Difference between reserved coach and lower level coach?

[scutterbear]

Hey everyone!

I'm looking at the amtrak site right now and am trying to figure out a date to leave for Montana.

I am thinking about just taking coach from Memphis to Chicago since it's only 11 hours (hopefully) and it's in the middle of the night. I'll get a room from Chicago to Whitefish.

But I don't understand what the difference between "reserved coach" vs "lower level coach".

can someone help me with that?

Coach for 11 hours isn't all that bad, is it?

Oh and also....................

If I go ahead and book a room from Chicago to Whitefish, can I still use the lounge place at the train station in chicago? and do they have wi-fi in the that lounge?

thanks!

Mark

 

[Trogdor]

Lower-level coach means that you'd be seated in the lower level area of a Superliner coach. The restrooms and luggage racks would be nearby, and there would be very little foot traffic. The downside is that you'd have a bit more track noise, and you'd have to go upstairs anyway to go to other cars (diner, lounge).

Reserved coach will have you on the upper level.

Coach for 11 hours isn't bad, if you think you can handle it.

If you have a same-day sleeper ticket for either an arriving or a departing train, you can use the Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago, which does have WiFi.

 

[scutterbear]

ok, thank you!

are the lower level seats reserved or is it first come first served?

and if it's first come first served, is there any chance that something could happen and the train books solid and I might not get a seat?

 

[Alice]

ok, thank you!

are the lower level seats reserved or is it first come first served?

and if it's first come first served, is there any chance that something could happen and the train books solid and I might not get a seat?

They are reserved in the sense that the number of people holding those tickets will not exceed the number of seats. However, they are not reserved in the sense that seat numbers are not assigned, so if you want a window seat for instance, it is first come first served, and you may not get it.

I have also heard of people with downstairs reservations being sent upstairs in order to accommodate people who can't climb the stairs and didn't know to reserve downstairs.

Also, sometimes there will not be enough seats anyway. For instance, if another earlier train is cancelled, those people might be given seats on your train. This could also happen if one of the coach cars has a problem ("bad-ordered"). In that case, almost always, there will be other seats somewhere, maybe in a lounge car. There is one thread recently where people stood in the vestibule, but I'm sure they got vouchers for future travel if they asked for them, and this is the only time I've ever heard of that.

 

[the_traveler]

As Alice said, most times the lower level seats are usually used by those who can not climb the stairs easily. But once I had lower level coach (I know - I'm shocked I had coach too

), but got a seat upstairs. (The train was not sold out - there were plenty of seats!) Many times, I see fewer than 5 people in the lower seating area.

 

[icbrkr]

Maybe I'm a bit spoiled, but if I'm unable to get/afford a room, I'll aim to reserve lower level coach. It's quieter and less traffic going through there and just feels more roomy.

 

[EB_OBS]

Think of Lower Level seating, on a Reserved train, as Double reserved. You must have a reservation in order to board a Reserved train and that reservation and ticket must be for Lower-Level to sit downstairs.

 

[rrdude]

Think of Lower Level seating, on a Reserved train, as Double reserved. You must have a reservation in order to board a Reserved train and that reservation and ticket must be for Lower-Level to sit downstairs.

Wellllll, kind of. If the train isn't full, or the lower level isn't all reserved, most coach attendants and conductors won't mind if you sit there, just make sure to ask them politely.

But why you would want to sit on the lower level, other than mobility issues, is beyond me. The view from the upper level is ten times better, IMHO.