What Amtrak Does Better Than Anybody Else But No One Understands

Amtrak deserves credit for what it does well. Thanks for giving them this credit.

When I did my 12 day trip last year I was on 5 different trains. I called the 800 number and they booked my sleepers for the entire trip including a ThroughWay bus from Stockton to Sacramento to catch the CZ. When my cousin decided to join me he called the 800 number and was able to get tickets as the 2nd person in my sleeper. Easy peasy. The on train staff was also great.

Their attendants are second to none 👍

My father, when he was alive, he used to call to buy his train tickets, while I used the app to buy my train tickets.

A lot of what you point out is why it's truly hard to compare rail travel in the US with rail travel elsewhere. The distances are just a magnitude LONGER in the United States and the rail system in Europe and Asia functions much more like the airline systems do in the CONUS: a way of "getting from one place to another" as opposed to a "vacation" or sight-seeing trip. So, when people say, "Well, Europe has this type of rail system, why don't we?" a big chunk of the answer is simply an "Apples vs. Oranges" type of comparison. And, if we did get a comparable European rail experience, many Americans would not be happy with it.

One thing I wish Amtrak would do is to play to it's strengths. The "Traditional Dining" has basically disappeared anywhere but the Western multi-day routes. I miss having breakfast in the dining car on a classic "Night Train"/Sleeper Route like the Capitol Limited. Yeah, I can still go by the "Cafe Car" and get my cup of coffee and a muffin and sit and eat it at a table (again in the Cafe Car usually), but it misses all the charm of sitting at a table with new people and eating the old "Railroad French Toast" and sipping coffee out of a ceramic mug. The classic "Dining Car" experience was a selling point for a lot of people, but it's pretty much gone east of the Mississippi river.

I could say the same thing about the outside of the cars... You ride Amtrak TO SEE the countryside around you, but Amtrak has scaled back it's "Car Washing" maintenance operations meaning that you are looking through grime at the world around you.

It seems "penny smart but pound dumb" to me.

Yes!! What travelers don't understand is how vast the continental U.S. is compared to European countries. I don't think there will be coast to coast high speed rail in my lifetime. Preparing cooked meals on trains requires a lot of logistics. I've been riding U.S. trains since the '50's & have always heard railroads were losing money in dining cars. Before the '90's Amtrak once charged for meal service for all passengers. The only complimentary refreshments for Amtrak's 1st class passengers were coffee, tea, and juice which was served between 6:30-9 AM with a newspaper. When meals became complimentary, Amtrak increased their accommodation fees for sleeper car passengers. Those Sleeper Car passengers who've requested meals served in their rooms would have them served on trays with China, not to go bags, sparing dropped meals in transit by car attendants. Those who've purchased tickets to ride in vintage Slumber Cars (spartan version of a Roomette) did not get complimentary meals. Menu selections were once different on most of Amtrak's overnight trains. Via Rail is doing a great job with their long-distance 65+ year vintage cars. I'm sure it's costly at keeping them in good running condition which explains their inflated 1st class fares. The Canadian is on everyone's bucket list. A good thing is Amtrak still will make good for those who've missed connecting trains by putting their passengers up in hotels overnight. I still call Amtrak's reservation center in order to reserve specific rooms in sleeper cars-something which can't be done online or on their app.
I'm not sure if the same is done in other countries.

Pity Japan has abolished dining-cars. Back in the 70s the Shinkansen had a dining-car catered by the Imperial Hotel. I still have a receipt.

I recently took my first Amtrak trip, the Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle. Originally booked a roommette, but got lucky when attempting to place a bid for bid up, and got a bedroom for a VERY cheap instant upgrade. I can't say enough positive things about my experience, everything was absolutely wonderful and I certainly am looking forward to my next trip!

Thank you guys for all of your videos, they have been immensely helpful in planning and making my first trip successful! Keep up the good work!

Booked my first trips on the app-- Southwest Chief LA to Chicago and Missouri River Run Chicago to Kansas City. Roomette from LA and coach to KC. Using the app was a breeze for me. It also came in handy to get status updates. Many thanks to you for inspiring this trip and for all of your expertise which played a large role in me traveling safely and cost efficiently. I was so much in the know my sleeper car neighbor, also a first-timer, thought I was a seasoned Amtrak when I showed her features like the closet and shower. You two are amazing teacher. Thank you again.

We were excited to take the Adirondack (Amtrak) from NYC to Montreal this month (May) but Amtrak contacted us on short notice to tell us that they cancelled the route for approximately 2 months. No reason given. We suspect the reason is overdue track maintenance north of the border. Instead of an 11 hour scenic train ride, it cost us an extra $30 to take the 90 minute flight on Air Canada.

What do you mean 'Continental Breakfast'? Those countries (Italy, etc.) are located 'on the Continent', from a British perspective...
Ok, seriously, Amtrak is great and so is their app, their attendants, their food, and overall experience, in my opinion.
Just recently finished a trip Sacramento - Los Angeles - Chicago and back to Sacramento, and everything was great.
Thanks for giving Amtrak the credit they deserve!

The ticketing process on Brightline was very easy and not at all confusing. Their food was good too, and is served to you at your seat.

Thanks for the good words for Amtrak. We took a couple of long distance trains in March and we had no problems except we arrived into L A an hour early! It was very early in the morning. 😴🥰

hi Im rose I live in japan, I follow your channel and watched ur vids..very helpful, and cant wait to try train in america from La to ny... thank u for all the videos.

Holy smokes! Something operated by the federal government actually performs almost like it's supposed to. Now, that is miraculous.

I've only used the app once to go from San Diego to LA and back, and it was great. I booked two one-way tickets for the trip. I bought the SD to LA leg before leaving home. But I didn't buy the return trip ticket right away because I wasn't how long I would be in LA. When I was ready to come home, I stood on the platform and bought my ticket 10 minutes before the train departed. Easy-peasy.

The SBB app for the Swiss rail system is amazing. Easy to use, real-time schedules and updates, and easy planning tools.

There are reasons behind the complexity of the Japanese train system, but I have finally learned to add the Shinkansen tickets to my phone. Just tap your phone at the gate and go. No paper tickets to deal with. There are ways to simplify your train journeys in Japan.

I like the slower travel. I want to go to sightsee. I drive myself all the time. The train would be mine time to sightsee

When we took the Hoosier State to Chicago (no more Hoosier State :-( then the Chief to La, then the Surfliner to San Deigo we called and had a really nice representative help us. All went smoothly. We had bedrooms on the Chief to and from. Would not go any other way except bedrooms. The food then - 2014, was really really good.

I've never been on Amtrak. I've only heard negatives. This was interesting. Thank you.