Amtrak

The main stations covered by Amtrak’s route map include

• Portland Union Station
• New Haven
• Washington DC Union Station
• King Street Station
• Vancouver
• Niagara Falls
• Moynihan Train Hall
• San Jose Diridon Station
• Fort Lauderdale
• Albany Rensselaer
• Bridgeport
• Indianapolis
• Dallas
• Lakeland
• Pittsburgh Union Station
• Ann Arbor
• Santa Fe Depot
• Johnstown
• Bakersfield
• Orlando
• Tampa Union Station
• Chicago Union Station
• Miami
• Birmingham Main
• Jacksonville
• Reno
• South Station
• Sacramento Valley Station
• New York Penn Station
• Milwaukee Intermodal
• Longview
• Cleveland
• Erie
• 30th Street Station
• Newark Liberty Airport
• Rochester
• Los Angeles Union Station
• Colliseum Oakland
• Charlotte
• Peachtree Station
• Detroit
• Amtrak Palm Springs
• Las Vegas
• Wilmington
• Utica
• Syracuse
• Poughkeepsie
• Albuquerque
• Lake Charles
• Lancaster
• Ardmore
• Meridian
• Bellingham
• Charleston
• Dillon
• Pittsfield
• Livermore Transit Center
• Grand Junction
• Oklahoma City
• Kankakee
• Flagstaff
• Florence
• Altoona
• Omaha
• Fresno
• Clemson
• Port Huron
• Anniston
• Cumberland
• Eugene
• Burbank Airport
• Charlottesville
• Texarkana
• Jackson
• Lynchburg
• Lafayette
• Danville
• Savannah
• Hayward
• Fayetteville
• Cincinnati
• Memphis
• Wenatchee
• Denver
• Latrobe
• Kalamazoo
• Okeechobee
• Columbia
• Flint
• Gallup
• El Paso
• Winslow
• Winter Haven
• Needles
• Kingman
• Pontiac
• Modesto
• Toledo
• New Orleans
• Oceanside
• West Palm Beach
• Spokane
• Paso Robles
• St Louis
• Grand Rapids
• Del Rio
• Battle Creek
• Temple
• Fullerton
• Yuma
• Huntington
• Tucson
• San Antonio
• Everett
• Oxnard
• Champaign Urbana

Here are some of the routes offered by Amtrak which enjoy the greatest popularity with travellers:

• Boston - New York
• Orlando - Miami
• New York - Boston
• Miami - Orlando
• New York - Washington DC
• Tampa - Orlando
• Tampa - Miami
• Orlando - Tampa
• Washington DC - New York
• Miami - Tampa
• Philadelphia - New York
• Fort Lauderdale - Orlando
• Orlando - Fort Lauderdale
• San Diego - Los Angeles
• Los Angeles - San Diego
• New York - Philadelphia
• Fayetteville - New York
• New York - Niagara Falls
• Boston - Philadelphia
• Champaign - Chicago
• Portland Oregon - Seattle
• New York - Albany New York
• Seattle - Portland Oregon
• Washington DC - Philadelphia
• Washington DC - Newark
• Vancouver - Portland Oregon
• Los Angeles - Tucson
• New York - Pittsburgh
• Vancouver - Seattle
• Chicago - Champaign
• San Antonio - Dallas Texas
• Philadelphia - Boston
• Lakeland - Miami
• New York - Utica
• Altoona - Pittsburgh
• Washington DC - New Haven
• Orlando - Jacksonville Florida
• New York - Danville
• Boston - New Haven
• Washington DC - Florence South Carolina
• New York - Cleveland Ohio
• Savannah - Orlando
• Los Angeles - Palm Springs
• Los Angeles - Santa Barbara
• Philadelphia - Newark
• Chicago - Toledo Ohio
• Laughlin - Los Angeles
• Eugene - Sacramento
• Bakersfield - Modesto
• Portland Oregon - Vancouver
• Newark - New York
• Los Angeles - Santa Ana California
• New York - Fayetteville
• Florence South Carolina - Washington DC
• Pittsburgh - Cleveland Ohio
• Pasadena California - San Diego
• Niagara Falls - Rochester New York
• Niagara Falls - Albany New York
• Wilmington - Charlotte
• Indianapolis - Cincinnati
• Pittsburgh - Chicago
• Chicago - Flint
• Lynchburg - Washington DC
• Dallas Texas - Temple Texas
• Pittsburgh - New York
• Philadelphia - Pittsburgh
• West Palm Beach - Jacksonville Florida
• Flagstaff - Los Angeles
• Chicago - Cincinnati
• Memphis - New Orleans Louisiana
• Bellingham - Seattle
• Bridgeport - Newark
• Washington DC - Charlotte
• Los Angeles - Yuma
• Sacramento - City of San Jose
• Johnstown - New York
• Charlottesville - Danville
• Charlottesville - New York
• Chicago - Memphis
• New Haven - Philadelphia
• Tampa - West Palm Beach
• Los Angeles - Pasadena California
• Washington DC - Lynchburg
• Denver - Grand Junction
• New York - Bridgeport
• Bridgeport - Boston
• City of San Jose - Los Angeles
• Champaign - Memphis
• Laughlin - Las Vegas
• Battle Creek - Detroit
• Pasadena California - Oceanside
• Gary - Chicago
• Wilmington - New Haven
• Seattle - Vancouver
• Chicago - Cleveland Ohio
• Jacksonville Florida - Fort Lauderdale
• Albany New York - New York
• Philadelphia - Johnstown
• Philadelphia - Washington DC
• Vancouver - Bellingham

Depending on the length of your trip and your preferences you can choose a first or second class ticket in a sleeper coach for an overnight trip or opt for a hard or soft seat if available. Note that the choice of ticket classes depends both on the route and the length of your trip. Basically, your train may feature first class berths but you will not be able to book one if you are doing just a short two-hour stretch. In general, second class berths are a good choice for longer trips, and soft seats get you covered if your train ride is supposed to take under 4-5 hours.

Pros of Train Travel

• The best thing about railway travel is no traffic jams. Even on rush-hour, long weekends or during the high season
• An easy online booking process – you do not need to go to the railway station, which was the case in many places not so long ago!
• Prices for train tickets are usually more affordable compared to airplane tickets yet for certain destinations and trips the total travel time can be almost the same
• While rail travel is obviously slower than air travel, railway stations are often located in the centre of the city which saves you a sack of time getting to/from there while airports are almost always are quite a long way out of the city
• Travelling by night allows you to save on a hotel room and sleep well at the same time – opposite to a night bus where even the sleeping class is a huge compromise
• On certain routes luxury service is available

Cons of Train Travel

• For longer trips a train ride is definitely more time consuming than air journeys
• Trains do ride on schedule but being out of schedule is not unheard of for train travel – and delays can be huge, so if you are planning a connection to your flight, carefully check the time your train arrives at the station and think twice.
• Cleanliness is sometimes an issue with second and third class tickets, and with toilets, too.
• If your train makes a lot of stops, in some cases it is difficult to figure out when to get off as stops are not always clearly announced or marked with the exception of an electronic screen.