National Train Day Is Coming

A certain element in my household is very excited about this weekend, and I’m not talking about Mother’s Day.

Saturday is National Train Day, in recognition of which that element and I are taking Amtrak from Hartford to New Haven to attend a discussion about rail transportation and bicycling. (I once took my bike on Amtrak to Montpelier, Vt., which was a rocking good time despite my discovery that Montpelier, Vt., is made of hills.)

There are events all over the country to mark National Train Day, which itself marks the 140th anniversary of the “golden spike,” driven into the rails to connect the Central Pacific and Union Pacific rails, creating a coast-to-coast track.

Also, if you’re a member of Amtrak Guest Rewards, you can get extra points for riding the train through May 16.

Happy Mother’s Day.

Amtrak vs. BoltBus vs. Megabus

My recent trip to Washington turned into an experiment in mass transit comparison.
I went down on the Amtrak Northeast Regional train and returned to Hartford on BoltBus and Megabus, with a change of buses in New York.

The experience was fine on each form of transit. Naturally, Amtrak feels like the most civilized option because you can get up, walk around and buy a cup of coffee or a snack. It’s also considerably more expensive.

The buses were both good. I ended up, overall, with a more favorable impression of BoltBus, but that might be entirely anecdotal.

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Amtrak Quiet Car Raises Etiquette Questions

So here’s a new travel etiquette issue for me, and I could use some advice from readers.

I got on Amtrak’s Northeast Regional train in Hartford yesterday and realized, after I sat down,that I was in the quiet car. (The signs were the tipoff: “Quiet Car. Please refrain from loud talking or using cell phones in this car.”)

Great! I was traveling alone and had a lot of work to do. Quiet would be excellent.

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NYC Cops Enforce Nonexistent Photo Ban In Subways

As a travel blogger, I like to take photos of transit now and then. Planes, trains, buses, that sort of thing.

It’s a little geeky, I know. But it shouldn’t be illegal.

Which is why it’s worrisome to read about the police in New York arresting a guy for taking a picture in a subway station, even though it’s perfectly legal to do so. It’s also pretty common — there are plenty of subway photos online, as well as videos on YouTube.

I know the argument. The idea is that we can somehow hide information about and photos of public places to thwart terrorists. But it’s not convincing and that’s why there’s no law against taking photos in subways.

A Train Video To Remember

My friend Tom showed me this video today. It’s of a train that passes through a market in Bangkok. Pretty wild:

Amtrak Offers 15 Percent Discount In Northeast

Here’s a nice promotion from Amtrak: get 15 percent off tickets in the Northeast region if you book online before Dec. 12 for travel between Dec. 9 and Feb. 28.

It’s only a slightly better deal than the usual discount I get for being a member of AAA, but I’ll take it. (And when you book, do watch out that you don’t select AAA Adult for the fare instead of just plain Adult.)

This Northeast Regional Winter Sale is offered only on Amtrak’s Web site.

Another Good Amtrak Experience

For years I have found Amtrak maddeningly inconsistent — a great ride when things go well and a nightmare when they don’t.

Oh, yes, we have suffered some Amtrak-related delays in my family. Hours that we will never get back, sacrificed for reasons that were never entirely clear. The train was late. The train ran out of fuel. The train sort of didn’t come and we had to take a bus.

And, yet. Just this week when I arrived at the Amtrak station in Seattle with the wrong tickets – I had inexplicably bought them for the wrong month - a friendly Amtrak ticket agent quickly, efficiently and kindly changed the tickets. It’s not the first time an Amtrak employee has gone beyond the call of duty to help me or my family.

Just thought I ought to shout out.

Amtrak Train Runs Out Of Fuel

An Amtrak train in California ran out of fuel yesterday. Why does this seem so familiar? Oh, yeah, because it happened to a train my kid was on last November.

Bring Back The Montrealer

Seems Amtrak’s Downeaster, between Boston and Portland, Maine, is showing a big surge in ridership. This is great news, and I hope it will persuade Amtrak to take another look at its long-abandoned Montrealer route.

The husband and I drove up to Montreal this past weekend, which cost us more than $120 in gas. I don’t feel good about that, or about the carbon emissions, either.

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When The Best-Laid Travel Plans Go Astray

I’ve been pretty damned stationary lately for a travel blogger, but the husband has been out and about. So I give you a dispatch from Don Stacom:

Odd Couple fans might recall an episode where Felix was remorseful over betting a “sure thing” that managed to lose anyway. His buddy Oscar, long addicted to bookies and betting, sadly consoled him: “That’s why they call it gambling.”

And so it is with travel – even the safest bet is still just a bet. Sometimes you’re going to lose.

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