Amtrak stations, best and worst

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Bob Dylan said:
Alamo Wye: you are correct about the Austin Station (UP owned) being "Hidden" and hard to get to/from.

But since Lyft and Uber left in a snit after losing the referendum here,there are now Six so called "Ride Share" companies operating along with Four Taxi Companies.

Taxis do meet the two Daily Eagles and are easy to call, as are the Ride Share Companies.

Capitol Metro, our Bus and Commuter Rail Operator ( the Red Line) is a joke, it's poorly run, a money pit and very under used due to inconvienent routes and schedules.
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When I was there I rode the Red Line to the end and back. It was curious: it was near-empty on my ride out, and then on my ride back it was super crowded and the trains going the other way were also super crowded. Then I figured it out: rush hour.
 
Manny T said:
INDIANAPOLIS IN is the WORST Amtrak station.

Paired with Greyhound it is open 24/7. Given the absence of social services in IN (thank you Hoosiers + Mike Pence) it is a major facility for the homeless and destitute who camp out there, occupy all the seats, sleep on the floor, over-utilize the facilities and park their possessions wherever. There is no place to sit while you wait for a train, and to access the tracks you have to step over people sleeping on the floor.

Nice one Amtrak.

Read some reviews on Yelp. https://www.yelp.com/biz/amtrak-indianapolis?q=station
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Manny T said:
INDIANAPOLIS IN is the WORST Amtrak station.

Paired with Greyhound it is open 24/7. Given the absence of social services in IN (thank you Hoosiers + Mike Pence) it is a major facility for the homeless and destitute who camp out there, occupy all the seats, sleep on the floor, over-utilize the facilities and park their possessions wherever. There is no place to sit while you wait for a train, and to access the tracks you have to step over people sleeping on the floor.

Nice one Amtrak.

Read some reviews on Yelp. https://www.yelp.com/biz/amtrak-indianapolis?q=station
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Dunno "worst", there's other stations a bit like that. I've missed most of them, thanks for the warning.

BUT -- Indianapolis came in second (after Lansing) for the fastest wireless in the whole USA, so stream and play while U wait. (MUCH better wireless speeds than , say San Jose)

Just trying to look on the upside :)
 
John Bobinyec said:
MARC Rider said:
Don Newcomb said:
railiner said:
How about the Philadelphia airport?

Not Amtrak, but SEPTA's regional rail station is right in the terminal--no need for a connecting shuttle or light rail ride like Baltimore and Newark require...
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I've never flown through Philadelphia and was not aware of the rail station.I'd suppose there could be four classes:

1) Amtrak station at airport. (e.g. BWI)

2) Commuter rail at airport. (Philly)

3) Metro light rail connection at airport (e.g. JFK, DCA)

4) No rail at airport. (e.g. MSY. IAD)
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The BWI Amtrak station is not at the airport, it's a 10 minute shuttle bus ride. If you want to pick up a rental car, you have to ride the shuttle bus to the airport terminal, and then ride another shuttle bus to the rental car center, even though the rental car center is fairly close to the train station.
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Can't you go from Baltimore (proper) station to BWI airport via light rail?
jb
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Well, you can, but it involves changing light rail trains at Camden Yards or getting off at Mt Royal and walking.
 
I'd say Pittsburgh comes close to being a bad station because of the dark and gloomy entrance with concrete pillars. And despite being beautiful stations, I'd also vote for Seattle and Savannah because of the bad sound environment. The waiting areas are an acoustical nightmare, in my opinion. But I have sensitive ears...
 
Our votes (based on ease of use, safety and visually beautiful)

Best:

Denver - gorgeous - easy to get to/from the airport, close to free shuttles in downtown, felt safe walking late at night

Philadelphia - when we found it, the connection to the transit was easy - and stunningly beautiful

Chicago - we love it... What can we say? Easy to get to - decent neighborhood... beautiful... and this is without seeing the improved Metro lounge.

Kansas City gets the beauty nod

and a small nod to our local station - San Jose - which has nice connections to everywhere (when Capitol Corridor runs) and does have a lovely mural

Can I say that Seattle is beautiful but for being in downtown everything seems far away and a pain to get to

Worst:

Stockton - the bus driver warned us about the station - very sketchy.

Sacramento has that 5 mile hike to the station

Portland - it's a shame because I love the staff there but OMG...do not make a wrong turn on the wrong street

I still want my husband to see Union Station in Washington DC.... it's been decades since I've seen it... I was there when it was recently renovated and loved how beautiful it was but the Amtrak area was buried in the basement - hope they've improved that.
 
Now that I think about it, I guess I like all the Union Stations best. Chicago, DC, San Diego, Los Angeles, Kansas City. They are all very beautiful. And of course Grand Central Terminal in NYC. What a magnificent building.
 
The best for us so far: LA Union Station- helpful Amtrak workers, comfortable big lounge area with patio, good connections.

Washington Union Station- great location with hotels nearby, good taxi and bus lines with helpful staff, beautiful station.

Lamy, NM- Yup- tiny station with a good connecting van to Santa Fe. No hassle stop for us.

The most problematic for us so far: NYPenn- Too busy, crowded lounges, staff not helpful sometimes,

(man sleeping on floor one time with people almost stepping on him, police all around not doing anything for him.)

Ventura, CA- not very traveler friendly

Mystic, CT- closed too much
 
I'll be a contrarian and point out that Amtrak absolutely could co-locate with Grand Canyon Railway given enough money. All that's necessary is the restoration of the Crookton-Ash Fork line for passenger trains -- about ten miles. You can still see where the roadbed is.
 
Don Newcomb said:
HBG was a very nice little station with plenty of parking. Meridian looked nice from the train. One place I thought, "I'm really going to have to come back and visit some day." is Toccoa, GA.
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I sometimes use Toccoa. There's not much of a "there" there--haven't found anyplace to have breakfast getting off an early-AM train, for example. But it's a sweet little station, comfortable for waiting for the train. And Toccoa would be a fine jumping-off point for exploring the mountains of northwestern GA and western NC--the 2-hour drive from there to my home is gorgeous. Don't know about availability of rental cars there, but there is a small motel a few blocks from the train station.
 
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Favorites are South Station, Kansas City, King Street Station.

Worst- San Antonio waiting room!
 
Nick Farr said:
Salt Lake City is the worst, for being in a Major Metro and a major stop on the CZ. I believe the plan is for a better intermodal station but that's what it was last I remember it.

View attachment 23971
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Omaha is another one on the route of the zephyr. What’s worse is that in both Salt Lake City and Omaha, the former grand stations are just a few feet away, now repurposed and used for other things. Same in Grand Junction too.
 
New York City went from worst to first with the opening of the Moynihan station. The lounge is by far the best in Amtrak's system.Los Angeles Union Station is up there,too. Historic and beautiful.
 
Sidney said:
New York City went from worst to first with the opening of the Moynihan station. The lounge is by far the best in Amtrak's system.Los Angeles Union Station is up there,too. Historic and beautiful.
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Depends on what you are looking for. Moynihan has less services than Penn. penn provides easy transfers to nj transit and LIRR and it has lots of food and drink options.
 
Shawn Ryu said:
Amtrak does not use the UTA commuter rail station building? Why not?
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Amtrak was supposed to have its own permanent structure just to the south of the existing Intermodal hub and north of its existing temporary structure. However, according to this document it was cut for budget reasons.

There's talk of running a rail trench under downtown similar to what they did in Reno. UP is generally supportive of these as they do away with grade crossings. This would also make the Rio Grande depot an actual rail depot again.
 
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