Water availability in Coach

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As I have not traveled by train since 2003 or so, I have no clue about some things. Sorry if this has been asked before, but I could not find any info when searching.

Can someone tell me if there is potable water available in the coach car on the LSL, CZ and CS? Also, is it healty enough to drink? I would rather use water flavor packs than have to drag juice or soda with me. I know I can get ice in the lounge car, but want to save as much as possible for fun rather than ice, etc.
 
Yes, Potable Water is Available in the Coaches but as you say putting a Flavor Additive in it helps overcome the less than Thrilling Taste!

In Sleepining Cars Bottled Water is Avaialble for Free and if you Eat in the Diner Meals include Coffee,Tea,Milk or Water! Bottled Water in the Cafe Car is for Sale @ $2 or so a Bottle!
 
Well last time i took the builder, we had water avalible in coach. Granted it was warm and tasted horrible. But that may be because the train sat 2 hours in the coach yard with engine trouble. It should be the same on the CS. Enjoy your 10 year reunion with Amtrak!
 
I tend to drink a lot of water, and usually buy a 1 gallon water from a nearby store before joining the train, if it is long distance. My biggest pet hate is being charged over the top prices for a tiny water bottle, at an airport or station! I think the train water dispenser would be my last resort, even drink budwieser before that!

Ed :cool:
 
There is water and theoretically it will be from some municipal supply that's safe to drink.

That being said, there are way too many factors that will affect how palatable the water is. How long it's been there has been mentioned. The particular water supply (or combination of supplies) matters. When it's been last cleaned and/or disinfected matters.

The other thing is that the water dispensers are really only designed for those little paper cups. I don't think they really want people drawing down too much at a time so that all passengers have enough. You might be able to fill up a Brita bottle though. That might filter away some off tastes as long as it's not too bad.
 
I always bring my own and would use the on-board water as a backup. If the water is available, the taste is a little off. At extended stops, you can always refill the bottle from a fountain in the station.

Depending on how you're getting to the train, sometimes I'll freeze a couple of bottles beforehand. They keep the others somewhat cool and when they're melted, just drink those.
 
I always bring my own and would use the on-board water as a backup. If the water is available, the taste is a little off. At extended stops, you can always refill the bottle from a fountain in the station.

Depending on how you're getting to the train, sometimes I'll freeze a couple of bottles beforehand. They keep the others somewhat cool and when they're melted, just drink those.
I was thinking about bringing a small six-pack hard side cooler, this would work well with the frozen water bottles. Maybe with all the posts recommendations, I will wait to get more water until I get to Chicago. I will bring enough or buy what I need on the train. I would rather spend a little than to drink something that might make me sick.
 
Does anyone know how often the water tanks and plumbing are thoroughly cleaned out?
I would hope they would flush the tanks during a turnaround. If not I hope at least once a month. the thought of them never being cleaned, or only being cleaned when out of service for extended periods of time disgusts me.
 
Bit of advice on the water tap for public use: let it flow for about 20 seconds before putting your cup beneath it and filling. You might get odd looks, but this flushes the water from the lines where it might have been sitting for a while, and gets rid of the vast majority of bad flavor. Works for me every time. Granted, I usually travel sleeper unless on a day trip, but I've used the tap plenty of times for a middle-of-the-night drink when I could not grab another bottle of water (attendant asleep, and water locked up in their room.) On the Superliner cars, there is a water tap both upstairs and downstairs, right in the center of the car next to the stairs. Also, it is chilled! Nice and cold.

Never gotten ill from drinking it. I'll vouch for its safety.
 
The old New Jersey Transit bathroom cars had "NON-POTABLE WATER" signs over the sinks. I bet 50% of the train riding public has doesnt even know what "potable" means.
 
I was thinking about bringing a small six-pack hard side cooler, this would work well with the frozen water bottles. Maybe with all the posts recommendations, I will wait to get more water until I get to Chicago. I will bring enough or buy what I need on the train. I would rather spend a little than to drink something that might make me sick.
Good idea. I think I'll do the same next month. Of course I will probably bring a few "potent potables" as well...
 
I bring my own water as well too. I don't understand why Amtrak doesn't offer carbonated water on their trains. I mean, they have club soda, but their not allowed to sell it. Some cafe workers were like, "Tough crap, get a soda" Other's were nice and gave it to me free. All in all, flat water gives me a stomach ache. I'm sure those tanks never get "cleaned out." They are constantly pumping them with potable water and being drained empty by passengers. I'm sure the water swishing and slapping back and forth hitting the sides of the tank are good enough to Amtrak to "keeping it clean." I just don't see them pumping those huge tanks with sanitized water and then draining it all down the drain and flushing it several times with clean water (a normal procedure for cleaning standard water tanks) every train turnaround.

Sani-rinse, 1-step, I know they also have wash agents that don't require it to be rinsed out. And although the company says that and it's obviously FDA approved. I just don't like the thought of rinsing a water tank with chemicals and not washing/flushing it out.
 
The water they put in it comes from municipal sources, which is to say chlorinated to win a few degrees of pool water, so, even if there is crud in the tanks, it's probably generally safe. (Google for some pipe camera inspection video's, to see what the water coming out of your tap at home is traveling through on the way to your house......80 yo pipes get nasty.....yet we drink it) however, just like my RV, which I clean and sanitize 2 times a year, I tend not to drink from holding tanks. While it won't hurt you, I just don't like the taste, and unlike my own RV tank, I don't know how sanitary the filler hose is, how old the tank is, etc. just a personal preference, but I tend not to drink holding tank water as a preference.
 
The old New Jersey Transit bathroom cars had "NON-POTABLE WATER" signs over the sinks. I bet 50% of the train riding public has doesnt even know what "potable" means.
It may say that.....but I would bet that they do put potable water into those tanks. I am not certain, but I believe the USPHS monitors the sanitation of those tanks. Also on airplanes and passenger vessels......
 
The water they put in it comes from municipal sources, which is to say chlorinated to win a few degrees of pool water, so, even if there is crud in the tanks, it's probably generally safe. (Google for some pipe camera inspection video's, to see what the water coming out of your tap at home is traveling through on the way to your house......80 yo pipes get nasty.....yet we drink it) however, just like my RV, which I clean and sanitize 2 times a year, I tend not to drink from holding tanks. While it won't hurt you, I just don't like the taste, and unlike my own RV tank, I don't know how sanitary the filler hose is, how old the tank is, etc. just a personal preference, but I tend not to drink holding tank water as a preference.
Chlorine might stay in the water for a couple of days, when it will complete gassing out. An old trick for ornamental fish was to let the tap water sit for a couple of days before tossing it in the tank. Otherwise the fish could die quickly from chlorine poisoning. You can smell the chlorine in a pool, and of course more chlorine has to be added to replace the stuff that gasses out.

Now chloramine is far more persistent and harder to remove. However, it has less of an offensive odor. I used to work in a city that had an excellent water supply, but the taste of chlorine dominated the water. It was easy enough to remove the taste with a carbon filter. Chloramine has less of an odor, but I prefer to leave the water in a Brita pitcher overnight so that more of the chloramine can be removed.
 
The old New Jersey Transit bathroom cars had "NON-POTABLE WATER" signs over the sinks. I bet 50% of the train riding public has doesnt even know what "potable" means.
It may say that.....but I would bet that they do put potable water into those tanks. I am not certain, but I believe the USPHS monitors the sanitation of those tanks. Also on airplanes and passenger vessels......
I wouldn't hold your breath. I've seen the stations have two sets of hoses, respectively marked "potable" and "non-potable" most noticeably in Denver, which I'll be pulling into in 20 minutes. Ill see if I can get some pictures in.
 
The old New Jersey Transit bathroom cars had "NON-POTABLE WATER" signs over the sinks. I bet 50% of the train riding public has doesnt even know what "potable" means.
It may say that.....but I would bet that they do put potable water into those tanks. I am not certain, but I believe the USPHS monitors the sanitation of those tanks. Also on airplanes and passenger vessels......
I wouldn't hold your breath. I've seen the stations have two sets of hoses, respectively marked "potable" and "non-potable" most noticeably in Denver, which I'll be pulling into in 20 minutes. Ill see if I can get some pictures in.
You can be assured that any water put into the passenger cars is 'potable'. The 'non-potable' water may be used for washing of equipment, or in the past, used to fill locomotive tenders and later steam generators. The water is actually all the same....the only difference is the hoses, nozzles, and other apparatus used, being in FDA compliance.
 
The old New Jersey Transit bathroom cars had "NON-POTABLE WATER" signs over the sinks. I bet 50% of the train riding public has doesnt even know what "potable" means.
It may say that.....but I would bet that they do put potable water into those tanks. I am not certain, but I believe the USPHS monitors the sanitation of those tanks. Also on airplanes and passenger vessels......
I wouldn't hold your breath. I've seen the stations have two sets of hoses, respectively marked "potable" and "non-potable" most noticeably in Denver, which I'll be pulling into in 20 minutes. Ill see if I can get some pictures in.
You can be assured that any water put into the passenger cars is 'potable'. The 'non-potable' water may be used for washing of equipment, or in the past, used to fill locomotive tenders and later steam generators. The water is actually all the same....the only difference is the hoses, nozzles, and other apparatus used, being in FDA compliance.
I'm wondering what could be truly non-potable water. I'm thinking maybe untreated water from a well or local creek. Golf courses often use partially treated "gray water".

Still - that takes a lot of infrastructure. It might make sense for a huge water user like a golf course. Some municipalities have invested in separate gray water piping for water plants or washing cars, but it still isn't that common.
 
I think that was what railiner meant--the water is the same, but the hoses, etc. aren't treated the same.
True.

Next time you're in a garden center or buying a new hose, read the packaging - I've always seen an advisory against using them for drinking water.
Correct. The green garden hoses are not for drinking water. The white hoses sold by RV and camping supply dealers are intended for potable water. Does Amtrak use these to fill their tanks? I don't know.
 
First of all Amtrak has an FDA consent decree that they must comply with.

1: All potable(drinking) water hoses are specially made sanitary hoses, colored white.

2: All watering points for potable water must be specifically designated

3: All potable watering points must be equipped with a vacuum breaker to prevent backflow

4: All potable hoses must be kept off the ground and capped when not in use

5: All potable water hose nozzles must be equipped with a metal guard that prevents the nozzle

from touching the ground if dropped.

6: All potable watering points are inspected periodically by Amtrak, federal, or local officials.

7: All employees that are involved in any portion of potable watering must be specially trained

8: All potable tanks are drained on, at the minimum of a 30 day period. Please not that the tanks

will self drain if the if the car is left off power for an extended time. usually as soon as the water

cools to 38 degrees F. When the tanks are drained and refilled a specific sanitation procedure

is followed.
 
I tend to drink a lot of water, and usually buy a 1 gallon water from a nearby store before joining the train, if it is long distance. My biggest pet hate is being charged over the top prices for a tiny water bottle, at an airport or station! I think the train water dispenser would be my last resort, even drink budwieser before that!
Ed :cool:
Just curious: how much should AMTRAK charge for a bottle of water they 1) have to buy 2) have to deliver to the train 3) haul around until someone buys it and 4) not lose money on the deal
 
First of all Amtrak has an FDA consent decree that they must comply with.1: All potable(drinking) water hoses are specially made sanitary hoses, colored white.

2: All watering points for potable water must be specifically designated

3: All potable watering points must be equipped with a vacuum breaker to prevent backflow

4: All potable hoses must be kept off the ground and capped when not in use

5: All potable water hose nozzles must be equipped with a metal guard that prevents the nozzle

from touching the ground if dropped.

6: All potable watering points are inspected periodically by Amtrak, federal, or local officials.

7: All employees that are involved in any portion of potable watering must be specially trained

8: All potable tanks are drained on, at the minimum of a 30 day period. Please not that the tanks

will self drain if the if the car is left off power for an extended time. usually as soon as the water

cools to 38 degrees F. When the tanks are drained and refilled a specific sanitation procedure

is followed.
Thank you oldtimer for clearing that up...

I occasionally drink the on-board water in the coaches and never doubted it was safe to drink. And it taste as good as, if not better, that what comes out of my tap at home.
 
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