Trip Report: Amtrak Train Service - Baltimore to New York City (March 2022)

  Trip Report: Amtrak Train Service - Baltimore to New York City
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There are many options to travel within the Northeast - plane, car, bus, or train.,  Each option has its pros and cons and each option ranges in terms of price, availability, convenience, and total travel time.  I was traveling from Baltimore to New York and the best option for me in terms of price, availability, convenience and travel time was Amtrak Train.  Amtrak is the train service within the United States and they are known for transporting a lot of people in a lower cost but also not have the greatest quality of service - this is definitely NOT European train travel.  The most popular route for Amtrak is probably the Northeast Corridor which provides service between Washington, D.C. to Boston with stops in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Delaware, New Jersey and New York.  Because it is the most popular they have timings throughout the day starting early in the morning until late evening.  There are also 2 different trains going - the Acela which is the business class or the regular class trains.  Since we were going for a leisure trip we booked the regular fare on the regular train - this review is a compilation of three different trips that I took on the same route.

I had picked up the train at the BWI Airport Station - this was the second major stop on the train as thefirst major stop was in Washington, D.C.  Sometimes the train started from D.C. and sometimes it started from other stations but a lot of individuals got on at certain stations - I had chosen the BWI Airport station because it was convenient to park and it was spacious so it was easier to get on the train.  The fare that I had booked did not have assigned seating so you choose whichever open seating was available.  I had booked the ticket online and had downloaded the ticket through my phone app; booking the ticket online was very convenient but trying to modify or change the ticket online proved extremely difficult and Amtrak customer service was not helpful.

The trains that I took generally were scheduled to depart Baltimore BWI Airport Station in the afternoon - 3p to 4p - and arrive into New York around 7pm or 8pm.  When the train arrived, there was a noticeable smell of the restroom that permeated the train - it was not a great welcome to train travel.  Once we got on, the train was laid out in a 2-2 section with every seat being an aisle or window - thankfully there were no middle seats.  As I said, there were no assigned seats so you just choose whichever open seat was available.  Some individuals would put their luggage on the seat to prevent people from sitting but by the third station this had to be removed given the volume of people arriving.

The seat itself was wide and felt comfortable but the seat-pitch or legroom was a bit tight.  Each seat contained a tray table to work on and power ports next to the window.  Wifi was supposedly available in the train but it did not always work.  Overall, the train looked and felt decent but a little worn for wear so it needed to be updated and upgraded.

In the end, we arrive into New York City Penn Station generally on time.  I also took the train on the reverse routing - New York to Baltimore - and the train was the same but in NY station there are many tracks but you do not know which track your train is on.  The track is announced 30 minutes prior and everyone has to rush down a tiny escalator to the appropriate train track.  Whomever designed it was not thinking about when it was a large volume of people and it is extremely annoying to take a train like that.

Given all this, would I take the train again?  It would not be my first choice and the price would have to be right.  If you book in advance, there are plenty of airline and bus options in a variety of choices that can provide the same service so in the future those would be my first choice; if the price was right and no other options were available, then I would not avoid the train.

Train Report: LNER, Central London to Edinburgh (August 2019)

Trip Report: LNER Train, Central London to Edinburgh
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I was traveling from London to Edinburgh and this trip can be made either via plane, bus, or train.  I usually enjoy train travel in Europe - it is usually so much more convenient and connected than in America - so I decided to take the train one way and a plane on my return (I traveled British Airways on the return and you can check out that review here).  LNER - London North Eastern Railway - is apparently the only operator of the train between Central London and Edinburgh.  Online it was very to see the various timings of the trains, select the one that fit my schedule, book the ticket, preselect my seat, and manage my reservation.   You could preselect your seat online and the train had a variety of seats - either 4 around a table or two individually.  Since we were three in the group, we decided to book 3 of the 4 group seats.   

The train that I had booked departed London's King Cross at 3:30pm and would arrive into

Edinburgh at 8:13; considering it was going to take about 5 hours, I assumed that the train would make multiple stops throughout the journey.  Even though I was able to print out my ticket online, as well as have a mobile ticket, I still arrived at the train station about an hour prior to my departure to give myself enough time.  Unfortunately, the car dropped us off at St. Pancreas and we had to go to King's Cross but eventually we made it to King's Cross and looked at the timetable only to be informed that they do not provide the track number until 15 minutes prior to boarding.  This means there is a long waiting period, a lot of staring at the screens, and then all passengers rushing towards the track as soon as the track number is announced; it is not fun.

We made it onto the train, loaded our luggage onto the luggage compartments, and proceeded to our seat.  As I said, we had booked 3 of the 4 seats that are around a table.  My previous experience traveling on trains in Europe has been in Switzerland, and again we book 3 of the 4 group seats and the seats were nice, comfortable, spacious, and the 4th seat remained empty no matter how many stops we made.  On this trip, the 4th seat had been occupied by another passenger (even though there were plenty of empty seats available), the seats were tight in terms of both width and seat pitch, and after 5+ hours they were a bit uncomfortable.  The table in the middle was also very close to the seats and it made getting in and out of the seat very difficult.  One positive aspect of the seat was the on top, on a small screen, was each individual's stop; it helped to know when the other passenger was getting off but it was bit of invasion of privacy.  The train made many stops throughout the journey, and the announcements were not very clear especially for the smaller stops.  In terms of services for the passengers, there was a dining car available as well as restrooms - there were no usb or charging ports and while wifi was technically available, it was spotty and almost never worked.   

As I said, my previous experience in European train travel as been in both Switzerland and Belgium so that was my base of comparison.  Also, on this route the train competes with the airlines - ryanair, easyjet, and BA - all of whom have the same or lower fares and can make the journey in a faster time.  Taking into account all these factors, as well as the narrow seat pitch, it was a disappointing rail journey.  The seats were a bit uncomfortable, especially towards the end, the wifi was spotty, no charging ports, and generally it felt like I paid for a general economy seat - which is fine but then I paid the same price for my return airfare with BA (check out that review here) and that took less time so what is the incentive to ride the train?  

Trip Report: Thayls Train, Brussels to Amsterdam (February 2017)

Trip Report: Thayls Train, Brussels to Amsterdam
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Continuing my journey through Europe, I was travelling from Brussels to Amsterdam.  No flights operate between these two cities, so the only options are train, bus, or car.  I decided to try the train as train travel in Europe is very good and connected to the metro systems.

When I looked online, the train that operated between these cities was the French train Thayls.  Booking a ticket online directly through Thayls was very easy and convenient.  The website showed me the various trains throughout the day as well as the different classes the train operates.  The train operates Comfort 1 or Comfort 2 - Comfort 1 is more like Business Class (free food, added services) whereas Comfort 2 is economy class.  Within Comfort 1 there are semi-flexible or flexible fares, and within Comfort 2 there are economy and semi-flexible rates.  The difference in fares between classes generally depends on the time of day you leave.  I had booked the last train of the evening, and so the difference between Comfort 2 semi-flex and Comfort 1 semi-flex was 30euro.

I

 had booked the last train out which departed Brussels Midi Station at 9:52p and arrived into Amsterdam at 11:42p.  The scheduled time for the train was 1h50 minutes, so given this short time I decided to book the 'Comfort 2 - semi-flex'.  The fare included free wifi, free power ports, and a pre-assigned seat at a 4-seater.  I had chosen to print the tickets at home, or I could store them on my mobile device. 

The day of departure, I went to train station to inquire about getting on an earlier train.  Because of the type of ticket I had booked, the ‘semi-flex’, it was going to cost more than what I paid for the ticket to change.  Given this, I decided to keep my scheduled train.

I got to the train station about an hour prior to departure, but apparently that was too early as there was no information on the screen regarding which track the train would depart.  There are waiting rooms available, but there are no screens to monitor and you cannot really hear well.  About 9:15p, people started gathering around track 4 so it seemed that is where the train would depart.  Around 9:30p, the screen was updated to show the train departure and track number.  The train pulled up a bit afterwards and as soon as the passengers got off, we got on.

There were train attendants outside each door ensuring you were entering the right cabin. I was in the second cabin so I entered, placed my luggage on the luggage rack, and went to my seat.  The train was laid out with 2 seats on each side.  The seats were already in a pre-recline, and they were generally comfortable enough.  The legroom was a bit tight, especially is someone were to push back their seat.  There was storage above your seat – for a small carryon and/or jackets. There were two ports located in the middle of the seat in front, which provided power to your electronic devices.  

Free wifi was also provided – when I logged on, it said the wifi was complimentary for cars 1 and 2.  It was easy to log on and the wifi speed was good for chats (slow for videos – especially passing through certain areas).  We pushed off right on time at 9:52p; however there was no announcement that the train was leaving; it just left.  Right after we left the attendants came by to check tickets.   

There were not that many people on the train and the ride was generally smooth and comfortable.  The train made a couple of stops, and the announcements for each stop were made frequently as well as scrolled in the front of the train.  The train became very crowded at the Schipol Airport station, where many people got on taking the train into the city centre.   I don’t know if there were no seat assignments, or they just go on wherever they felt like it, but they just sat at any open seat.  We pulled into Amsterdam on time and get off the train.

Overall, it was a nice experience on the train.  It was easy to book, generally inexpensive, and a nice experience with both power ports and free wifi.