Amtrak for First Timers. 10 Things I Wish I Knew Before My First Train

The first time I rode Amtrak, I did almost everything wrong. I trusted the wifi. I planned to buy lunch on board. I picked a seat facing backward and spent two hours turning my neck halfway around to see the views.

I’ve ridden dozens of trains in the eight years since then (truly, I’m Amtrak’s best unpaid ambassador), from short commuter runs to cross-country overnights, and I’ve learned that a good train trip comes down to a handful of small things few people mention.

So here are the things I wish somebody had told me. (This article was inspired my talking to my girflriend’s younger brother, who just took Amtrak down to visit us in New York for the first time.)

1) Expect delays, and pack for them

Amtrak’s on-time record swings wildly from route to route. The Northeast Corridor mostly runs on time. Long-distance routes that cross regions regularly show up hours behind, because freight railroads own most of the track and give their own trains priority over yours.

Before I travel, I check whether my train left its origin on schedule. When I board somewhere in the middle of a route, the train’s departure from its first station tells me a lot about when it will actually reach me. Sign up for text alerts when you book. Amtrak texts you delays and track changes, and that has saved me from standing on a cold platform guessing.

Related to this, don’t schedule anything tight around your arrival. Give yourself a cushion.

2) The cafe car isn’t guaranteed, so bring your own food

People assume every Amtrak train has a cafe car. It doesn’t. The route decides. Short commuter-style runs like the CT Rail Hartford Line carry no food service at all.

Even when a cafe car exists, keep your expectations modest. The food is fun, but it won’t nourish you. Eating there feels like eating at a minor league baseball game. A microwaved sandwich, a bag of chips, and a cold soda.

For anything long-ish train ride, I always bring snacks, and often pack one meal. Plus, bring a full water bottle.

So I pack my own. Snacks I want to eat, plus a full water bottle. Almost every car has a water bottle filler, and yes, you can drink that water.

3) Bring cash for the cafe car

Even though all Amtrak trains have card readers, they fail constantly. I think they lean on a cell connection to process a card, so the moment your train rolls through a rural stretch with no signal, it stops working. Cash always works.

4) Don’t trust the wifi

The same logic applies to the onboard wifi. No cell signal means no wifi, and even where it works, it crawls at many points. So I download everything before I board. Movies, music, and work documents all live on my device ahead of time.

Whatever you do, don’t schedule a work call on the train. I’ve watched people try. I’ve tried. It goes badly every time.

5) Bring a book, and let yourself be bored

You’re stuck on a train for hours with nowhere to be. Bring a book. Bring a journal. Stare out the window and think about your life for a while. We almost never get that kind of uninterrupted time anymore, and the train hands it to you for free. It’s one of my favorite things about Amtrak.

If you want a fitting read, check out Waiting on a Train by James McCommons.

6) Pick a window seat facing forward

Amtrak doesn’t assign seats on most routes, so you choose when you board. Grab a window seat that faces forward if you can. Facing backward turns a beautiful ride into a queasy one for some of us, myself included. And depending on your route, that window is the whole point. The Hudson River, the Rockies, the Vermont hills in October. Look up from your phone and watch the country go by.

7) Riding overnight? Plan for it

If your trip runs through the night, sleeping in a coach seat becomes a real art form. I put everything I’ve learned the hard way into my guide on how to sleep in Amtrak coach. Start there before a long overnight, and you’ll arrive a lot less wrecked.

8) Skip Business Class, but think about a Roomette

People always ask whether the upgrades pay off. My honest take, after more than ten BidUp attempts, is that Business Class is not worth it, unless it’s a free upgrade. In Business Class, the seats are hardly better, and they’re assigned. The only perk is the free coffee.

A Roomette changes the math. On a long overnight, it gives you, well, a room. You’ll have a door that closes, a bed that lies flat, and meals included in the fare. For an overnight haul, I think it earns its price. I broke down the whole experience in my Amtrak Roomette review.

9) Know whether your station is really a platform

A lot of Amtrak stops aren’t stations. They’re bare platforms with no building, no shelter, and no staff. Find out which kind yours is before you leave, especially when the weather turns. Standing on an exposed platform in January hits a lot harder when you expected a warm waiting room.

Given that trains sometimes run late, you can get yourslef into a really bad situation if you’re standing on a platform waiting 40 minutes for a train.

10) Give yourself credit for the greener choice

Why do I love trains? Well partially because they align with my worldview of creating a sustainable society, where we protect, not destroy, the environment. (Protecting our one and only planet seems common sense to me, but alas, apparently it isn’t.)

So pat yourself on the back. I know I do.

And even when the train moves slower, notice how much better the whole thing feels. No security theater, no cramped middle seat, no ears popping on descent. You watch the landscape roll by at eye level with room to stretch your legs. I take Amtrak instead of flying whenever I reasonably can, and I’ve written about why.

Slower isn’t worse. A lot of the time, it’s the best part of the trip.

Your first-timer’s Amtrak checklist

Screenshot this before you go.

• Sign up for text alerts when you book
• Check whether your train left its origin on time
• Pack your own food and a full water bottle
• Bring cash for the cafe car
• Download entertainment and work before you board
• Bring a book and a journal
• Grab a window seat facing forward
• Find out whether your stop is a station or a platform
• Skip Business Class, and weigh a Roomette for overnights
• Give yourself credit for the greener trip

That’s everything I wish I’d known on day one. The train rewards people who come prepared and settle in. Pack smart, pick a good seat, and enjoy the ride. If you want to keep planning, my cheap Amtrak tickets guide and my full Amtrak packing list are good next stops.