on time both directions. From St. Louis to Jeff City, the train is always on time, the other direction though, the train is always at least one and a half hours late. Other than that though, I would highly recommend Amtrak.

ha ha ha...... check this out.. i have to go from san antonio(TX) to san jose(CA) on dec 2nd week, i thought of taking the amtrak and searched for the route. voila!!!! it gave me a route to go to springfield(IL) for 27hrs and then to san fransico for 57hrs and after that to san jose. the humour is here, i searched for a train from san antonio to san fransico, it showed me a train route straight from san antonio through NM and AZ which took only 33hrs in total.. try it out yourself.. hope i wouldnt have to travel to new york next time i go from san antonio to dallas. LOL :D

I started taking Amtrak in March of 2006 as my way of "giving the finger" to the airlines. My trips on Amtrak (though not on time and not their fault) have been alot better experiences than the hell of air travel now. I can doze, sleep and nap comfortably, the food is alot better than on an airplane, I haven't had one rude employee and the whole experience is so much more pleseant then flying has gotten to be over the last decade. To this day, the latest I was arriving on Amtrak was 11 hours and it didn't cost me a dime for the lateness. United Airlines got me to my arrival city 14 hours late, made me pay %50 on a hotel room I slept in for two hours for a conference that is once every 5 years. I was also two hours late coming home due to United Airlines so my total "lateness" by United for that one weekend trip was 16 hours. Do the math! And you want to talk about rude employees?!? I was in line for 3 hours at United Customer Pimping desk to be bitched at and treated like crap for a flight that they made me miss and I never even raised my voice once. I just wanted my %50 off hotel voucher so I could sleep that night. Oh...it took 30 minutes to get to my hotel as well.

Just recently finished a trip with AMTRAK, the Empire builder from Milwaukee to Saint Cloud MN. Travel time was supposed to be Eight hours forty five minutes. Well twelve and a half hours later I arrived. Massive unexplained delays and power outages were the norm for the trip. Seats were comfortable. Staff courteous. On the return trip the delay was about a hour and a half, I was tickled. They have to fix the delay problems. The price was fair. The stations were old and not to clean, but I expected that. The two star rating was for the delays. Bring your own food and drink for short trips as onboard food is super pricey.

Excellent service on every trip that I had taken on Amtrak.

The site is comprehensive and provides 99% of the needed information. Amtrak can be a lot of fun so long as you recognize it is more of a travel experience than quick transportation. Plan on delays. As to the staff, I have rarely had bad staffing experiences. At least no worse than airline flight attendants.

Amtrak used to be a great way to travel and an excellent alternative to air travel........ No more. I spent three days on this crazy train........ California Zephyr........ from California to Ohio in August of 03. The experience was mediocre at best. Not only are the Amtrak employees rude and unfriendly but also downright hateful and hostile to say the least. They all behaved like Nazis. The train at night was below freezing, probably so they could sell those bogus felt blankets of theirs. The food in the dining car was subpar, and the food in the snack car was very expensive.......... $2.00 for a cup of Noodles... HELLO!!! I guess they figure since you are trapped on the train, you really have no other choice than to go hungry. The only redeeming quality for the over glorified Greyhound could be the awesome views you see on the way to your destination, that you would probably miss if you were in a car or a plane. If you ever find yourself in the Chicago Union station........ FORGET about encountering any helpful employees, Especially the bitch at the information desk. She was very venomous and almost physical about it....... a very unpleasant woman......... Should be fired immediatly. In conclusion......... Stick with flying, it is about the same cost now as Amtrak but you will get there in half the time, and probably not have former welfare recipients as employees.

Disgruntled employees. Don't expect friendly service aboard a train! Those days are gone I'm afraid to say. I have tried to do my part and be a loyal Amtrak traveler to help save this dying form of transportation. However, clearly the management and train employees don't care for their future, then neither should I. I'm back to air travel!

My husband and I traveled on an AmTrak train for our honeymoon. We had booked first class tickets in advance, but when we boarded the train we were told our room was occupied. We finally got a room, but the lights did not work and it was not clean. To top off our trip, they lost some of our luggage, which had honeymoon souviners and Christmas gifts for our families. Over one month later, I still have not heard a thing from AmTrak about my luggage.

I have always enjoyed train travel, and Amtrak is no exception. I recently boarded the Capitol Limited (Train 30) From Chicago Il, to Washingon D.C. The only problem was that it was about a half an hour late leaving Union Staton. Once I boarded the train the helpful car attendant directed me to my deluxe bedroom sleeper. The room was very comfortable, clean, and scenic. The Complementary meals in the first class portion of the diner were great. I watched a movie at night, had a nice breakfast in the morning, then took a rest in the sightseer Lounge with a cup of hot coffee. We arrived in D.C. about an hour late, and was told by the Amtrak Staff to have a wonderful stay. The trip back was equally pleasant.

I have traveled on several amtrak trains in California and liked them all. I especially liked the trip I took on the Coast Starlight in a sleeper, it had really great food, service and comfort. However, almost every train I have been on has had delays, and I can't remember a single time that the train was on time. Amtrak needs to address this problem and work it out with the freight railroads which are the main cause. Even though amtrak has a ton of problems, I think that if it was given a clear directive, good leadership, and full financial support it could really be a first class transportation system.

The website is clunky. The fares are too high. Yes, I enjoy riding the train but the public transportation system is just horrible in the USA. The country is just too big. I've wanted to ride the train but I've had instances where an airline fare was cheaper than a train ticket. Nonsense.

With aldo respect to Amtrak, they have bigger problems then there website. They are in big financial trouble. Unfortunately, Americans arent big train travelers, as opposed to, say, Canadians.

I will give them 3 stars only because I think it's great that Amtrak is managing to improve their website. Any business worth 2 cents these days has some kind of web presence and it is always wise to keep it fresh, dynamic and user friendly. I've been to their site so I have no doubt they are managing to do this very well these days. HOWEVER, to me the big mystery with them has nothing to do with technology but rather why they can't seem to apply this very simple "fresh, dynamic and user friendly" philosophy to their service as well? As little as one year ago, I would have still described myself as one of the last of a dying breed of people still enamored by train travel. And, I always had a lot of really nice things to say whenever the subject would happen to come up. But, I am sad to say, my last trip to Chicago in December ended this very long love affair. Not long ago (5 years or so) there were at least two trains per day going to and from Chicago from my town. When I tried to make reservations for this trip, I was told that the only train now going to Chicago at the time would be leaving at the ungodly hour of 4:48 a.m. Actually, I think that was a "special" holiday schedule since before that the departure time was about an hour earlier. Reviewing all my fond memories of train travel that go from fairly recent all the way back to some great coast-to-coast trips of my childhood, I decided not to let the odd time factor stop me. On the day of the trip I was there bleary-eyed, but bright and early. Unfortunately, the train was not. In fact, it arrived at least an hour late. This, I found out, was not unusual, but now apparently the norm. The attitude of the Amtrak personnel about this was pretty ho hum to say the least. Then, I get on the train expecting once I'm settled in, to be able to go to the dining car and buy a cup of coffee and breakfast sandwich as I always had on these early morning trips. I soon found out there was not only no dinning car or snack bar, but actually no other car (that we could enter) at all. The only thing available now was a sorry little collection of vending machines - in which several of the selections were not even available! I also found the car was completely different than the ones they once had. Now, a big factor in my on-going good opinion of train travel was the fact that the seats and legroom was on the level of the first class section of an airplane. On top of that, you also had plenty of room to keep your luggage just above or near your seat - which made detraining quicker and more convenient. Well, I guess the tradeoff for newer and smaller seats was a much more cramped and stuffy space. In addition, luggage had to be stored in the compartment on the level below the passengers - another new, idiotic design feature is that the car is now double-decker making it much less accessible to the handicapped passengers - talk about a giant step backward. Even the conductor - who answered my questions in a dull monotone - seemed to have no personality, in contrast to the friendly guys who once worked this route. I don't expect a floorshow, but you would think he might have put up some pretense that he was not just there waiting for the dead lice to fall off him. It was just so weird that in such a short period of time between my last trip and this it had gone from a well packed two or three cars of people heading off to Chicago to do their holiday shopping, etc. to less than ¼ the amount of passengers. If anyone out there has had a better experience with train travel lately, I would love to hear about it. This is one of those times I really hope I'm wrong, but, the way I see it now, at the rate Amtrak appears to be sinking coupled with their obvious death wish, it's going to take much more than an up to date website to keep them going much longer.

Just even a year or so ago the Amtrak site was super lousy, I'm talking bad but recently they've really cleaned it up. Not to mention that they are touting their new Acelo train, the high speed service, that will be travelling the east coast routes as up to 150 mph. They also have lots of specials for purchasing on line, for students, passes, seasonal etc. It looks like Amtrak is finally trying to catch up!!