What am I missing about train travel??? About This Page:

[graygables]

I was looking at catching a train from Baltimore to Williamsburg sometime in the Spring for DDs and I and it is just gosh darned *expensive* and takes longer than driving! There are so many people who use trains...am I missing something?

[StephanieS]

My family used to always take the auto train when I was a kid b/c my mom was scared to fly. She didn't mind paying the extra $$. It's also nice to be able to see some of the scenery. With the auto train you have your own car when you arrive, too. As an adult I always fly b/c its so much faster, but trains are a neat experience. -Stephanie

[skywaywaver]

You're not missing a darn thing! Amtrak's service is horrible. We took a train from about an hour north of NYC to Niagara Falls for our honeymoon b/c dh is petrified of flying. Well, in a little over a week, we are flying to WDW, after having driven twice. What does that tell you about how absolutely horrific Amtrak was? Never again... NEVER AGAIN!
And yes, they are expensive. I'd rather pay the same, if not less, to get there a whole lot faster. Yes, there is more security and other hassles, but a 3 hr flight compared to an 18 hr drive? No contest!

Maggie
TDC Skyway Waver

[Disleigh]

We love train travel. We use the train every year to go from Sacramento, Ca. to Portland, Or. We always get a sleeper car . Your right it is more expensive than driving, but it is so much fun!! It is so relaxing that we think of it as part of our vacation. When you get a sleeper meals are included. The train we take, The Coast Starlight, there is a observation car and a family car. There are movies, and a porter to make up your berth. DS, 2, loves the train. There are whole parts of the train only open to Sleeper car passengers. Also DS, 2, loves the train.

Leigh


Leigh

[kadterp]

I love the train! It forces us to be in sit back and watch the world mode instead of hurry up and get there mode! I am thinking about taking the train again next year! It's just another way of learning how to stop and smell the roses while you are on vacation for us! Some people love it and others dont!

[Wendyismyname]

We had thought about driving 900 miles to visit my niece in VA, then take the Auto Train to WDW. My niece works(currently on paid maternity leave(lucky gal)then isn't going back) and she could have gotten us a really great discount. Unfortunately, or fortunately depends on how you look at it, before we could do that, they sold their house out there and moved back home.

it does sound like a really neat way to travel though.

[AmyAngel]

I've taken Amtrak twice. Once was an overnight (but not in a sleeper car) from Charlotte to Washington DC when I was about 10. They kept the train cars so COLD (and this was July) that none of us got any sleep. Imagine an entire Girl Scout troop trying to tour DC on no sleep. The service was generally miserable, too. I hated it.

Just a couple years ago I went on a day trip with a group to the NC state fair by train. It's a less than 3 hour drive there, and it took us well over 4. Toward the end I was ready to get out and rent a car for the rest of the trip. If we had stopped at one more teensy tiny little town I likely would have screamed. It was slow and incredibly boring (though some of the graffitti was interesting. Remember, train tracks often run through the worst part of town!), and since we were tied to the train's schedule we spent nearly twice as much time on the train than at the fair! Never again!

I think we desperately need some sort of efficient, convenient, probably high-speed train service in the US, but I will NEVER take the train anywhere again unless it's the only option, or maybe if it's an overnight trip in a sleeper car. It would have to be cheap, for sure!

[Wendyismyname]

We did take the State Fair Train to the state fair this year. It was okay. thank goodness it was only a half hour trip because it's not a/c. But I'd still love to take a train ride. Maybe the tour by train out in the West?