Tuesday 15th September
Woke up a bit earlier than my alarm but not by much and packed up my things and checked out. It was time to wave goodbye to a beautiful hotel. Dragging a suitcase turned a 5 min walk into about 10 mins (it was slightly uphill and the lights were against me) from the hotel to Union Station.
I picked up my prepaid ticket and was then told they dont allow checked baggage to New York 🙁 There was not a single red cap in sight either so that meant I couldn’t even pay someone to take my luggage for me. I ended up having to drag it round while I picked up a coffee and a danish at Au Bon Pain before finding a spot to sit down.
When the train was finally called for boarding I was “randomly” screened for security. Which prompted the usual questions “so your australian” “its so expensive to get there right?” So tired of those same questions now but then again thats about all they can probably think of!
Washington DC Union Station to New York City Penn Station (WAS-NYC)
Amtrak Acela – Train 2158
0900/1145
Business Class
Boarding: 0845
Depart: 0900
Arrive: 1155
As they don’t allocate seating on this train I decided I would head to the carriage furtherest from the entrance as this is where there should be the most amount of seats as if anyone is like me, they are lazy. The decision was right as when I got up there, there was only 3 other people in the carriage. I was surprised at just how much leg room there was. I was expecting maybe just a tiny amount of leg room like onboard a flight but there was a very decent amount. The tray tables were a touch annoying as you had to pull them all the way up and they did that with a very loud noise.
Seats reclined enough to make the journey comfortable. It was nice and quiet and as we pulled out of the station we quickly picked up speed. Not quite sure what speed we were at but it was quite good. I had read online that all passengers get a complimentary beverage (but this was false) so a few dollars later I had a bottle of water to keep the journey going.
The train was quiet and quickly smashed through the miles. With heaps of leg room, I can see why people would take this over the DC Flight Shuttles any day. Being dropped off right in the centre of the city would certainly have its benefits. I guess its probably part of its benefits.
After passing through Baltimore, Philadelphia and Newark we were soon enough in New York and it meant I was off the training and dragging my bag to find a cab rank to find the hotel.
A Short, comfortable journey with plenty of leg room, no real security or check in or baggage lines. What more can you want in a trip!