All about the Autotrain

[bdcp]

We live in NoVA, 45 minutes from Lorton. Rarely do we get enough snow to close things down for very long. I-95 is usually cleared very quickly unless we get a huge blizzard which is very rare. We have taken the AT in Oct, Nov and Feb and the worst weather we had was returning from FL one fall and there were thunderstorms and tornado warnings. I agree if you're coming from more than a couple of hours away, to arrive the evening before and stay in a hotel right off I-95 so if there is weather you should be able to get to the station. We usually arrive around 1145, which means leaving our house by 11 am and we just sit in the station after checking in since there is wifi. We also grab a sandwich from the store in the station while we wait.

 

[RedSox68]

No problem for a fellow Red Sox Fan!

[Aren't they doing us proud!]

 

[marisabuzz]

D.C. Area person here who uses the AutoTrain a lot.

Mid December 'shouldn't' have much snow but as PP said, check the weather. I'm about 45 minutes away from Lorton, VA and our school district will shut down for just 1-3 inches of snow. Also, we are in the border of storms means many times we get the slick ice that just melts and refreezes and causes unsafe conditions.

I'm from PA but agree that people in this transitory area do not know how to drive in snow...and personally, I don't like it either. Imho, many drivers think they can still go 60+mph until they hit ice and cause accidents which cause huge backups. Then there are the others who only Drive 5mph and cause huge backups.

So, yes, check out the weather. If any chance of a storm, plan to be in Lorton the night before. If weather is fine, then just get up early and drive early to Lorton.

We like to get to train station no later than 1pm ... this gets us the early, 5pm, dinner time which works better for our kids. The 7pm seems to be the most popular, and if we had to wait until 9pm service, we'd have miserable kids and adults waited no that long to eat.

HTH.

This helps tremendously. Luckily for us, I just found out that DH gets an extra week vacation starting this year so we have an extra day or so to use in case of bad weather. Our train leaves on the 19th of December so if we need to, we'll leave our place on Sunday and casually make our way down to Lorton.

 

[marisabuzz]

For our December trip, we booked one-way to FL thinking we'd drive back. I decided to check the cost of the trip out of curiosity and saw that the price of a family bedroom dropped in price. Called them and was able to get the difference back and now we're booked on the train returning to VA!

 

[RedSox68]

For our December trip, we booked one-way to FL thinking we'd drive back. I decided to check the cost of the trip out of curiosity and saw that the price of a family bedroom dropped in price. Called them and was able to get the difference back and now we're booked on the train returning to VA!

That's fabulous! Congrats and have a great trip.

 

[michashell]

I have taken the AT a lot and watched fares for 10 years. The lowest price used to be when they 1st came out--but no more. A default higher price will be loaded for a few months. The low fares are not sold out--they have not been loaded yet, trust me, no one has bought all the nov 25 or dec 5 low fares this far out. Sold out means there are no more to sell--because there were never any at this point.
For ex, april 7, 2017, friday before spring break, had only the higher fares until summer 2016. low fare was "sold out"--then in june/july, it opened up--and still has the low fare available 3 mths out.
Sometimes high season dates never get a low fare, but early Dec should have one. I have seen this over the past 2 years, when I was looking to book. The $95 sale would not offer for Dec until about sept of next year, but sometimes you an get a similar price even without a sale.
For the low price, you need to be in seats, not a sleeper car. The fare is still higher than a few years ago--we did a family of 5 for about $500 many times. Choose lower level seats for less people and a quieter night. Good luck. No need to be up at 7am booking. It does not sell out like a cheap plane fare. Check every few weeks, but don't expect any discounts to show for a few months, and no sale until Aug/Sept.

Newbie here - I've only done the AT once last October in a sleeper car (with toilets). I was shocked at how expensive the sleepers are for end of November to early December. It was around $5,000 round trip for 2 adults, 2 kids and our vehicle. I guess I thought that all of the snowbirds went down in October, as the train was packed last year at that time. Since you are an experienced AT traveler, do you think that the sleepers will go down in price at all? Is there someplace that tracks historical AT price data? Thanks!

 

[DisneySOS]

Just returned from our first trip on the Auto Train. We left on a Saturday, checked in around 1pm but had the priority off loading. We sat in a lower car and there were only 11 of us and we were very comfortable. The train arrived in FL early however the staff doesn't start till 8am & then they need to have their meeting first so it didn't make that much of a difference. Our car was about the 10th one off.
We had chicken and waffles as our dinner and although it wasn't terrible, it wasn't that good. The ice cream and brownie were pretty good.
On the way back we checked in around 1:30. We were in the lower level again, and this time there were only 7 of us so we all had the chance to spread out. We chose the BBQ ribs for dinner and they were delicious! We didn't have priority off loading and waited about an hour.
Both trips the staff was very helpful and friendly. Wifi service wasn't good at all - but we were downstairs. I did see people in the lounge watching movies but I couldn't go online for most of the trip to do simple things like check google maps to see where we were and Facebook. I had an actual book to read though so I was fine.
I would do it again, hubby wasn't a fan. It worked out because we were traveling down with our daughter who was staying in Florida.

 

[RedSox68]

Just returned from our first trip on the Auto Train. We left on a Saturday, checked in around 1pm but had the priority off loading. We sat in a lower car and there were only 11 of us and we were very comfortable. The train arrived in FL early however the staff doesn't start till 8am & then they need to have their meeting first so it didn't make that much of a difference. Our car was about the 10th one off.
We had chicken and waffles as our dinner and although it wasn't terrible, it wasn't that good. The ice cream and brownie were pretty good.
On the way back we checked in around 1:30. We were in the lower level again, and this time there were only 7 of us so we all had the chance to spread out. We chose the BBQ ribs for dinner and they were delicious! We didn't have priority off loading and waited about an hour.
Both trips the staff was very helpful and friendly. Wifi service wasn't good at all - but we were downstairs. I did see people in the lounge watching movies but I couldn't go online for most of the trip to do simple things like check google maps to see where we were and Facebook. I had an actual book to read though so I was fine.
I would do it again, hubby wasn't a fan. It worked out because we were traveling down with our daughter who was staying in Florida.

So you stayed in coach? How comfortable was it to sleep in there? Of course, you lucked out with so few people in the car. We booked a roomette because I am afraid if coach is packed there will be too much noise to sleep.

 

[DJFan88]

So you stayed in coach? How comfortable was it to sleep in there? Of course, you lucked out with so few people in the car. We booked a roomette because I am afraid if coach is packed there will be too much noise to sleep.

Speaking from multiple coach trips, I can sleep no problem, the stretch length is longer between rows and just make sure to bring any comforts you need like pillows and blanket.
The noise factor really depends on the car you're in. They try to put all of the family's with very young children together, so when you check in, you can check on that, as they assign your seats then, which I actually just learned on our last trip as one of the agents helped me find our seats. If you can get the last seats in a car, there is no one behind you. But if the car is turned and you actually get the first, it is roomier in front, but there are other drawbacks.
Of course, if you get some snorer's.....
Another noise factor is the fact that the doors continually open and close as people walk through.
When you go on the Auto Train, you just have to accept that you will not get your best night sleep, and are essentially "roughing it" a bit.

 

[DisneySOS]

So you stayed in coach? How comfortable was it to sleep in there? Of course, you lucked out with so few people in the car. We booked a roomette because I am afraid if coach is packed there will be too much noise to sleep.

Yes, coach & I reserved the lower level. The bathrooms are down there but they are in the next car over separated by a door. NO smell whatsoever.
I booked down there because I had my elderly mom with us and I was worried about her being able to do the stairs but it turned out better than expected. No one ever came through our car unless they were lost which was maybe 2 people each trip.
I'm 5'5" and the seat was long enough for me, my son is not quite 6' and he wasn't as comfortable. The seats are roomy, but seem less roomy as the trip goes on (if that makes any sense).
I thought they were bigger and had more room than the last plane I was on in 2011.

 

[RedSox68]

Thanks. I think I'll stick with my roomette since I am such a light sleeper.

 

[DJFan88]

Thanks. I think I'll stick with my roomette since I am such a light sleeper.

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You may be good for you. Have you checked out the pictures? It just seems like you are stacked, and then barely just enough room to close the door... I'm not sure if I could handle that.
Curious, how roomette people who have also done coach have for an opinion on this. Last visit we were almost stuck on one way with a roomette, but then in the last few weeks I was able to switch it. I tend to get a little claustrophobic, so just wondering. Ive heard the family ones are a bit roomier?

 

[RedSox68]

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You may be good for you. Have you checked out the pictures? It just seems like you are stacked, and then barely just enough room to close the door... I'm not sure if I could handle that.
Curious, how roomette people who have also done coach have for an opinion on this. Last visit we were almost stuck on one way with a roomette, but then in the last few weeks I was able to switch it. I tend to get a little claustrophobic, so just wondering. Ive heard the family ones are a bit roomier?

The deal breaker for us is the luggage situation. On the auto train you can lock your luggage in your car; on the train we are traveling the only place for your luggage if you are in coach is in luggage bins at the end of the cars -- where anyone can take it (which happened to a friend of ours -- the train stopped at a station and someone walked out of the car and grabbed two pieces of luggage -- one of them was her's). So the roomette affords us the ability to keep all our luggage safe and sound -- plus on our train the roomette have their own toilets. We've watched the You Tube videos and done the measurements and we know how tight it is -- but it's only for one night. [It will get us in training for the incredibly tiny room we have next year on our cruise to Cuba on RCCL -- with three of us in the room! LOL]

 

[bdcp]

The deal breaker for us is the luggage situation. On the auto train you can lock your luggage in your car; on the train we are traveling the only place for your luggage if you are in coach is in luggage bins at the end of the cars -- where anyone can take it (which happened to a friend of ours -- the train stopped at a station and someone walked out of the car and grabbed two pieces of luggage -- one of them was her's). So the roomette affords us the ability to keep all our luggage safe and sound -- plus on our train the roomette have their own toilets. We've watched the You Tube videos and done the measurements and we know how tight it is -- but it's only for one night. [It will get us in training for the incredibly tiny room we have next year on our cruise to Cuba on RCCL -- with three of us in the room! LOL]

We've taken the Amtrak Northeast Regional and the Acela multiple times (NY many times and Providence, RI twice) and never had any issue with our luggage which is always in the luggage bins or nearby in the handicapped space (don't get on me for that, the red caps put it there and will move it if needed when someone boards in a wheel chair). The most anyone has ever done is stack their luggage on top of ours. Superliner roomettes don't have their own toilets which is what the AT uses, but others do which would be nice on longer trips. Luggage theft is very rare and this is the first time I've ever seen anyone report it, although I'm sure it has happened. Roomettes don't have room to store or keep luggage. Also, in coach, you can put whatever you can lift over your head in the racks. We have been in roomettes several times on the AT and carry a backpack, my laptop bag and a weekender type duffel and there's barely room for that so I don't see taking luggage in there. How many pieces and what sizes are they?

 

[RedSox68]

We've taken the Amtrak Northeast Regional and the Acela multiple times (NY many times and Providence, RI twice) and never had any issue with our luggage which is always in the luggage bins or nearby in the handicapped space (don't get on me for that, the red caps put it there and will move it if needed when someone boards in a wheel chair). The most anyone has ever done is stack their luggage on top of ours. Superliner roomettes don't have their own toilets which is what the AT uses. Luggage theft is very rare and this is the first time I've ever seen anyone report it, although I'm sure it has happened. Roomettes don't have room to store or keep luggage. Also, in coach, you can put whatever you can lift over your head in the racks. We have been in roomettes several times on the AT and carry a backpack, my laptop bag and a weekender type duffel and there's barely room for that so I don't see taking luggage in there. How many pieces and what sizes are they?

Yeah, she was pretty upset by it and now they keep their luggage with them in the overheads or at their feet. Heck, I know someone who had their luggage walk from a carousel at the airport. I remember the days when you had to go through a gate and show your luggage receipts to match to your luggage before you could depart -- now anyone can grab anything. We caught a guy walking away with our luggage once, but that was because we had the exact same luggage and he took the wrong one LOL. Glad we discovered it before we left the area or we'd be wearing someone else's clothes.

 

[Sadie22]

We are planning a trip after school starts next year via AutoTrain. We may need two roomettes this time. When we have gone before the prices went up over time, but now we understand that they go down over time. If we buy tickets when they become available, can we get a price adjustment if the price goes down? How much might we expect the price to fall?

 

[Ngwira]

We are planning a trip after school starts next year via AutoTrain. We may need two roomettes this time. When we have gone before the prices went up over time, but now we understand that they go down over time. If we buy tickets when they become available, can we get a price adjustment if the price goes down? How much might we expect the price to fall?

You have to check periodically.. Amtrak won't let you know if the price is significantly cheaper. But the refund is instant.

 

[Sadie22]

You have to check periodically.. Amtrak won't let you know if the price is significantly cheaper. But the refund is instant.

Thank you!

 

[erinch]

There is a very helpful website called amsnag. Link below. It will let you research Amtrak prices for a 30 day period. This will give you a good idea, if you check several months, what the low and high bucket prices are for roommates on the auto train. Once all the low bucket rooms are gone, they will move on to the next higher bucket. There are 3 or 4 buckets (I don't remember which). I believe the desktop version of amsnag will let you set an alert for if your price goes down, which happens if they open up more cars.

We have ridden auto train for years, and have never had the price go down, only up. The sooner you book, the better, and then you will get a refund for the difference.

But there is a wobble in this, which is on popular routes Amtrak may not release the lowest bucket at 11 months out, due to expected high demand. In that case, the price might go down. We have never been lucky enough to get a fare reduction. The first thing to do is check amsnag for the dates surrounding your travel to see the landscape.

http://biketrain.net/amsnag2.0/amSnag.php

There is a very helpful amtrack forum that will let you post as a guest and will ask lots of questions.

http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/

 

[Sadie22]

Thank you!