Amtrak Guest Rewards - Luggage & the Acela – A Question !

Hi all,

”Mrs Kered” & I will be in Philadelphia in October & will be travelling to NYC on Sat 24th & I’m looking at trying out the Aclea Express for the journey.

Having done some research on the Amtrak web site & a few others, it appears that the Acela is primarily a service for business travellers. So I’m just wondering what the situation is with luggage on that service.

To m it seems to be set up to facilitate those who hop on & off hand luggage style, carrying nothing more than say a laptop bag & maybe a small rollalong bag, all of which can be put in the overhead locker, airline style.

While we won’t be laden down by luggage, we will each have a large duffel bag on wheels, that would need to get stored in a luggage rack & that would not at all suitable for the overhead lockers. Is there such a provision on the Acela trains ??

Any & all advice, opinions & thoughts greatly appreciated ^

At one end of each car there is a floor based luggage rack that can hold a fair amount of luggage. However, you might just be surprised to find that your duffel does fit in the overhead. These are not your typical airplane overhead compartments. I've seen people put some pretty big bags in the overheads.

Cheers, thanks for that ^

Indeed. I could probably have put four of my 22" rollaboards in the overhead bin above my seat on the Acela I took a couple of weeks ago. (Well, probably not, but you get the idea.) Plus, there's the space at the end of the car Alan mentioned.

Unless you're moving your entire household belongings, there's never any need to be concerned with carrying on too much luggage on Amtrak.

Just so you know, though, Amtrak does offer checked baggage service between PHL and NYP. Acela itself doesn't have a baggage car, but if you do want to check your bags, you can do so in PHL and they'll ride up to NYP on the next train passing through with checked baggage service (could be an hour later or could be late at night, depending on when you're traveling). You can then return to NYP later to pick up your bags--actually, that can be a pretty convenient option (it serves as a free left luggage service if you're going to want to go around NYC and do some things without your bags before checking into your hotel).

If you seek the assistance of a Red Cap, they will get you and your luggage on board - similarly, at NYP a Red Cap will be available to help you upstairs. Well worth the tip if you have large bags. Plus on boarding they will usually get you down to the train ahead of the masses.

Thanks for the further replies & advice, much appreciated ^

We’ll probably only have the one rollalong duffle each, so the luggage racks sound perfect.

It’s just that when I was looking a pictures of the Acela cars, it looked to me that perhaps the only luggage storage was the over head bins & I couldn’t really determine their size, nor did I see any evidence of the racks.

Then I got to thinking that perhaps the Acela is more suited to the business traveller, who travels light. But your replies & advice have cleared all that up for me now ^

Looking forward now to our first “spin” on an Acela :cool:

(Now remains the decision if we might treat ourselves to the First class car)

(Now remains the decision if we might treat ourselves to the First class car)
Just remember that there are no assigned seats on the Acela so there's no guarantee that you'll get seats together (either in F or the rest of the train) (not sure about how crowded Saturday Acelas are, though).

(Now remains the decision if we might treat ourselves to the First class car)

PHL-NYP is short enough of a run that I probably wouldn't bother to spring for F unless you were really interested in trying it out to see what it's like. The Acela first seats aren't really any better than the business seats, especially for a pair of people (the single seats are nice for single travelers, but they're only a tiny bit wider and don't feature any more pitch). And honestly, on that short of a run, seat comfort isn't a big deal--I'd probably just book Regional coach.

However, in F, you will get a pretty decent meal (on par with what you'd get in business class on a good airline) and complimentary alcoholic beverages. You'll also have access to the Club Acela in PHL (which also features elevators that take you straight down to the tracks, so you don't need to be board with the common masses when the train arrives) and another one after detraining in NYP (if you'd like a little place to relax before heading out into the city). If the price difference isn't an obstacle for you, it might be worth it just to enjoy those extra amenities.

Mmmmm food for thought :cool:

Thanks once again for the advice ^

Just remember that there are no assigned seats on the Acela so there's no guarantee that you'll get seats together (either in F or the rest of the train) (not sure about how crowded Saturday Acelas are, though).

I'd be suprised if you have a problem on the saturday Acela in F. Less business travelers using upgrades. Mrs. Forgetfu and I have never had a problem sitting together on weekend trips.

If I could just ask, how busy would the business car be on a weekend ??

Still busy, like a weekend, or a noticeable fall off in numbers ?

If I could just ask, how busy would the business car be on a weekend ??

Still busy, like a weekend, or a noticeable fall off in numbers ?

Do you mean the Business Class on the Acela or Regional? I have only traveled in Business on the Acela once so far (I believe it was 2254, but I'm unsure), and it was completely sold out on the Sunday evening (this was a few days before Christmas though, so that may have had something to do with it, and the snow was starting to pick up too.)

I would like to comment that the upgrade to First is nice for a change, but it wasn't really anything spectacular for myself and my other, because the attends were slackers. On the 2193 on a Friday, there were maybe only five of us in First Class. Go figure. There were three attendants, and they rarely checked on us once we were served, and they plates were gone.

However, if you hit it right and you get good attendants, then I would definitely recommend it for a shot. It's nice to take care of your meal while you're on the go like that, which I will say was better the what I got in J class on an Air Canada flight in August. The new deserts sound really good now too.

Do you mean the Business Class on the Acela or Regional? ........

The business car on the Acela !

Our trip PHL -> NYP will be on a Saturday afternoon / evening. So I'm wondering how busy the Business car would be, compared to a weekday.

I am leaning towards going in First, just to try it, but then for such a short trip :confused:

I took the Acela Business Class on a Sunday from Metropark(NJ) to Providence and it was around 90% full. However, when we reached Penn Station alot of people left but more boarded. It really depends I guess on what is happening in the areas that the train goes to possibly? For me it was during Columbus Day weekend so maybe that was why it was busy. Even the regular Northeast Regional is busy on coach usually...

Update !

Well we’re back home after our trip to the U.S..

In the end we went for the First Class service on the Acela & must say that we very impressed ^

Even though it was just a short journey, it was very enjoyable. The service at our seat was very well done indeed & we enjoyed the “Light Bites” & a beer as we speeded our way from PHL to NYP.

Our luggage wasn’t a problem even though the luggage rack was full, as we could store our bags on the floor, in what I would call the conductors station. (A little alcove with a desk & flip down seat)

The train looked quite busy / full as it pulled into PHL, but the First Car only had about a dozen or so people on board, with us & another couple getting on board at PHL.

Whenever we’re travelling between the cities served by the Acela along the NEC again, we will most definitely take the train & not even consider flying.

So thanks once again for all the advice offered in this thread in answer to my questions. All very much appreciated ^ ^

Update !
Our luggage wasn’t a problem even though the luggage rack was full, as we could store our bags on the floor, in what I would call the conductors station. (A little alcove with a desk & flip down seat)


That used to be a railphone that people could use with a credit card, to make phone calls. With just about everyone having a cell phone these days, Amtrak took out the phone, but left everything else as is.

That used to be a railphone that people could use with a credit card, to make phone calls. With just about everyone having a cell phone these days, Amtrak took out the phone, but left everything else as is.
Indeed. The actual "conductor's alcove" is in the cafe car. It's actually a small office--enough room for two people to comfortably stand--and has a computer screen the conductor can use to see the train's speed (actually, it's a mirror of what's up in the locomotive cab--you can see speed, air brake pressure, power consumption, train system health, and all kinds of things).

Looks like this (this is the one up in the engine cab, but again, it's the same thing):

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/41/105160054_e8e0e0077a.jpg

Looks like this (this is the one up in the engine cab, but again, it's the same thing):

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/41/105160054_e8e0e0077a.jpg

Wow, where'd you get that picture from, if you don't mind my asking?

From my camera. :p

The bigger question is, how did my camera get up front? Now that I can't reveal! :D