Originally Posted by the_traveler
For the past many years, Amtrak has "recommended" that a passsport be used. And it states "A driver's license is not accepted!"
So unless you want to carry your original birth certificate, you will need to carry your passport anyway!
If you don't have a passport, then as noted your birth certificate is perfectly acceptable, as long as you have a photo ID in addition to the birth cert. And you
must have that photo ID, as just the birth cert by itself will not work. You will not endure extra scrutiny just because you don't have a passport, so there really is no difference other than the need to carry both the birth cert and a photo ID vs. the passport.
It should be noted though, that unless the law is changed, come January 1, 2008 you will need a passport from that point on. The airline and cruise ships part of the law take effect this January 1st, 2007, while ground crossings (driving & train) take effect 1 year later.
Ps. It doesn't need to be your original birth cert, but it must be an official birth cert with a raised seal.