Are amtrack trains sketchy?

I’ve taking train from NYC to DC and vice versa a few times. No issues at all. Easy quick access. Quick trip. Sit back, have a couple beers, and you’re there.

Chicago to Seattle is certainly much much longer, but if you have the time and can sleep, I wouldn’t see an issue.

This is on our vacation list of things to do. Take a week or more on the train from Chicago to either Seattle or San Francisco. If you do this, please take pics and document it for the board!

Just slow and inconsistent is all, as said not as nice as an airline more like taking a bus. But from all accounts there's nothing at all wrong with them.

They make a lot of stops and the freight trains I believe get priority so they can be delayed. I took one from Chicago to central illinois that's a 2 hour drive and it took 5 hours by train.

We took a scenic weekend trip from Denver through the Rockies (and back again) on Amtrak in April. It was a mixture of excursioners like us and those who were on a long-haul trip from Chicago to San Francisco. Perfectly safe. If not for the mask requirement, I definitely would have considered it for a longer trip.

Was just in Winter Park for a week for MTB Nats, and I saw the train station at Fraser and saw people with luggage waiting on the train. I just figured it was a train to Denver, but I researched it and figured out that it was the California Zephyr, which runs from Chicago to San Francisco. I'll confess I was kind of taken by the idea of riding it.

If you have never ridden on one ... why wouldn't you strictly for the new experience? Great way to travel if you have the time and patience.

Safer than driving with all the idiots on their phones out there.

I've done Seattle to Minot, North Dakota twice (relatives there), once with just a coach seat and once in a 2 person sleeper room.

Coach actually wasn't bad, but do the sleeper room if you can afford it. It's wonderful.

I've also done Los Angeles to Seattle once as well (sleeper room). Incredible trip. Right on the coast (could see the beach) through Cali and also through Vandenberg AF base (launch pads). Absolutely killer trip and I'll do it again soon.

You just can't be on a tight time schedule because there are so many reasons you can be delayed. (We hit and killed someone on the tracks on one trip ... about a 3 hour delay).

Was fun to just sit and drink and watch the country pass by. Food was good and the people on the train were all normal.

Pro-tip: Try to do most of your traveling over the weekends because Amtrak doesn't own the track and has to defer to freight trains, which don't run on Sundays.

Amtrak is a horribly inefficient business model, but if you want to get away from the real world and just relax (don't count on any solid internet service) and enjoy seeing America ... it's awesome!

Amtrack's web site is awful. I understand why they loose money. Not user friendly at all.
You will have better luck calling them to look at various options.

I travel on Amtrak when I do business travel up east, mainly Philly and DC. It’s a way of life for those folks. My wife, kids and I took a train from Boston to NYC and it was one of the best experiences. We did DC to NYC and it’s not as nice, but still not fearful of safety. Getting dropped off at Penn Station with luggage is quite fun.

Having said that, I don’t know how I feel about taking a train from Nola to Chicago, which a really want to do. I see that seedy Amtrak station here and it just doesn’t give me comfort. Going from Chicago to Seattle would probably be fun, but where is the station in Chicago?

Love traveling on Amtrak. Depending on where you go, you may have all or most do the cart to yourself.