Coach Comfort?

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ciship

Service Attendant
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May 4, 2004
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Are pillows and blankets offered or available in coach for overnight travel (like they are on airplanes)?

Also, for men well over 6 feet, is there anywhere in coach better to be seated (more leg room) and how likely is it to get that seat if it's available? Does the coach attendant take that into consideration when assigning seats?
 
No pillow or blankets anymore. You can buy a comfort kit onboard for $8 (or at http://store.amtrak.com/ProductList.aspx?did=18102 if you have time for it to be shipped to your home).

The only seats that might have extra legroom would be the ones with bulkheads in front - therefore you lose having a tray.

I took my own blanket and a travel pillow. I put the travel pillow in a ziploc bag and squished it down flat enough to fit into my overnight bag. It fluffed right back up when I took it out.
 
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you are better off hauling a pillow and blanket with you than buying the "comfort kit" on board, imho. the "bulkhead" seats have more unobstructed legroom but as was noted above no fold down tray. i prefer them. the coach attendant may honor a request for one if they are unoccupied
 
Hmmm....not having the fold down tray would definitely be a pain.......especially if you need to work on your laptop or watch a movie.
 
It depends on how much over six foot you are. Normal Amtrak Superliner coach seats have WAY more legroom than a typical first class airline seat and lay back much farther. Also included is a foot rest that folds down from the seat in front of you. Seats are also much wider than coach airline seats but do lack a divider armrest between passengers.
 
The pitch between Superliner coach seats is 50". They're much more comfortable than airline seats. I've been seated next to male passengers who were 6'2", or thereabouts, and they seemed to have plenty of leg room.

Personally, I find the pitch to be too long, as I can't reach the footrest comfortably, but I do love having all that room, and I'd rather the tall passengers be comfortable than have a shorter pitch and sacrifice that comfort level. I just tuck my feet up on the leg rest instead. :)
 
Depending on how long your journey is, be aware that the front seats may be right next to the restrooms. On an overnight, this can be kind of busy.

Also, I've seen families with small children take advantage of the extra real estate (and I'm glad it's available for them).
 
On single-level Amfleets that is an issue with bulkhead seats which also shouldn't be [SIZE=10pt]available[/SIZE] for general passengers since it is the ADA wheelchair tie-down space.

On Superliners the restrooms are downstairs so the bulkheads are simply near the ends of the cars or stairways and probably louder. If I'm on a rare Superliner train that lets me choose my seat I generally won't choose the bulkheads but there [SIZE=10pt]definitely[/SIZE] better seats for overnight travel that directly across from the staircase where I keep having the unforchunately.
 
The only logical alternative to a coach on Amtrak Superliners would be a Coachette, which would be a car containing 13 rooms and 5 bathrooms. The 13 rooms would be the size of a Bedroom, consisting of two sofas facing each other, producing 4 beds at night.

This would provide for 52 berths which would be reserved individually and segregated by gender unless reserved by the entire family. A standard Superliner Coach holds 74 iirc. So to make the same money you'd have to add a turndown/bedding fee, let's say $15 (covers the cars attendant plus the actual bedding) and increase the rail fare plus a 50% upcharge for the increased space taken. So if Chicago NY costs $100 in coach, the upcharge for a Coachette would have to be $65 a person.

A Viewliner Coachette could consist of 10 rooms and two bathrooms in the same basic configuration but the improved height would allow for six people a room and so it would hold more people (60). That, ironically, could be provided for about a $20 upcharge over coach.
 
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FWIW, if you bring a blanket and pillow, they do not count against the carry-on limit. :) You are explicitly allowed to bring a blanket and pillow in addition to your other carry-ons. So do so.
 
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I use an inflatable neck pillow and have a thin soft wool blanket that folds to almost nothing. That and a sleep mask and I'm all set to tune out for the night.

The seats on the CL are crazy large and roomy compared to an airplane. That's what sold me on train travel. I had always thought a LD train would be sort of hellish thinking the seats were like the sardine slots on an airplane and I'd never get comfortable. I was pleasantly surprised to find they're like having your own recliner.

My only issue is that i'm generally a side or belly sleeper and that's somewhat less easy to do on a recliner...heh. I can generally get onto my side in a way that doesn't intrude on my seat mate's space many times.
 
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I use an inflatable neck pillow and have a thin soft wool blanket that folds to almost nothing. That and a sleep mask and I'm all set to tune out for the night.

The seats on the CL are crazy large and roomy compared to an airplane. That's what sold me on train travel. I had always thought a LD train would be sort of hellish thinking the seats were like the sardine slots on an airplane and I'd never get comfortable. I was pleasantly surprised to find they're like having your own recliner.

My only issue is that i'm generally a side or belly sleeper and that's somewhat less easy to do on a recliner...heh. I can generally get onto my side in a way that doesn't intrude on my seat mate's space many times.
The items you mentioned pretty much describe the Amtrak "Comfort Kit" except it includes a set of earplugs and a small bag to keep it all together.

http://store.amtrak.com/ProductDetail.aspx?did=18102&pid=125434

It's generally available for sale in the snack bar.
 
Hmmm....not having the fold down tray would definitely be a pain.......especially if you need to work on your laptop or watch a movie.
I was in seat 43 on the Zephyr (#5) over the weekend, and although I generally agree with the loss of the tray is a problem... the added foot space more than made up for it - if I had a choice again, I'd opt for the extra space.
 
The only logical alternative to a coach on Amtrak Superliners would be a Coachette, which would be a car containing 13 rooms and 5 bathrooms. The 13 rooms would be the size of a Bedroom, consisting of two sofas facing each other, producing 4 beds at night.

This would provide for 52 berths which would be reserved individually and segregated by gender unless reserved by the entire family. A standard Superliner Coach holds 74 iirc. So to make the same money you'd have to add a turndown/bedding fee, let's say $15 (covers the cars attendant plus the actual bedding) and increase the rail fare plus a 50% upcharge for the increased space taken. So if Chicago NY costs $100 in coach, the upcharge for a Coachette would have to be $65 a person.

A Viewliner Coachette could consist of 10 rooms and two bathrooms in the same basic configuration but the improved height would allow for six people a room and so it would hold more people (60). That, ironically, could be provided for about a $20 upcharge over coach.
Ah yes, that would be IDEAL, but I somehow don't think this will happen in this country. :(
 
Here are a few points that I've noticed about coach seating and comfort:

The Amtrak coach seat found on many LD trains offers plenty of legroom and a reasonable reclining pitch. My preference is the Superliner where the upper deck is insulated from most rail noise. The other single-level cars found on eastern LD trains are fine and seats just as roomy. I bring earplugs so I can fully relax and block out the occasional people chatter.

What I have really enjoyed are the plush coach seats that were (perhaps still are) located in the upper-level of the old Santa Fe cars which shared a coach seating area with crew dorms. As I remember, those seats really recline back and are much more comfortable than the regular coach seats on the "newer" Superliner cars. I found those seats on the SWC in the 90's and rode quite comfortably from LA to Chicago several times. I don't know why Amtrak didn't use the same generous seat pitch as those "Santa Fe car seats" on the other coach seats in the newer Superliner cars.

In terms of comfort, coach is a nice way to travel long distance and economically. I always ride in coach unless my better half is joining me on the trip. She loves the Viewliner Roomette and surprisingly quiet acoustics while looking out the window.

I believe that Amtrak should test a 2x2 business class seat concept with an extended seat pitch - in the rear-half (upper level) of a Superlner coach car. Such a trial could be done on west coast LD trains from Chicago and the Capitol Limited to DC. The car could be positioned right next to the Superliner lounge, so everyone in coach would know that the seats are available for purchase when they walk past the seating area into the lounge. I for one would be very interested in traveling in such a seating arrangement. As I recall, most Amtrak Business Class seats do not have an extended pitch. Such is an important feature so one can kick back and really relax. The degree of pitch found on those old Santa Fe seats would be ideal for a business class seat on the Superliners and other LD trains.
 
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