VariogarminHowever, when I recommend Amtrak to my piers here in Atlanta, they are usually surprised to hear that Amtrak even serves Atlanta.
Yup. Amtrak is worse than irrelevant in much of the country. In my experience, the coach service north from Atlanta is pretty mediocre. If I left my house outside Atlanta about 4 PM, drove for 6 hours, over-nighted, then finished the trip the next morning, I'd be at my destination about the same time as taking the Crescent.
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
Trips to New York, Baltimore, and DC so far.
A year ago last November I traveled from New Orleans to Newark, NJ on the Crescent. My train left at 7:00 am and arrived about 2 pm the next day. There was an hour layover in Washington, time enough to get off the train and buy a newspaper. I had 2 breakfasts on the train which were OK but not as good as I hoped. The first day it took a while to get the dining car set up so I could not have breakfast as we crossed Lake Ponchartrain. But the coffee was good. The second day I found better company than on the first day and had an enjoyable conversation.
I rode in a coach. The next time I think I'll take a sleeping car as it was less comfortable than I hoped but that was really my decision and no fault of Amtrak's. From New Orleans the train was moderately full but out of Atlanta it was very full.
On the whole it was a pleasant and restful journey for a day and a half. I would definitely do it again.
The map of the Tokyo system is more complicated, more like a spaggetti bowel than New York, but it is a less complicated system to use, because generally there are only one or two lines at each platform, not like 59th Street Columbus Circle, 50-47th St. , 42nd St. , and 43th St., 6th Avenue, DeKalb Avenue, Bklyn, Atlantic Avenue IRT in Brooklyn, Roosevelt Avenue and Forest Hills, Queens, with four. (and others) And then there is the idea of the D during Rush hours running express in The Bronx and local at other times, ditto the E running to Euclid with A express in Brooklyn on Fulton, but running local when the E does not run, N local via Montague St. Tunnel or express via Manhattan Bridge, etc.
John WRFrom New Orleans the train was moderately full but out of Atlanta it was very full.
oltmanndWere all the coaches open out of NOL or only a couple?
As I recall only a couple of coaches were open. New Orleans is a terminal so we walked from the end of the train. About the middle there were train personnel directing us and pointing to a specific coach. I do know my coach was for people going beyond Atlanta.
Each time I rode was in a sleeper... used those points off the Amtrak card... needless to say it was probably better than coach. My 3 and 4 year old sons had a ball looking out the window half the night.
VariogarminEach time I rode was in a sleeper.
I have made the trip in a sleeper. You're right, it is better than a coach.
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