I love this:

Now if you buy a ticket on either of North Carolina's state-supported passenger rail lines, it will include free transit fares for your destination region. Current transit agencies participating in the program are CATS, PART, HPTS, Winston-Salem Transit Authority, GoRaleigh, and GoTriangle.

Cleveland currently only has service in the night, Indianapolis only has service thrice weekly, and St. Louis doesn't have direct service to the northeast. Let's change that:

New York - Croton-Harmon - Poughkeepsie - Rhinecliff-Kingston - Albany - Schenectady - Utica - Syracuse - Rochester - Buffalo-Depew - Dunkirk-Fredonia (new stop also for the LSL) - Erie - Cleveland - Wellington - Marion - Sidney - Muncie - Anderson - Indianapolis - Greencastle - Terre Haute - Effingham - St. Louis

I'm thinking the westbound would leave New York around 7-8 PM so it would arrive in Cleveland about 12 hours later. It would arrive in Indianapolis probably around 3-4 PM. With the time zone change, it would probably arrive in St. Louis around 7-8 PM, almost 24 hours exactly after it leaves NYC. For the eastbound, it would probably leave St. Louis around 8-9 AM for arrival into New York about 24 hours later, which would make it the earliest arriving train into new york.

Consist would probably be similar to that of the LSL.

I’m curious whether other Amtrak monthly pass holders are experiencing similar frustrations, particularly those commuting on the Keystone Service.

I pay approximately $1,200 per month ($14,400 annually) for a monthly pass, and I’ve become increasingly disappointed with two recurring issues.

1. The Amtrak app is unnecessarily difficult to use.
My monthly pass doesn’t automatically appear when I open the app, requiring me to manually retrieve it every time I make a reservation. After confirming a trip, the navigation buttons stop working, forcing me to close and restart the app before booking another trip. My app is fully updated, and these issues happen consistently.

2. Overcrowding on Train 651.
Over the past several weeks, I’ve had to stand for at least half my commute on approximately half of my trips. I understand that a monthly pass doesn’t guarantee a seat, but given the cost, I think it’s reasonable to expect adequate seating capacity on regularly scheduled commuter trains.

At $14,400 annually, I don’t believe it’s unreasonable to expect a reliable booking experience and a reasonable opportunity to sit during my commute.

I’m interested in hearing from other Amtrak commuters:
Are other monthly pass holders experiencing similar app issues?
Has overcrowding become more frequent on your regular trains?
Has anyone successfully raised these concerns with Amtrak and received a meaningful response?
I generally appreciate having Amtrak as a commuting option, but the experience should be more reliable, especially for passengers who depend on the service every day.

I was in New Haven Connecticut yesterday, and I saw that There was a train scheduled to leave New Haven for Trenton at 9:10. this seemed really weird since most Amtrak trains do not terminate at Trenton. Looking at schedules, it seems like it aligns with the 67 Northeast Regional that goes to Norfolk, so I was wondering if there was a reason why the display only said it went to Trenton?

Edit: image attached to show what was on the screen

Im trying to book a train from seattle to vancouver BC on the cascade train and bringing my bike with me. Every single date I've tried shows it sold out for bike option. What gives?

I needed to make three round trips in the same week, and I was able to get at least one leg on every type of train: the new Airos, the Talgos, Amfleets, and as a bonus, the section of the Coast Starlight that follows the same route as the Cascades.

Seats: the big one! All my trips were between 1.5 and 3.5 hours, so I didn't get to test the comfort of riding the longest possible single train trips, which are 6.5 hours between Seattle and Eugene or 8 hours between Portland and Vancouver, BC.

The Airo seats were firm but not uncomfortable. I don't usually recline my seat or try to nap on daytime trips, but the seat recline by scooting forward is definitely less comfortable in exchange for the person in front of you not being able to recline into you/your laptop/your coffee. Another note on napping: the lighting over the seats is not individually controlled. A passenger on my trip complained to the staff that it was too bright to nap, and was told that they're working on that but even the crew can't easily change the brightness, it has to be a software change. The head rest that you can see in the pictures is somewhat adjustable -- there's an inner part that moves up and down, and an outer part that's fixed. I can see the fixed section being uncomfortable for very tall people. The seats aren't much wider than airplane seats, but even in coach they have a buffer space between the seats, as well as two separate arm rests for both passengers. They felt like there would be plenty of space for larger riders, especially because you can leave your own armrest up even if the person next to you has theirs down, giving you some more space to expand into. The tray table was large, and has two different device holders built in for watching things on a tablet or phone. I'd read about the separate cup holders and they were indeed super convenient, so I could have my huge work laptop on the table and still have a separate, secure space for my coffee! I rode in Airo business class on one of my trips, and the seats are the same, main benefit is that you can get a guaranteed solo seat. Since I upgraded, I wasn't able to choose my seat at booking time -- not sure if that's going to be fixed eventually, but the train wasn't full and I ended up being assigned a solo seat. Weirdly, the solo seat side still has two readouts above it for seat availability, one of them is just always green. The conductor was very flexible about letting people in business class change seats.

The poor Talgos are looking and feeling threadbare! I'm not one to complain about whether something is "outdated" but the upholstery is literally peeling in some places. The seats are slightly softer than the Airos, probably because they're old and worn out, but the cushions are thinner so they don't really feel plush at all. The seats are somehow smaller despite the aisles not being wider.

Amfleet cars and seats feel like the generic prototype of "train." The seats are larger than the Talgos, though there's no extra space between them like on the Airos. They're noticeably softer and more plush. The windows are larger than on other trains, giving every seat a better view.

The Coast Starlight is familiar if you've taken any western long distance route. Coach seats have tons of leg room, foot rests, and recline a generous amount.

Restrooms: I didn't do a great job of evaluating these because I hate having to use the restrooms on the train and I didn't actually use the Airo ones. There is only one per car on the Airo, automatic doors, and I overheard the crew talking about how one of them was already out of service because the system said the tank was full.

Physical accessibility: the Airos have noticeably wider aisles. There is space in every car for wheelchair passengers and dedicated wheelchair storage. For people with mobility issues without a wheelchair, the Airos have fewer steps to get into the train while the Amfleets are higher off the ground. I saw an elderly passenger really struggling to get up all the stairs. The Coast Starlight upper level isn't accessible; wheelchair passengers and those who can't climb the stairs book lower level seats on the train and can't move between cars.

Cafe car: all the Cascades trains have the same menu items available. The Airo has "grab and go" store style service for cold food and drinks, where you pick it up yourself and take it to the register to pay. This seemed confusing to a lot of passengers, especially since the menu for what was available grab and go was on the same poster at the register as the things you need to order. Ivar's Clam Chowder is my special train treat, and they also have fresh (pre-made but not frozen) sandwiches that are a real cut above the long distance cafe car. The coffee on my first Airo ride was unpleasant but I don't think that was train dependent lol. I didn't get anything to eat on the Coast Starlight, but as a coach passenger you have access to the cafe below the observation car that has frozen burgers and hot dogs that they'll microwave for you, and sad packaged pastries.

Overall, I'm no longer worried that I'll suffer on a longer trip on the new trains, and there are some nice quality of life upgrades with the space between seats, cupholders, and new dedicated crew office in the cafe car so they are only taking up some of the space there rather than all of it. I love the Talgos in theory but in comparison they feel cramped and desperately in need of new upholstery and deep cleaning. The Airos also felt quieter inside, giving a more peaceful ride, even though they still bounce around quite a bit at higher speeds.

Hi - for anyone that has been utilizing the NE regional often lately- thoughts on chances that this train will operate Friday and if so be relatively on time?

I know there is a lot of construction north of NYC, and we’ve already had some cancellations and rebookings for this trip.

So far our Friday train leaving Rte 128 at 9:25am and getting in NYC at 1:23pm has not been cancelled. However I am getting nervous to rely on it because we need to get into NYC and cannot be significantly delayed.

Hi! later this week I am taking the surfliner from SD to LA, then the coast starlight from LA to sacramento. I have a big 50 lb suitcase with me. I thought I could do checked luggage since it seems like i can only take a small bag on board, but it looks like the first leg of my trip doesn’t offer checked bags.
- Is there a place to leave a very big suitcase on the surfliner like racks at the front of the car? will they not let me on the train with a big suitcase?
- Do i have to check the bag on the second part or would there also be racks i could use instead?
Thanks:)

I got an email today about my trip in about ~12 hours:

"Due to an equipment change on train #506 departing <location>, <date>, you now have an assigned car and seat number".

This is on the new Airo trains, which I thought didn't assign in coach? My app also doesn't show any seat numbers or have the ability to change the seat numbers. Anyone know what's up with that? And if the 2 seats on my ticket will still be together?

Their customer service didn't seem to know and told me to ask the conductor before boarding.

Edit: Turns out it was just a glitch. They let me know I don't have assigned seats and the 506 is indeed on the airo

Who likes theses horns?

Currently on 1082 and there a whole coach in the front of the train blocked off and the only ones going in and out is 2 people who keep cleaning the restrooms.

I haven't seen this on the regionals is this something new? Seems sorta wasteful to have an extra car and maintenance for 2 people to clean restrooms.