Social obligations usually result in my family traveling annually to the US. At every US airport, we are always randomly selected for secondary screening. We stopped taking domestic US flights because we consider the stress induced by secondary screenings to be unacceptable. We tried driving, but getting behind the wheel of a car is risky after an exhausting long-haul flight.
Searching for an alternative, during our latest US trip this spring, we decided to try train travel. It was delightful. The day after arriving in New York, we took a ten minute taxi ride from our Manhattan hotel to Pennsylvania Station (Penn Station). This is the major intercity rail station in New York City and the busiest train station in North America. We were booked on Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited, operating between New York and Chicago, with stops at intermediate stations.
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, known as Amtrak, provides intercity passenger train service across the US on 34,000 kilometers of track, connecting 500 destinations in 46 states and three Canadian provinces. In fiscal year 2008, Amtrak served 28.7 million passengers. Penn Station, the starting point for the Lake Shore Limited, is the busiest passenger transportation facility in the United States.
There is security at Penn Station, but it’s not extreme. Identification was requested when we picked up our tickets and there were armed police and CCTV throughout the station. However, the focus of the staff at Penn Station is on getting passengers to the trains, rather than finding reasons to keep them from boarding. We weren’t singled out due to religion or nationality. Children are welcome on Amtrak and assistance is provided for the elderly and disabled. Other than weapons or obviously dangerous materials, most anything else may be brought onboard the trains. This includes food, liquids and even oxygen tanks. Luggage allowances are very generous. Two pieces of luggage, 23kg each, may be taken as carry-on bags. Purses, briefcases, laptops and baby items may be carried on at will. There is also checked baggage service on some trains.
We had booked a Viewliner roomette, which sleeps two adults in upper/lower berths. On the trains, the roomettes, bedrooms, family bedrooms and accessible bedrooms vary in availability depending on the route. Roomettes or rooms come with towels and linens, electrical outlets, bottled water and hot drinks. Some rooms are fitted with private toilets and showers. Meals in the dining car are included in the ticket price. There isn’t an “in-train” entertainment system, so travelers should bring their own movies, games or reading material, in case the view out the window isn’t amusing enough. Electricity is readily available, but outlets are American 110 volts — so a plug converter may be needed. The quality of cell phone voice reception varied during the train trip, but we were nearly always able to communicate with text and e-mail.
The attendants onboard the trains were helpful and interested to be of service. It was very pleasant to be able to stretch out in the berth, watch the scenery and doze off comfortably. Meals in the dining car are by reservation and there are always several main course options, including kid’s entrees. Kosher (halal) meals may be requested when booking train tickets, although there is always a seafood or vegetarian choice.
The service is good on the train because many of the people who work for Amtrak are long-term employees who like what they do. Thomas Finnegan, our sleeping car attendant has spent more than three decades on the job.
“In the smaller towns across the United States, Amtrak offers a good living to its staff,” Finnegan explained. “It is interesting work meeting new people all the time. I enjoy being on the train and not being stuck in an office. I want to share that enjoyment with Amtrak passengers, so I’m always trying to make sure people have a happy trip.”
Finnegan kept hot drinks available. He was constantly tidying up the train and could be called at any time to stow a suitcase or make a bed. Aware that our assigned roomette was on the north facing side of the train, which would not have a view of the Hudson River, Finnegan switched us after lunch to a room on the south facing side of the train. We spent the last few hours of our trip watching glacial hanging valleys, steeply dropping river tributaries, waterfalls and small town America passing by outside the sleeping car’s panoramic window.
While our adventure on Amtrak was enjoyable, it wasn’t perfect. Our checked luggage was lost on the train trip out from New York. The station master at our destination was genuinely distressed that the luggage was missing. He set out immediately to track it down, called us personally when it was found to arrange delivery and Amtrak customer service also telephoned to apologize. Since this had been a privately arranged trip, Amtrak had no idea that it was a journalist’s luggage that had gone missing. The genuine service received during our journey was a welcome surprise, particularly when contrasted with the service provided by most airlines.
Amtrak offers not only train travel booked through Amtrak.com, but entire vacations may be planned through . Note that a limited number of sleeper rooms are available on the trains and they are reserved early, especially during summer and holiday periods. Traveling by Amtrak is a great opportunity for families to relax on vacation, see the beautiful scenery of rural America and avoid airport misery.
