USA By Train Q and A: On Board

This article gathers together some of the most popular questions regarding rail travel in the USA, as an alternative to asking Sam.
It's also been published to provide an additional resource for Sam to target.

Is First Class available on Amtrak trains?

First Class is a level above Business Class, but the only daytime service on which it is available are the Acela trains.

Business Class is the equivalent of what is typically designated as First Class on European trains.

Business Class is only available on some of Amtrak’s daytime trains and routes - the Acela, the Amtrak Cascade, the Berkshire Flyer, the Borealis, the Carolinian, the Downeaster, the Empire Service, the Ethan Allan Express, the Hiawatha (some departures only), the Illinois Service, the Lincoln Service Missouri River Runner, the Maple Leaf, the Michigan Services, the Missouri River Runner, the NorthEast Regional, the Pacific Surfliner, the Pennsylvanian and The Vermonter.

• It includes extra legroom, a wide and comfortable seat, and a complimentary non-alcoholic beverage (not offered in Acela Business Class).
• On the Acela, Northeast Regional, Carolinian, Palmetto and Vermonter services you can opt to select specific seats when booking, so that you can find your assigned seat when boarding.
• Business class passengers can purchase a day pass for lounge access in Chicago – Union Station, Philadelphia – William H Gray III 30th Street Station, Boston – South Station, New York – Moynihan Train Hall and Los Angeles - Union Station.
• Business class passengers may use the Metropolitan Lounge in Portland as well as the Private Waiting Rooms in St. Paul/Minneapolis and St. Louis.

What is it like to travel in Coach Class?

Coach class is offered on every Amtrak train except the Acela services and it features wide, reclining seats with ample legroom, no middle seat option and at-seat trays, reading lights and electric outlets.
Restrooms are located in each car.

In Coach classes on these routes listed below some of the seats can be backward facing, but forward facing seats are always offered - Though when boarding at intermediate stations, they may be already occupied.
Amtrak Cascades; Borealis; Carolinian; Downeaster; Empire Service; Ethan Allan Express; Hiawatha; Illinois Services; Keystone Service; Missouri River Runner; Northeast Regional; Springfield Shuttles; Vermonter and Wolverine.

Though Amtrak has embarked on a program of introducing brand new Venture trains to multiple routes - which will be branded as 'AmtrakAiro' when they are introduced to the North-East corridor routes in 2026.

What is good to know about boarding?

Amtrak recommends that all travellers should be at the station 30 mins pre departure.

Boarding gates close 5 minutes before train departure time.

Amtrak is adding color coding at the entries to its railcars to guide passengers to the correct location to board its trains.
Green near the doors to denote Coach, blue for Business class, and Red for first class.

What are the accommodation options for journeys by the overnight long-distance trains?

There are typically three core accommodation options on Amtraks’ overnight trains:

1. Seats = Coach Class; Note that the seats are little different to the types of seats used in Coach Class on the daytime services, so they cannot be converted into any type of bed.
2. Roomette = a ‘Private Room’ for use by up to two people.
3. Bedroom = a larger and superior ‘Private Room’ for use by up to two people.

Roomettes feature:
- Two comfortable seats by day
- Upper and lower berths by night - the beds are bunk style
- Newly upgraded bedding, pillows, towels and linens
- Access to a private restroom and shower in your car (older Viewliner 1 coaches have a sink and W/C in the room)
- A dedicated First Class attendant
- Complimentary lounge access at stations 
- Priority boarding 
- Complimentary meals*

Bedrooms feature
-  Approximately twice the space of a Roomette
- A sofa and armchair by day
- Upper and lower berths by night: the beds are bunk style
- Newly upgraded bedding, pillows, towels and linens
- In-room sink, restroom and shower;
- A dedicated First Class attendant
- Complimentary lounge access at stations
- Priority boarding
- Complimentary meals*

*= On the Auto Train, California Zephyr, Coast Starlight, Empire Builder, Floridian, Silver Meteor, Southwest Chief, Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle (between San Antonio and Los Angeles), the Complimentary Meals are served in the Traditional Dining restaurant.

On the Cardinal, City of New Orleans, Crescent, Lake Shore Limited and Texas Eagle*, you will receive complimentary meals from the Flexible dining service - which you can opt to have served to your room, or use the Dining Car.

The only on board catering available to travellers in Coach Class is the Cafe.

Bedroom Suite = Two adjacent Bedrooms joined together
Family Suite = Two adjacent Roomettes joined together

Both types of Private Room can be found in one of two types of sleeping car:
1: Superliner is a bi-level double deck train with private rooms on two levels
2: A Viewliner which has a single level of Private Rooms - it looks like a Double-Deck train because the lower and upper berth beds have their own sets of windows.

Superliner routes:

• The Auto Train: Washington ↔ Orlando
• California Zephyr: Chicago ↔ Emeryville for San Francisco
• City Of New Orleans : Chicago ↔  New Orleans
• Coast Starlight: Seattle ↔ Los Angeles
• Empire Builder: Chicago↔ Seattle / Portland
• Southwest Chief: Chicago – Kansas City - Los Angeles
• Sunset Limited: New Orleans ↔  Los Angeles
• Texas Eagle: Chicago – Dallas – Los Angeles

Viewliner routes:

• Cardinal: New York –  Washington - Cincinnati – Chicago
• Crescent: New York – Atlanta – New Orleans
• Floridian: Chicago – Washington DC – Miami / Tampa
• Lakeshore Limited: New York – Albany – Chicago

Note there are two types of Viewliner cars, Viewliner 1 which are older and have Roomettes with WCs and wash stands / sinks in the rooms, Viewliner 2 are more up to date as they were introduced from 2021.
Though when booking you won't know if your place(s) have been assigned in a Viewliner 1 or a Viewliner 2.

Accessible Rooms:
Seating by day is transformed into upper and lower beds by night.
On single-level Viewliner trains: in-room restroom with sink, toilet and shower
On bi-level Superliner trains: in-room restroom with sink and toilet; access to a private shower in your car

What catering is available on Amtrak trains?

The catering varies according to the type of train service and the class of travel that has been booked.

A Cafe service is available on the following daytime services:

• Acela; with an at seat service from a trolley, in addition to ordering in the Cafe car
• Amtrak Cascades
• Borealis
• Capital Corridor
• Downeaster
• Heartland Flyer 
• Missouri River Runner
• Northeast Regional
• Pacific Surfliner
• San Joaquins (most services)
• The Michigan Services to/from Chicago

A complimentary meal service is available in First Class on the Acela services.

A cafe is also available on all of the long-distance, overnight services.

For those that have booked either type of Private Room on the overnight services one of two restaurant style meal services are available:

On the Auto Train, California Zephyr, Coast Starlight, Empire Builder, Floridian, Silver Meteor, Southwest Chief, Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle (between San Antonio and Los Angeles), complimentary meals are served in the Traditional Dining restaurant.

On the Cardinal, City of New Orleans, Crescent, Lake Shore Limited and Texas Eagle (between Chicago and San Antonio), you will receive complimentary meals from the Flexible dining service - which you can opt to have served to your room, or you can eat in the dining car.

Note that the restaurant service is not available to those travelling in Coach Class on the overnight trains.
The only on-board catering service available in Coach Class on these trains is from the comparatively limited National Cafe service.

Are Quiet Coaches Available?

Look for the Quiet Car symbol on Acela, Northeast Regional, Keystone Service, Hiawatha, Blue Water, select Wolverine trains, select Capitol Corridor trains and some Empire Corridor trains.
Check with the Conductor if you're unsure where the Quiet Car is located.

Unless your trip is on an Acela service, seating in the Quiet Car is on a first-come, first-served basis and cannot be reserved.
There's no additional charge to sit in the Quiet Car.

Can I ride in an observation car?

Long distance trains in the USA traditionally offered two types of observation car, a coach at the opposite end of the train to the locomotive and coaches with domed roofs.

Neither of these types of car are now used in regular service, but the Superliner trains are double-decked and on these services a Sightseer Lounge is typically scheduled to be included in the train’s formation.

They can be referred to as observation cars as they enable enhanced views, as extra windows are available on an upper deck; Plus some of the seats face outwards towards the landscape.
The arrangement is that places in these cars are available on a first come basis, as the seats can’t be reserved.
Therefore Coach class seats are located in other cars on the train, but travellers in Coach class seats can opt to choose to sit in a seat in the Sightseer lounge for the daytime section of the journey - when available.

Passengers traveling in the Bedrooms and Roomettes can opt to leave their rooms and opt to spend some of the journey riding in the Sightseer Lounge.

The Superliner routes on which a Sightseer Lounge is scheduled to be available on each departure:

California Zephyr = Chicago ↔ Emeryville* via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City and Reno

City of New Orleans = Chicago ↔ New Orleans via Memphis and Jackson

Coast Starlight = Los Angeles ↔ Seattle via Emeryville*, Sacramento and Portland

Empire Builder = Chicago ↔ Portland via Milwaukee, St Paul-Minneapolis, Fargo and Spokane

SouthWest Chief = Chicago ↔ Los Angeles via Kansas City, Dodge City, Albuquerque and Flagstaff

Sunset Limited = New Orleans ↔ Los Angeles via Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, Tucson and Palm Springs

Texas Eagle = Chicago ↔ Los Angeles via St Louis, Little Rock, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, El Paso, Tucson and Palm Springs

What else is good to know about riding Amtrak’s overnight trains?

The equivalent of First Class tickets are purchased for travel in either type of the Private Rooms, hence the access to the First Class lounges at stations,

Because both the Roomettes and Bedrooms sleep two people, the prices are charged per Private Room and not per person.
So when you have selected two travellers on the Amtrak website or app and look up a journey, the price you will see for either type of room is the total cost - and not the price per person.
You assign the travellers to the room when booking - they are called ‘Private Rooms’ because it’s not possible to share with someone outside of your travel party.

When three people travel together you will be booking two rooms; And when five people are travelling together, you will be assigned three rooms etc.

Tickets to travel in the Private Rooms are comparatively expensive compared to travelling in Coach Class; Roomettes can be typically more than 7 x more expensive than Coach Class, and Bedrooms tend to be around  twice the price of a Roomette.
Though when two people share a Roomette or Bedroom, the price per person is reduced.

What is the luggage policy on Amtrak trains?

On all routes and services, except the Pacific Surfliner, Amtrak has a policy for Carry On luggage.
Each passenger may bring:
One personal item , 25 lbs. (12 kg) and 14 x 11 x 7 inches
Two carry-on items, 50 lbs. (23 kg) and 28 x 22 x 14 inches each~

On the Pacific Surfliner the max size of luggage is  up to 28 x 22 x 11 inches.

Note the 50lbs maximum weight limit per bag - if a passenger is only taking one Carry-on item which weighs more than 50lbs, the bag will need to be re-packed and Amtrak sells boxes in which to store the additional items.
Boarding will be denied if the passenger has two bags each of which weighs more than 50lbs.

At many stations a Checked Baggage service is also available, as trains from these stations* have luggage cars in which bags can be stowed.
2 x bags up to 50 lbs and 75 linear inches = no charge
Up to 2 x additional bags up to 50 lbs and 75 linear inches = $20 per bag.
Oversized Baggage (76-100 linear inches*) = $20 per item
*= Amtrak hasn’t published a list of these stations, so use the lookup service to see if checked baggage is available from your departure station.

Can I bring a bicycle on board?

On most services, but note the Acela is an exception

Reservations are required on all trains that offer a bike service except on the Capitol Corridor and San Joaquins services in California.

You may only make a bike reservation if you're a ticketed Amtrak passenger.
Fees vary from:
no charge, including Pacific Starliner
$5 = including Amtrak Cascades
$20 = including North East Regional and the overnight trains

A Carry-On service means your bicycle is stored inside of a passenger car in designated bike racks and you are responsible for storing your bicycle in its designated space.

Trainside Checked service means your bicycle is stored inside a baggage car and only an Amtrak crew member may load or unload your bicycle for you. ~
When you purchase a ticket for Trainside Checked service, you'll need to check in with a customer service agent at the station ticket counter to get a claim check for your bicycle before handing it up to a crew member at the baggage car during boarding.
At unstaffed stations where trainside checked service is available, check in your bicycle directly with an Amtrak crew member when your train arrives.

Additional USA Information