fatgirljesse

Hi I just looked at amtrax and for the afternoon I want to travel there are no services with checked baggage. Travelling from Australia! We will have suitcases. Are there any other rail operators I can look a?

elberko

Amtrak is the only choice, and you can take luggage, no problem, on any train. You must carry and stow yourself, though.

nytraveler

Between NYC and DC your choices are Amtrak, long-distance bus and flying. The former is usually the most reliable in terms of timing and prices are not bad it tickets are bought far enough in advance.

No - there is no checked baggage but a LOT of people will have bags.

When the train is announced at Penn Station you have about 11 or 12 minutes to locate and get to the correct platform on the concourse, race down the two fights of steps, get on the train and hope you can find seats together (since it is coming from Boston).

If you have more than a shoulder carry-on I would hire a Red Cap who will know in advance what track the train will come on and take you and your luggage down in advance (they have keys to the escalator) so you can be on the platform as the train comes in. If the luggage is large they will help you haul it on the train and find room for it.

There is no charge for this - they work on tips - so be generous - $5 or more per person - more if a lot of bags. (Small bags can go in overhead bins, larger one at the end of the car - if there is still room.)

ellenem

"No checked baggage" means you are allowed to bring baggage, but you handle and stow it yourself, like carry-on luggage on an airplane. There is an official limit to the number of bags you can bring, but no one is actually counting each person's baggage.

thursdaysd

Both Penn Station and Union Station have checked baggage services. It is specific to the station, not the train. See http://www.amtrak.com/baggage-policy

I travel with one wheeled bag and a carry on and have no trouble handling them myself (and I'm a 60 something female). I don't remember seeing a porter, other than the ones handling checked bags, but I haven't needed one.

I would never say that Amtrak is reliable in terms of timing, since it shares the tracks with freight and freight has priority. Virginia is particularly bad. If you take Acela rather than a regular train you might have better luck, but it will cost more and isn't that much faster.

doug_stallings

There are no checked bags of any kind on the NE corridor, so all you have to do is to deal with your own luggage. If you don't want to do that, then your next best bet is to take a bus and place your luggage underneath. A lot of people with giant bags do that just so they don't have to lug them up and down stairs and onto trains. It can be a bit slower, but there's good, cheap service on several bus lines between DC and NYC.

thursdaysd

"There are no checked bags of any kind on the NE corridor"

So how come Amtrak says you can check bags at Penn Station and Union Station?

tomfuller

The NE Corridor trains and the Acela do not have checked baggage but the long distance trains that go beyond Washington (such as the Crescent) do. The Red Caps will help you get your bags to the train. You will have to stow your own bag on the train. The weight limit is 50 lb. per bag but they don't have a scale. Please don't overload your bags!

elberko

Amtrak has their own special definitions for words...

RESERVED SEATS in Amtrak-ese means:
YES, we have seats! help yourself, and good luck finding 2 together at busy times! This included Business class.

Be aware that Saver tickets, the lowest prices, need to be grabbed early, so if you know when you will be traveling, grab them.

thursdaysd

So if I board the Carolinian in New York bound for Washington I get checked baggage service, but if I board the Northeast Regional I don't? What if I board the Northeast Regional going to Richmond?

elberko

Here's Amtrak's page about checking luggage. I have no personal experience, though.

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/Conten...=1251621565010

IMDonehere

I love the train from NY to DC because it goes from downtown to downtown. And while Union Station in DC is quite nice, Penn in NYC is a third world terminus. They are building a new facility across the street from it.

The signs are poor and often they post the track about ten minutes before departure and there is a mad dash. There are also commuter trains there for NY suburbs so about 600,000 people use it daily.

That said, it is still preferable than the shuttle from La Guardia.

doug_stallings

thursdaysd, you have summarized check baggage correctly. NE Regional trains do not have checked bags (even if you are going to Richmond); the Carolinian does.

While you can check bags at NY Penn, you can't check them on all or even most trains that leave from that station.

BigRuss

>

This may oversell Penn Station. What a pit.

>

This is true, and incredibly stupid. Considering Amtrak has priority at Penn Station, the station da-n well ought to know when the train will arrive and which track it will be assigned far in advance.

Union Station is even "quite nice" under the Aussie definition. Too bad you're not going the other way so you can relax in DC and arrive in NYC with the "get me out of here" ethos folks have when they reach their destinations.

thursdaysd

Interesting - I just learned something. Looks like the OP would need to take the Vermonter at 6:45 pm if s/he wanted baggage service. Or travel light enough to DIY.

nytraveler

A lot of people take their own luggage on the NY to DC route - since much of the travel is people going from one to the other for the weekend and they just have a small carry-on they can put on the shoulder or pick up and carry down the stairs easily.

I'm assuming travelers from Australia have more luggage - and hence the need for the Red Caps - which easily solve the big bag problem.

janisj

Traveling from OZ doesn't mean one needs a ton of luggage. Unless one is moving to the States, any trip should be doable w/ luggage small enough to handle yourself.

sf7307

I once arrived at Penn Station in plenty of time for my train, and ended up getting on a train going in the wrong direction due to the mad scramble once the track was announced. Since then, I've taken the train from NY Penn to DC, and hired a Red Cap, which is relatively stress free. You sign up when you get to the waiting lounge, and they'll find you when it's time for your group to depart for the platform (a whole group will go together with one Red Cap). They'll take your luggage along with everyone else's down the escalator, and deposit you and your luggage on the platform. At least you won't have to wrestle with your luggage to get it downstairs, and you'll know you're in the right place for your train. Also, you go down before the masses. Worth every penny of the tip.

nytraveler

In my experience MANY people travel on the train with a 26" or 28" bag plus a carry-on - which I would not want to haul down all of those stairs. Obviously the less luggage the easier to handle but many people just don't pack that way.

basingstoke2

One of the options mentioned is going by bus, and that is a very viable option. There are several bus lines on that route but IMO the best is BOLT Bus. Their buses tend to be newer and cleaner than their competition. Like the train, the bus goes downtown to downtown. It takes longer, but not significantly so unless traffic is particularly bad, but is also costs much less. BOLT tickets should be bought online and the price usually increases as the departure date nears. An advantage of the bus as mentioned is that your luggage is stowed beneath the bus so you do not have to handle it once you reach the bus. A disadvantage is that BOLT does not use an indoor terminal - a decided disadvantage in the rain when you will have no shelter as you wait to board.