Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by prof.gfr on July 29, 2013 at 8:38am

Thanks - very handy and timely!

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Permalink Reply by Larry Mysz on July 29, 2013 at 10:58am

Last year my wife and I used Amtrak to get to and from the Katy Trail in MO.  We rolled bikes on the Amtrak Illinois service in Joliet, trained to St. Louis, and transferred to the Amtrak Missouri River Runner service from St. Louis to Sedalia, MO.  After biking the Katy trail end to end and hanging out in some interesting towns, we returned on Amtrak from St. Louis to Joliet.

We did feel some self generated pressure to get our 2 bikes+6 panniers on and off the train quickly, but the crew never rushed us.  

We were asked to load the bikes into the overhead on all three legs. Each time we agreed, and asked the conductor if he would help if we were unable to hoist the bikes up there ourselves.  Each time the conductor immediately suggested we roll the bikes to an area at the front of the car and tie them down.   I suspect they accommodated us only because we're senior citizens and they were worried we'd drop the bikes on other passengers.    If you're 31 and look strong, they might be more insistent about your using the overhead.

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Eli on July 30, 2013 at 5:31am

Thank you for posting this--it's really nice to have all this information (which trains allow bikes, what interesting places those trains go to, suggested rides near the stations) in one place.

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on July 30, 2013 at 6:20am

Thanks are due to the League of Illinois Bicyclists for the information and to fellow Chainlinkers for all of the really useful responses and elaboration!  Check out the LIB site and think about joining/donating. 
 
Eli said:

Thank you for posting this--it's really nice to have all this information (which trains allow bikes, what interesting places those trains go to, suggested rides near the stations) in one place.

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Permalink Reply by Alex Z on October 14, 2013 at 2:15am

I walked my bike onto the Amtrak train in Springfield, en route to Chicago, on Sunday. $10 charge for the bike. What a thrill not to have to box it up!

 

I felt like I got a little bit of attitude from the conductor about it. I asked him where he'd like me to put the bike and he said, "Wherever you can keep it out of the way. There's not really any bike space." This surprised me because at the ticket counter they were very friendly and acted like it was no big deal.

 

I ended up putting it near the front of one of the cars, in the open area that I'd always assumed was maybe for handicapped seating or for families traveling with a big stroller. Fortunately there was just a young couple sitting there.

 

The train was not crowded; I think I'd be hesitant to do this again during a "peak" travel time.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Peterson on October 14, 2013 at 2:46am

I've taken bikes on Amtrak twice now. 

The first time was from Princeton to Naperville. The second time was from Union Station.

In each case I purchased the ticket ahead of time as Amtrak stipulates a max of 4 bike per train. What is the point of this limit I wonder?

On both trips the conductors were great and directed us to a car where we simply placed the bikes at one end of a car, even for the Champaign train which we were told was "completely booked".

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Permalink Reply by Alex Z on October 14, 2013 at 5:36am

Eric Peterson said:

In each case I purchased the ticket ahead of time as Amtrak stipulates a max of 4 bike per train. What is the point of this limit I wonder?

Space reasons, maybe?

Re: conductors, seems like it might be hit or miss. I can understand the conductors would feel frustrated--much like the Metra conductor who posted here a while back--that Amtrak allows bikes without providing a designated place for them.

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