{"id":430,"date":"2016-01-05T01:16:44","date_gmt":"2016-01-05T01:16:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thetravelingmillennial.com\/?p=430"},"modified":"2016-02-21T00:20:01","modified_gmt":"2016-02-21T00:20:01","slug":"amtrak-northeast-regional-was-nyc-on-new-years-eve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/thetravelingmillennial\/2016\/01\/05\/amtrak-northeast-regional-was-nyc-on-new-years-eve\/","title":{"rendered":"Amtrak Northeast Regional (WAS-NYC) — on New Year’s Eve"},"content":{"rendered":"

Several folks have asked me how I like riding on trains compared to flying on airplanes.\u00a0 I booked a round-trip ticket on Amtrak from DC to NY over New Year\u2019s weekend so I could offer a comparison. \u00a0The train ticket was half the price of an airline ticket and the train station in New York is conveniently located near Madison Square Garden. \u00a0I’ll write a comparison later, but here’s my review of the Amtrak\u00a0ride.<\/p>\n

Experience<\/strong>: train stations do not have the same lounge options as airports so I had less of an incentive to arrive early. \u00a0My Citi Prestige credit card<\/a> provides complimentary access to Admirals Clubs and Priority Pass Lounges at certain airports, but that perk does not help me at the train station. \u00a0The free wifi was pretty slow.\u00a0 Security on the other hand was practically non-existent so I didn\u2019t have to worry about long lines at the security checkpoint.\u00a0 Two folks made sure I had a ticket before I boarded the train, but that was it.\u00a0 I walked down a long creepy hallway before I arrived at track 28.\u00a0 I walked to the front half of the train before I stepped inside a coach car.<\/p>\n

\"DSC02302\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In New York (Penn Station), you gather around this board until your track is announced 10-15 minutes prior to departure. \u00a0There’s no security check point.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"DSC02185\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Long creepy hallway in Union Station, Washington DC.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"DSC02186\"<\/a><\/p>\n

You walk along the train until you pick one to go into. \u00a0If there’s a strategy to picking the best car I have not figured it out.<\/em><\/p>\n

I was a little surprised at how generously Amtrak applied its policy of allowing families with small children and seniors to board first.\u00a0 Able-bodied folks in their early 60\u2019s and families with teenagers were encouraged to board in the priority line. \u00a0Seats in coach are not reserved so\u00a0priority boarding is definitely desirable.<\/p>\n

Riding on a train also allows people to talk on their phones which is not an issue in the air.\u00a0 The train would be quieter if people were not on the phone.\u00a0 The guy to my left reminds me of the cleaner (Mike) from Breaking Bad (and he sounds like him too!). \u00a0The girl sitting to my right powered through a solid two hour phone call.<\/p>\n

Hard product<\/strong>: The seats were about the same width as airline seats but they reclined further.\u00a0 The aisle was wider (two people could easily pass each other) and the luggage rack was much larger.\u00a0 I helped a very small woman (under 110 lbs) lift a very substantial large suitcase (over 70 lbs) onto the overhead luggage rack.\u00a0 There was also a luggage rack in the front of the car\u00a0if you needed more room.\u00a0 The handicap-accessible bathroom was huge.\u00a0 The handrails were plentiful because riding a train is like riding on an airplane with constant turbulence.\u00a0 There was also a quiet car.\u00a0 The caf\u00e9 car had tables and\u00a0it appeared that people camp out at those tables, even if they\u2019re not eating.<\/p>\n

\"DSC02188\"<\/a> \"DSC02187\"<\/a> \"DSC02191\"<\/a> \"DSC02189\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The seats were unremarkable but each seat had an electrical outlet.<\/em><\/p>\n

Service<\/strong>: there was no service.\u00a0 You walked like a drunken sailor to the caf\u00e9 car.\u00a0 The train moved more than I expected so it was a difficult to walk at times.\u00a0 The guy running the caf\u00e9 cart was very knowledgeable about trains and he proceeded to tell me that the bumpy ride was due to changing tracks at 100 mph.\u00a0 He was quick and efficient at preparing food.<\/p>\n

Food<\/strong>: the food and drinks were more expensive than you\u2019d find on an airplane.\u00a0 I paid $7.50 for a bottle of Victory Hop Devil–a bottle of Dogfish Head 90-minute IPA would run you $8.50.\u00a0 You could buy a half bottle of wine for $16 instead.\u00a0 The food was equally expensive but there were more options than you’d find on a plane\u2014you could buy anything from a bag of popcorn to a warm hot dog.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n

Riding a train is like flying on a plane with constant turbulence.\u00a0 For most Americans, planes make sense because they’re cheaper and faster\u00a0than trains.\u00a0 The east coast is a special case because Amtrak makes a profit on those routes (unlike the routes over the rest of the country). \u00a0Tickets are cheaper and trains travel more frequently.\u00a0 Certainly I\u2019ll ride\u00a0the train again\u00a0for a DC-NYC trip, but I will likely fly to any location that\u2019s further away than NYC.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Several folks have asked me how I like riding on trains compared to flying on airplanes.\u00a0 I booked a round-trip ticket on Amtrak from DC to NY over New Year\u2019s weekend so I could offer a comparison. \u00a0The train ticket was half the price of an airline ticket and the train station in New York is conveniently located near Madison Square Garden. \u00a0I’ll write a comparison later, but here’s my review of the Amtrak\u00a0ride. Experience: train stations do not have the same lounge options as airports so I had less of an incentive to arrive early. \u00a0My Citi Prestige credit…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":96,"featured_media":438,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[6,16,31],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nAmtrak Northeast Regional (WAS-NYC) -- on New Year's Eve – The Traveling Millennial<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/thetravelingmillennial\/2016\/01\/05\/amtrak-northeast-regional-was-nyc-on-new-years-eve\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Amtrak Northeast Regional (WAS-NYC) -- on New Year's Eve – The Traveling Millennial\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Several folks have asked me how I like riding on trains compared to flying on airplanes.\u00a0 I booked a round-trip ticket on Amtrak from DC to NY over New Year\u2019s weekend so I could offer a comparison. \u00a0The train ticket was half the price of an airline ticket and the train station in New York is conveniently located near Madison Square Garden. \u00a0I’ll write a comparison later, but here’s my review of the Amtrak\u00a0ride. 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