Travel by Rail

prostock19

prostock19

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Anyone with suggestions, stories, advice, etc, about traveling by rail, post them here.

One thing with Amtrak, if you call to book your ticket and tell them that you're Deaf. When you do this, you get a 15% discount on your ticket (not sure if this is true with the Acela). This beats the 10% AAA discount.
 
prostock19 said:
Anyone with suggestions, stories, advice, etc, about traveling by rail, post them here.

One thing with Amtrak, if you call to book your ticket and tell them that you're Deaf. When you do this, you get a 15% discount on your ticket (not sure if this is true with the Acela). This beats the 10% AAA discount.
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don't remember about amtrak.. since it has been ages.. but commutting to nyc from here .. i save about $20 a round trip.. :D
 
prostock19 said:
Anyone with suggestions, stories, advice, etc, about traveling by rail, post them here.

One thing with Amtrak, if you call to book your ticket and tell them that you're Deaf. When you do this, you get a 15% discount on your ticket (not sure if this is true with the Acela). This beats the 10% AAA discount.
Click to expand...

Is it too late? In the other thread, it was said that you have to buy it in person, not online. I ordered my tickets with my Visa last week. I had no idea that they give out discounts for anyone with disabilities.

I could use some savings because my girls wants to go to Disneyland, Universal Studios and Magic Mountain while on our 10 day stay in Southern California.
 
Meg said:
Is it too late? In the other thread, it was said that you have to buy it in person, not online. I ordered my tickets with my Visa last week. I had no idea that they give out discounts for anyone with disabilities.

I could use some savings because my girls wants to go to Disneyland, Universal Studios and Magic Mountain while on our 10 day stay in Southern California.
Click to expand...

it won't hurt to walk in person with a receipt and ask that u forgot to get the discount for deafness. :) Maybe they will update the costs and u'll save a few bucks or so.
 
I remember taking Amtrak from Seattle to Martinez, CA, it was a LONG trip, lol, tho it was fun and tiring. It wasn't comfortable sleeping in the seat overnight.

The trains do go fast on straight tracks, they will go up to 79 mph in rural area (train speed limit law) due to the track's design limit.
It would be nice they had design with higher speeds, It would be cool if they had high speed train system from Vancouver, BC all the way to San Diego, CA. They would only run on electricity, no pollution from the diesel or whatever they're burning.

Lucky for Japan and Europe having 155 to 186 mph bullet trains, tho we do have bullet trains from Boston to Washington, DC going up to 155 mph.
 
My experience from Amtrak....
We left Milwaukee, Wi to Ca. which take about 2 1/2 days. Sometime they did delay their time like engine problems, break for walk outdoor, and can buy foods from Amtrak office/store. The chair was uncomfortable for me cuz i had my son sleep with me on my lap. My daughter sleep on the chair by herself. It was hard for us to sleep real late cuz ppl will come in and find their seats with Light on. The train was ready to leave they turn off light. At nighttime, it was very very cold and not warm enough. Let you know to bring Blankets and Pillows. If you want to buy Amtrak Blanket, cost you about 10 or 20 dollar. The stair is very small and be careful from falling. The bathroom is dispoable from outdoor. It MUST worn Shoes all the time if you walk to another train. It is very dangerous to cut off your feet as attendant told me. I resvered Family seats for children and myself. There is one train for people want to sightseeing and sit down. The dining train is expensive like Small Pizza cost about 10 dollar but heard hearing ppl said Very good foods but expensive. I never tried it myself. Once in Utah, the engine was broke down for 7 hours and attendant want me to go Dining train. She gave me Bus Money and Ticket from Chicago to Milwaukee. My mother was upset cuz she had to pick me up at 12 30 am. She hated that late. It is long walk and "hurry" to get in train. I have seen ppl and children walk fast or run fast to get in train. Poor my kids was so tired that night. It was good experience for me. I would go on Amtrak again with family someday. :)
Mommyof3
 
Meg said:
Is it too late? In the other thread, it was said that you have to buy it in person, not online. I ordered my tickets with my Visa last week. I had no idea that they give out discounts for anyone with disabilities.

I could use some savings because my girls wants to go to Disneyland, Universal Studios and Magic Mountain while on our 10 day stay in Southern California.
Click to expand...
No, It isn't. You can do it over the phone. Either through relay or a hearie friend. Only time I did it was on the phone. Give them a call and talk to them.
 
I lived with trains when I was in New Jersey, and also in Germany.
Once I moved to Utah, I was surprised with the lack of trains here, besides the TRAX network in SLC which only has two lines. It has made me realise what I had before I was taking for granted. Now, I have to commute in my car to downtown.

The fastest train I ever was on was either TGV in France (several times), ICE in Germany (also several times), or the Eurostar through the English Channel. I remember riding the Eurostar train very quickly, about 300 kph on the Belgian side, only to be slowed down once in England. Right now, I think in England, the limit is 186 mph. It's nice to just take the Eurostar from London and be in Paris 2h30m later. And it was pretty cheap when I went... 40$ one way.

The longest journey on train would have to be Darmstadt, Germany to Paris, France (6-7 hours). I also rode the TGV from Lyon to Paris, but I don't remember how long it was as I was asleep. I think it was more like 3 hours.
 
Also, in Europe, if you are 26 years old or under, you can get special discounts. I took advantage of that, as well as using my Bahncard which enabled me 50% discount on all German rails. Saved me a lot of money when I was living in Germany.
 
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