Southwest Chief Question

3 first time Amtrak passengers will be boarding the Southwest Chief in Kansas City heading to Chicago on a Friday morning in mid-August. We were wondering how crowded the train will be and will it be hard to find seats in the same vicinity. We've decided not to check our bags since we only have a 2 hour layover in Chicago before heading to Milwaukee. We didn't want to take a chance with the train being late, waiting on our bags and missing the next train. Good idea? Any other tips for riding this train would be appreciated.

Why not check your bags all the way to Milwaukee? Or are you going to the airport station only?

The Hiawatha's are frequent compared to the rest of the lines, so don't sweat the connection.

If you are going to the Milwaukee Station, the Hiawatha carry checked bags, so I would check my bags all the way.

According to Amsnag, current bookings indicate that SWC coaches will be very crowded on August 11; not very crowded on August 18. Subject to change as your travel date draws nearer.

This train has reserved seating, so you will not be able to sit just anywhere. You will be given a seat assignment as you board. Tell the boarding attendant (could possibly be the conductor) that you have three people who want to sit together. They will try to accommodate your request, and in most cases will either have you sitting across from each other or directly in front or back. Personally, I've never had a problem with three or four travelers getting seats together on any Amtrak train.

I would suggest being toward the beginning of the boarding line, so you can make your request early in the process. There will be a number of people getting off in Kansas City, so getting seats together shouldn't be a problem. This is a busy time, so the train might be sold out, another reason to be in front of the line.

choochoodood said:

This train has reserved seating, so you will not be able to sit just anywhere. You will be given a seat assignment as you bpoard. Tell the boarding attendant (could possibly be the conductor) that you have three people who want to sit together. They will try to accommodate your request, and in most cases will either have you sitting across from each other or directly in front or back. Personally, I've never had a problem with three or four travelers getting seats together on any Amtrak train.

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Thanks for the information. When I booked on-line it wouldn't allow me to reserve seats at that time and when I called Amtrak reservations to check on reserved seating all I was told was that I couldn't reserve seats. You'd think they would explain the process a bit better.

CCC1007 said:

Why not check your bags all the way to Milwaukee? Or are you going to the airport station only?

The Hiawatha's are frequent compared to the rest of the lines, so don't sweat the connection.

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Lonestar648 said:

If you are going to the Milwaukee Station, the Hiawatha carry checked bags, so I would check my bags all the way.

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I didn't realize the Hiawatha had checked bags. We will do that. Thanks.

Regarding reserved seats, seating in Coach on Amtrak trains is unassigned even on trains with all reserved seats. Reserved seats on Amtrak simply means you have a guaranteed seat on that train but not a reserved assigned seat location. It is very similar to Southwest Airlines. Depending on the boarding city and the train, the coach attendant may assign you a seating location or let you choose any open seat. Sometimes depending on your destination you will be assigned a "car number". The only unreserved Amtrak train operating out of Chicago Union Station is the Hiawatha's to Milwaukee which run about every 70 minutes throughout the day into the night. In that case you board from a lounge specifically for the Hiawtha's and car location and seating is first come first serve. There is a quiet car if you so choose. Just ask the conductors which is the quiet car.

The Quiet Car on the Hiawatha is always the last/rear car of the train (in the direction of travel). So if boarding at Chicago, it will be the car closest to the station.

And not to be too nit-picky, but the Hiawatha runs every 2-3 hours - I wish it were closer to 70 minutes/hourly-ish.

If you want to know if a train has checked baggage, you can look at the Train's Schedule found on the Amtrak site. Look for the symbol of a bag by the station and in the comments section.