Amtrak Express

[Anon]

Has anyone used Amtrak Express before?

They have limited info on their website, but I am moving cross-country soon (New Haven to Oakland). Both start and end cities have an Amtrak station. Since I'm only moving for two years (I've promised myself!), I'm not taking furniture or anything like that with me. I'm putting my large stuff in storage and will rent a place out there that is furnished -- so, I just need to send approx. 6 boxes with clothes, books etc.

Do you know: 1) If the rates are competitive with USPS, DHL, FedEx etc. (I can always call and compare but was wondering your impression). There's some kind of Greyhound shipping service too.

2) Are there any funny kind of catches - like I have to pick up the shipment from the destination train station within 24 hours or something like that?

3) Their website says 50lb max/box. That's kind of small, but probably still fine -- with one exception. I have a keyboard that weighs 100lbs and I was hoping to send. Is there really no way to send it?

4) A tip to anyone else in my situation: Virgin America lets you take 10 bags (1 70lbs and 9 50lbs bags) for only $25 each - which is pretty cheap and maybe will be enough for me, although hauling everything to and around the airport etc. would be a pain.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Actually,

I'm starting a business selling custom made-office chairs based on seats from cars. They are supremely comfortable, and if anyone is interested let me know. *blatant plug*

But I was thinking Amtrak's Express and Greyhound's PackageXpress are two sensible ways to ship big and bulky office chairs. Does anyone agree?

 

[sechs]

They have limited info on their website, but I am moving cross-country soon (New Haven to Oakland). Both start and end cities have an Amtrak station. Since I'm only moving for two years (I've promised myself!), I'm not taking furniture or anything like that with me. I'm putting my large stuff in storage and will rent a place out there that is furnished -- so, I just need to send approx. 6 boxes with clothes, books etc.

You and a friend buy train tickets, and you can check six 50 pound boxes when you go.
I know a guy who relatively recently purchased a vacation home in Whitefish, Montana. He is slowly moving stuff there every time he takes his family up on a trip.

 

[PRR 60]

Actually,
I'm starting a business selling custom made-office chairs based on seats from cars. They are supremely comfortable, and if anyone is interested let me know. *blatant plug*

But I was thinking Amtrak's Express and Greyhound's PackageXpress are two sensible ways to ship big and bulky office chairs. Does anyone agree?

It all depends on the cost, and whether Amtrak and the 'hound will pick up and deliver door-to-door. I have never spoken to anyone who has used Amtrak Express, so I have no idea what they charge, or how they perform. However, I think it is pretty tough to beat UPS Ground for delivery service. Unlike Amtrak and Greyhound, package delivery is their business, not a sideline.

My wife and I recently had a trip to the west coast and we had some bulky items we needed while we were there. A few days before departure, we took them to the UPS store near home. They packed them up for us and shipped them to our hotel. The hotel had them in our room when we checked in. Before we left to come home, we went to the UPS store out there and shipped them home. A few days after we got back, they arrived at our door. Worked great. It's what they do.

 

[wayman]

My wife and I recently had a trip to the west coast and we had some bulky items we needed while we were there. A few days before departure, we took them to the UPS store near home. They packed them up for us and shipped them to our hotel. The hotel had them in our room when we checked in. Before we left to come home, we went to the UPS store out there and shipped them home. A few days after we got back, they arrived at our door. Worked great. It's what they do.

It's what they do, but I've had cases of extreme failure from both UPS and FedEx. In each case, I was shipping things to myself (as part of a move) and the items were packed in official UPS/FedEx boxes at the facility with supervision from an employee. And in each case, the boxes arrived mangled and partially torn open though thankfully with no missing contents. I was not impressed, to say the least, especially since the companies themselves handled or supervised the packaging process using their own materials!

If you're traveling by Amtrak, you simply can't beat the per-person two free 50-pound carry-ons, three free 50-pound checked boxes, and three additional 50-pound boxes for $10 apiece. So long as you have the means to get the cargo from home to your origin station and from your destination station to your new home, I think this is by far your best option.

If you're shipping via Amtrak Express (not traveling yourself) it's more costly and heavily route-dependent as to whether it's cost-effective compared to other shippers; you also have to factor in drop-off and pick-up on each end versus door-to-door service with other shipping services. Still, Amtrak Express can be the better deal depending on your circumstances. You really need to get advance price quotes for your specific routes, which involves knowing package dimensions and weights as well for FedEx (and probably UPS).

 

[the_traveler]

As mentioned, you are allowed 3 checked bags free per person. So of 2 people travel, you could check 6 bags free! And if you're traveling alone, besides the 3 bags free, you can take up to 3 more for $10 apiece! Where else could you move 6 bags weighing 300 total for $30? :huh:

Also, you mentioned that you are leaving from New Haven. Be aware that NHV only is served by only 1 train that you can check baggage!

 

[Guest_Anon_*]

I am personally going by plane (a lot cheaper: $140 one way plus $25/bag up to 50lbs for first ten bags). I might gave Amtrak Express a shot for some of the boxes though. If I do, I'll report back.

 

[saxman]

Amtrak Express is very reasonable. You'll have to pick your stuff up at the station, but there is no time limit I believe for Express pick up. Yes, each package is suppose to be under 50 lbs. It's a pretty good deal.

 

[wayman]

I am personally going by plane (a lot cheaper: $140 one way plus $25/bag up to 50lbs for first ten bags). I might gave Amtrak Express a shot for some of the boxes though. If I do, I'll report back.

Not sure when you're going, but just to pick a random "soon" date, on May 5th you can travel from New Haven to Oakland for $211, which includes 5 50lbs bags; or pay $241 for yourself plus a total of 8 50lbs bags. That's $100 cheaper than $140 airfare plus 8 50lbs bags at $25 apiece with none free! So even a rail fare of $300 works out to a better deal... (Of course, roomettes are a different story.)

 

[lyke99]

I rode along and helped drive as my brother helped a (now former) girlfriend move from Minneapolis to Albuquerque for grad school using Amtrak Express. This was back in the Mail and Express days of the mid-late 90s so it may not be relevant for today. They dropped off several boxes of books and other small things at Midway Station, then loaded up a full-sized van with furniture, picked me up in southern Minnesota and drove to New Mexico. On our second day in Albuquerque, we picked up the boxes at the train station.

I remember how quickly the van accelerated on the trip home when it was empty.

 

[Nickrapak]

This past summer, we sent two of our bags home via Amtrak Express from EMY-PHL. It was cheap, ~$50 for two 50-lb suitcases, and it got there in comparable time to riding the train. The only issue was when our bags forgot to get handed off for a day at CHI. the 50 lb limit is absolute--I had to move shoes from one bag to another, because the one was 50.6 lbs. Once the bags get there, you have 72 hours to pick them up at the station, or you will be charged a handling fee. They do not deliver door-to-door.

 

[transit54]

I am personally going by plane (a lot cheaper: $140 one way plus $25/bag up to 50lbs for first ten bags). I might gave Amtrak Express a shot for some of the boxes though. If I do, I'll report back.

Woa, what airline is that? $25/bag for 10 bags is an unbelievable deal compared to most of the rates I see from carriers today.

For the record, while I've never used Amtrak Express, my sister moved to college using Amtrak and a friend of mine moved across the country with Amtrak, both utilizing Amtrak's generous checked baggage allowances. Both had absolutely no problem doing so and saved bundles of money versus traditional carriers.

I've only used Greyhound PackageXpress once, but had a very positive experience. The wonderful thing about Greyhound versus FedEx/UPS is that they don't charge dimensional weight. So for large items (like GML's chairs) they are an incredible value compared to UPS/FedEx. For more compact items, there isn't a tremendous price advantage and I'd go with a regular parcel carrier.

The friend who moved across the country had a kayak that she wanted to take with her. I love a good logistics challenge, so I volunteered to take care of it. It was well outside of Amtrak's limitations at 63 lbs and 82" in length. However, it barely made it under the Greyhound length restriction. I was able to ship it from Vermont to California for a mere $67 and it arrived in nine days. UPS/FedEx wouldn't even take it, and everyone else quoted me at a minimum of twice Greyhound's price. It arrived safe and intact.

I believe Amtrak doesn't charge for dimensional weight either, but they are capped at 50 lbs and no dimension larger than 50" unless you put your item on a shipping pallet (and then they restrict the stations that can load and unload it). Amtrak would always be my preference for shipping, but many times Greyhound fits the bill (plus I can't ship on Amtrak from anywhere close to where I live, while Greyhound accepts packages right in town).

 

[sechs]

Woa, what airline is that? $25/bag for 10 bags is an unbelievable deal compared to most of the rates I see from carriers today.

Virgin America:http://virginamerica.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/...amp;p_topview=1

They have a relatively small footprint and, like many airlines, they're losing lots of money.

 

[Guest_Anon_*]

Thanks everyone. I'd love to take Amtrak across the country myself but unfortunately don't have the time (I need those three days looking for an apartment on the West Coast). But you are right that Amtrak may come out to be a bit less expensive depending on how many bags I bring. Maybe on the way back!

I found out from Amtrak Express: they don't accept shipments anywhere in Connecticut. So I have to go to Newark, NJ or Providence, RI to ship anything (I forgot to ask about Springfield, Mass.). That's a bit of pain for me, but I may do it to ship my bike. (They said $65 for Newark to Oakland for a bike, plus $15 more for a box if I don't have one already). The 50lbs limit is an absolute limit, so no way to ship the keyboard. And it is about $55 to ship a 50lbs box from Newark to Oakland.

I'll update here once I find out more. I still can't believe I can take 10 bags on Virgin America, but I've called them up to confirm. I imagine the people at the check-in desk will be surprised (or maybe they see it all the time, seeing they are the only airline that is so generous).

 

[Guest_Anon_*]

Quick update: Greyhound seems like the way to go. You can ship from many more locations (right here in New Haven, as opposed to going to Newark), they take packages up to 100lbs and the rates seem cheaper than Amtrak too. I think I am going to try busfreighter.com which is a service that uses Greyhound, but lets you ship more stuff, gives slightly better rates, and also offers door-to-door service if you want it. Between that and Virgin America's very generous baggage allowance, I should be all set! More than 7 weeks until I actually make the move but this seems like it should work well.

(Too bad - I would rather have my money going to support Amtrak but they aren't making it easy with the strict 50lbs maximum and their unwillingness to pick up anything in New Haven. I've never understood why the Amtrak window at Union Station/New Haven is often staffed if only one train lets you check baggage. I'd thought it was for Amtrak Express but apparently not).

 

[railiner]

One advantage of Amtrak and especially Greyhound over the dedicated package services like UPS and Fedex for business shippers is the fact that in many cases you may ship items that will arrive not overnite, at a premium price, but actually same day service....sometimes just a few hours after shipping, and seven days a week. I have seen shipped on Greyhound many examples of short-haul, perishable items such as human blood, fresh flowers, and frozen fish, etc.

 

[volkris]

Here's the list of airline baggage fees that I use: http://www.kayak.com/airline-fees

$15-$25 is the normal range for the first checked bag if they charge at all. There are still some airlines who don't.

 

[transit54]

Here's the list of airline baggage fees that I use: http://www.kayak.com/airline-fees$15-$25 is the normal range for the first checked bag if they charge at all. There are still some airlines who don't.

Nice link, volkris!

I'm a big JetBlue flier (and, as many here know, a former employee), but I rarely check bags to begin with. I was pretty surprised to hear that VA would allow someone to check 10 bags, and only for $25/piece. I wish that Kayak provided information on the maximum amount of luggage that could be checked, also. Might serve a useful comparison against Amtrak/other options.