The_Bouncer

I am contemplating a 27-hour journey on Amtrak, from Phoenix (Maricopa) to Houston.
I realise the trains themselves have fallen victim to the smoke police, but what about stops en-route?
Is it likely that I will get a chance to hop out at intermediate stations for a smoke?
As much as I am looking forward to this trip, I will seriously bin it off and fly or drive, if it means 27 hours without a smoke, as this would completely destroy my enjoyment of the journey.

cblaisd

Some general info here: https://www.amtrak.com/smoking-policy

http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/inde...moking-breaks/

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopi...in_Travel.html

The_Bouncer

Thanks for this. I think I'll give it a try.

GrayAnderson

I'm not a smoker but I have a friend whom I travel with who is. Long story short, there are semi-designated smoke stops (technically "fresh air/stretch/smoke stops"). A number of these are crew change stops (SAS will be one, as well as being an equipment shuffle stop; I believe ELP will as well) and others are high-volume pax stops (not really applicable in your case).

The general rule is that the conductors can ax a stop in the interest of time, but the conductors are also not inclined to do so for the sake of everyone involved. Usually if a stop is a smoke stop you'll have time, at a bare minimum, for a quick smoke. Additionally, if a train is early (probably not applicable in your case) at a station it can become an "extra" smoke stop since they can't leave a station until the posted time. I've seen this happen a lot on the Silver Meteor on weekends (CSX treats that train reasonably well, and the light freight traffic on weekends means I've seen every second stop become a de facto smoke stop because we didn't have any other meets).

dogbert617

I've heard Alpine, TX is a smoking stop as well. If you're going between those cities, supposedly(per what I saw on a thread on amtraktrains.com ) Tucson, El Paso, Alpine, and San Antonio are smoking stops. Like the other poster said, they'll infrequently announce extra smoking stops(albeit they may not be too long, but just long enough for a quick smoke) if the train is running on time.

The_Bouncer

I took the train from Tucson to Houston, and there were just enough smoking breaks to keep me sane. Just.

As previously stated, the smoke breaks were El Paso, Alpine and San Antonio - 5-8 hours inbetween. These are long intervals and I was climbing the walls for at least two hours before each break.

Overall, I have to say that the smoking issue severely detracted from my enjoyment of the journey. It was a hard journey for a smoker and one that I don't think I would repeat.

T8191

Sadly, this issue has prevented us from taking what could have been some interesting journeys. I'm sure Amtrak will survive without us.

The_Bouncer

I'm sure it will. I'm sure I'll also survive in my rental car.

It is a shame, because I liked every other aspect of the Amtrak experience. Sadly though, it was spoiled by the smoking issue. I simply couldn't enjoy the journey, when I was desperate to get out and fire up a smoke. Unfortunately, my first long distance ride on Amtrak will also be my last.

In complete contrast to this, I travelled on the Premier Classe about a week later, from Johannesburg to Cape Town, which is a thoroughly civilised way to travel. There was a smoking bar at the end of the train, which made such a difference to the enjoyment levels, in that I wasn't watching the clock, waiting for the next chance to escape and light up.