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Although the railroad in the United States has enormous historical significance and the United States still has one of the longest railroad networks in the world, the importance of the railroad in tourist traffic has declined significantly over the past 50 years. The main reasons for this are the - state-sponsored - rise of aviation and the well-developed and extremely dense motorway network - also built with state funds. Rail freight transport is still an important economic factor (around 40% of all tonne-kilometers run over the rail network; significantly more than in Germany or most other European countries), but passenger transport plays a minor role. Nonetheless, rejoices Amtrak, the quasi-state passenger railroad is growing in popularity and in 2013 more travelers took Amtrak than ever since it was founded in 1971. Despite the annual increase in passenger numbers since 2000, Amtrak is still a rather small railroad in international comparison. In 2017, 31.7 million travelers were carried. That is a good 50% more than in 2000, but no comparison to the two billion travelers that Deutsche Bahn (which - in contrast to Amtrak, which almost exclusively offers long-distance trains - also offers regular regional services and many S-Bahn trains -Networks) moves in the year. Even the rather small Israeli railroad (as of 2017) moves more passengers per year than Amtrak. Most Amtrak trains run only once a day, one way. Some trains only run three times a week, so you have to plan ahead and just show up at the station and get on the next train doesn't make much sense.
Travel planning
In general, before traveling to the USA, you should think about what you want to see and how much time you take for it. The distances should not be underestimated and especially with the - but rather slow - trains you can be on the road for some time. Outside of the northeast corridor between Boston and Washington, on which the Acela Express trains reach 150 miles an hour (about 240 km / h) on a few short sections, there is a relatively low speed limit of 79 by European standards, with a few exceptions mph (about 127 km / h). Even in comparison to German regional traffic, which reaches 160 km / h on main lines. Add to that the speeds Top speeds are and the Average speed is mostly significantly lower. The "Empire Builder", for example, which runs daily between Chicago and Seattle or Portland, takes 46 hours for a one-way trip of around three and a half thousand kilometers according to the timetable. In addition, you should always plan enough buffer, as delays, even several hours, can occur from time to time. If you intend to change between Amtrak trains and this is not possible due to delays, you will always be booked on the next train (which can also be a train one or more days later). Should an overnight stay be necessary, Amtrak will pay for sleeping car travelers in any case and for coach class users in most cases (on a goodwill basis) hotel overnight stays. The best thing to do is to contact the train staff as soon as the delay is foreseeable. In contrast to most European countries, there is often so much air in the timetables that it is quite possible that you will arrive a few minutes earlier than planned. Usually, however, this has no effect on connections. Unlike in Germany, you shouldn't expect to arrive at the train station and be on the train five minutes later, and due to the sometimes lengthy baggage handling and boarding procedures, it is advisable to leave the train station half an hour before departure for long-haul trains be. In view of the long travel time, a possible waiting time is hardly significant.
Best travel time
In general, rail travel in the USA is most popular in the summer season and as a result, prices rise here too, and booking in advance is particularly advisable. The major disadvantage of traveling in the winter season is that because it gets dark earlier, you have less opportunity to see the truly spectacular landscapes that the trains pass through. With the demand in the off-season, the price usually falls, but it is generally advisable to book as early as possible, as early bird discounts are more common than "last minute" offers. A good compromise between "sightseeing" and prices is also the transition season at the beginning of autumn or at the end of spring. Here you can sometimes see spectacular transitions in nature such as the »Indian Summer«. An exception to the generally lower prices in winter is the immediate Christmas season and the weekend around "Thanksgiving", when many trains are booked out very quickly. Even at the Superbowl (beginning of February) the trains may get busier than usual, especially if the game takes place in a region with good rail connections.
Tickets
Similar to many other railroad companies around the world, tickets are cheaper the earlier you book. The tickets are incrementally more expensive in certain price ranges (Amtrak says "buckets") until the whole train is sold out. Especially in summer you should reserve your ticket (and especially your beds, Amtrak never had a couchette category) as soon as possible on popular and long routes, otherwise it can get expensive or you won't get anything at all.
Tickets can be purchased via the hotline 1-800-872-7245 (which stands for 1-800-USA-Rail) (free of charge from the US network), On the Internet and bought from travel agents. Tickets can also be purchased at any train station with Amtrak staff. It is not possible to purchase tickets on the train, but an “upgrade” from seats to beds is also possible on the train, subject to availability. In general, a second class ticket includes a seat but no reservation (the staff will instruct you). Sleeping car There are essentially two categories of "bedroom" and "roomette" - both are designed for double occupancy like most hotel rooms and it is not common to share the room with strangers. For single occupancy, the regular price is to be paid as for double occupancy. For families there are "family bedrooms" designed for two adults and two children, and the "bedrooms" can also be combined to form "suites".
Discounts
In addition to the usual discounts for children and older citizens, there is a discount for holders of an International Student Identity Card. Membership in associations such as the AAA (US equivalent to ADAC) or the NARP (National Association of Railroad Passengers) also brings certain discounts. Active US soldiers also receive a discount, as is the case almost everywhere in the US.
Occasionally there are also so-called “hot deals”, “last minute” tickets for trains that have not yet been sold out. However, these have become rarer due to political trench warfare in Washington and are now almost only available for trains that are subsidized by individual states (e.g. California, North Carolina, Washington state).
Passports
As there are Interrail passes in Europe, there are also Interrail passes for Amtrak. The two variants that are currently (2021) offered are a pass for the entire USA and a pass for the state of California only. Similar to Interrail, you can purchase passes for different periods of validity. The trip is not billed according to distance or zone via passes, but according to "segments". Roughly speaking, a new segment begins as soon as you leave a train or bus and enter a new one. This applies even to relatively short routes such as from Emeryville to San Francisco, so it makes sense to pay for such routes separately so as not to waste a segment. With the pass for California only applies: seven calendar days of travel within 21 days - that means if you get on the train at 11:50 pm and get off at 1:10 you have "used up" two days but you can use several trains on the same calendar day. Basically, the passes are only valid for "coach class", that is Not in sleeping cars. However, subject to availability, an »upgrade« (at the regular price) can also be purchased on the train.
In the train
Amtrak offers beds on all longer routes. Amtrak divides these into two categories called "romette" and "bedroom". The »roomette« is a bit more Spartan and cheaper, but both are intended for two people. Single beds are not offered; single travelers must pay the price for the entire compartment. On all routes - including those on which you are en route for several hours - there are second class seats (known as "coach class" in the USA), but you should think twice about spending the night in such seats. Apart from the sleeping cars, a first class comparable to the European one is only available on the Acela trains. In addition, there is a "business class" on some trains without a sleeping car, which offers a little more comfort than the regular "coach class". There is a general smoking ban on all trains, but it is often possible to get off the train briefly to smoke when the train stops.
Dining car
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All long-haul Amtrak trains have a dining car. Meals are included in the fare for sleeper car users, but extra for seated car travelers. The menu varies slightly from train to train or from route to route and can be viewed on the Internet. As everywhere in the USA, alcoholic beverages are only given to people over the age of 21.
Sleeping car
All Amtrak trains that travel long distances have sleeping cars.
"bedroom"
"Bedroom" is the more expensive sleeping car category.
"roomette"
"Roomette" is the cheaper sleeping car category.
punctuality
Unfortunately, Amtrak trains are nowhere near on time. The main reason for this is the fact that the routes, with the exception of the Northeast Corridor, are not owned by Amtrak itself, but by private railway companies, which give priority to their freight trains. Since the routes are mostly single-track, small delays can add up drastically if a train falls off the schedule and has to wait a long time for an oncoming train to arrive. In addition, the tracks are often in a less than perfect condition due to heavy freight traffic. This website (in English) is helpful for finding out if a train is on time. If you only want to get on a long-running train en route (for example the "California Zephyr" from east to west in Reno, Nevada), it is advisable to call whether the train is on time, before you make your way to the train station.
Route network
Amtrak covers most of the continental US and as many as 46 of the 50 states, all but Alaska, Hawaii, Wyoming (the state in which much of Yellowstone National Park is located) and South Dakota (the state in which Mt. Rushmore is located), however, the traffic density in many areas is very low (no more than one train per day) and the arrival and departure times can be inconvenient. Scheduled departures at 3:26 am do happen, and not just at remote train stations in the middle of nowhere. In addition, Amtrak does not serve some popular tourist locations or does not use trains at all. For example, to cities like San Francisco (The train only stops in the suburb of Emeryville until further notice, but a new station in San Francisco is under construction) or Las Vegas To get there anyway, you have to change to a bus provided by Amtrak. These "Amtrak Thruway Motorcoaches" improve coverage considerably, but they reduce passenger comfort as they require additional transfers and the buses are less comfortable than the trains. Also, a look at the map shows that some of the states that are nominally served by Amtrak (for example Idaho), their periphery is more likely to be affected than actually covered.
A special feature and one of the most popular routes in the Amtrak system is the Lorton Auto Train (Virginia) near Washington DC to Sanford (Florida) near Orlando. This train runs daily between the two places without stopping and takes around 17 hours overnight. As the name suggests, you can take a car with you on this train. This is particularly popular with people who commute between Florida and the Northeast seasonally but cannot or do not want to do without their car.
More railways
The Amtrak system does not include commuter rail and subways, which mainly serve a city and its surrounding area. However, there are some areas where the commuter railways overlap and you can at least theoretically get from A to B with a combination of different commuter trains (but this would require a combination of different tickets and several changes, similar to a trip through Germany by bus). Also the Alaska Railroadthat is a part Alaska Served by passenger and freight trains (mainly the route from Seward via Anchorage to Fairbanks), does not belong to Amtrak. If you add the Alaska Railroad and the light rail currently planned for Honolulu, there are some form of rail passenger transport or specific plans in place in 48 states. Furthermore, there are museum railways operated by rail enthusiasts in the USA as well as tourist railways where "the journey is the goal", which are often used with old (or at least old-looking) rolling stock and often have more than pure transport in their program.
Train stations
Like so much in the Amtrak system, the train stations are "mixed up"; From wonderfully restored "union stations" from the heyday of the railways to "Am-shacks" (nickname for the alternative stations that were built after Amtrak was founded, as the actual stations were and are used for other purposes) carelessly placed in the suburban area you can find everything. In some places you won't even find staff selling tickets at the local train station. Elsewhere there are even lounges where first-class travelers can indulge themselves in the same way as frequent flyers at the airport. At (almost) all train stations there is plenty of parking space for vehicles and if there is no parking space, getting there by public transport is usually easy, at least by American standards. Since the USA is the country of the automobile, there is (almost) always a park-and-ride parking space.
