Amtrak (USA)

Advantages: see more of america, friendly staff, friendly passengers, good food
Disadvantages: always run late,not much sleep on overnight trains

...to the research. Amtrak Website amtrak.com --------------------- Having studied the amtrak website it was clear that booking six different rail jouneys was going to be fun. The site in itself is great, it gives you all the information about routes, schedules, fares, accomadation, you can even look at sleeping roomettes or bedrooms through 360o, dining car menus. But is mainly geared for US user's , alot of the promotions and discounts only really ...
...minutes late, thats good by amtrak standards. Once out of the never ending New York/Jersey suburbs we picked up a good pace. Most of the Eastern seaboard is electrified from Washington up to Boston with fast and frequent services. The carriage is comfortable with large seats, wide isles, and air conditioned. By the time we got to Philadelphia our train was getting full, even if you buy tickets in advance make sure they have seat reservation, very ... Read review

Advantages: Cheap, Clean and Very well organised
Disadvantages: Not over in this Country

...and then we boarded the Amtrak Train for approximately a 3 hour trip. It was a double decker train that all luggage is safely tucked away in storage and our journey was free of moving luggage when someone wanted to pass. We had a really wonderful time on the train, the seats were comfy, the food train was reasonably priced and toilet facilities were clean and plenty of them on the set of carriages that we were travelling on. The idea of travelling ...
...a little worried as we had an arranged bus to catch after the train ride and needn't have worried as everything was well time kept. I certainly would recommend that if you ever visit America that you must try the Amtrak Service (even for a jolly down the road). ... Read review

Advantages: Relaxing and reasonably priced
Disadvantages: Long slow Journey

...by night. So to AMTRAK itself, the subject matter in question. Until recently, few people would have considered the journey we were about to take by train. After all, if we were to fly, it would have taken a mere 3 hours or so to reach our destination. The train slowly took us through downtown LA and it would be a good hour or so before we left the confines of this ugly, sprawling city. Once out of the city, we were able to watch the Californian ...
...and to our right, the mountains, we could even make out the snow capped peaks - all from the comfort of the viewing lounge. As the journey progressed, we made our way (slowly) through mountain passes and it was amazing to imagine the work that must have gone in, to create this railroad. Admittedly, after a while, the scenery became somewhat tedious - so I would suggest anyone considering this trip, to take along a good book. Facilities on the train ... Read review

Advantages: More scenic than airplane route/Less boring
Disadvantages: Hard for long rides [20 hours or more]

I love Amtrak - for the scenery, for the frequency of the trains, for the choices that I have, for the flexibility, and because it's ON THE GROUND! Yes, some say that trains derail and crash, but personally I'd rather be in the train on the ground than up in the air. I've travelled on Amtrak- been to South Carolina and been to Washington, DC, using Amtrak. The ride is great for short rides -a few hours. Then 'coach' is comfortable. For the longer ...
...What I like about Amtrak is that you can walk through the trains - you don't have to remain seated [so, for anyone who thinks the train ride might be too long or too cramped, there is variety]. You can walk to the dining car or snack car, or sometimes you can walk to the back of the train and see where the train has been [you might need advance permission for this- that's what I did on one long trip]. The workers are friendly and courteous -- in ... Read review

Advantages: Experience I will never forget
Disadvantages: Poor Service, Delays

...the station waiting for the Amtrak train to arrive in its full glory.... 2 hours later and still waiting, being told that it was 'in the process of cleaning'. Another 30 minutes pass and something finally happens. Boarding starts and everything seems like its getting underway, the first 2/3 hours of the journey were very enjoyable. The cabins that we had were opposite eachother each able to hold 2 persons, it had to setups. You could have 2 seats ...
...for the massive delays that amtrak caused to our holiday trip. It was meant to be a routine 22 hour tip from Seattle to San Fransisco sleeper trip, which ended up being over 32 hours. And according to our very humble and helpful car conductor was very normal, this is down to the fact that frieght trains have right of way over Amtrak trains. I would do it again, but this time i would be prepared for the inevitable delay. I rated this very poor, as ... Read review