For the next week and a half, I am experiencing a new form of travel. Rail. Rather than take my normal flight from RDU to DEN for one of our company meetings, I’ve decided to take the scenic route via an Amtrak train. The first leg of the trip is the Palmetto line from Wilson, NC to Washington, DC.
Cost
The cost of a ticket from Wilson, NC to Washington, DC is pretty reasonable at $51 each way. It’s a 4.5 hour ride and allows me to travel without dealing with the traffic issues that has aggravated me in the past.
Seating
The seats in the coach class are comparable to those on an airliner. The main difference being that if you aren’t comfortable, yo are free to get up and move about, I spent about half of the trip in the dining car. The food selections are bit limited but not without some variety. They ran out hot dogs pretty quickly but had pizza, sandwiches and tons of snacks. The beer selection was about all I could expect. Lots of American standards with the only “real” choices being Heineken, Dog Fish and Sam Adams (my choice). Hoping for a better selection on the next leg as I am all about that barley life.
Connectivity
Internet is free on Amtrak and works well enough for pushing commits and general usage (email, Facebook). The connection is a bit spotty, particularly between Rocky Mount and Richmond, VA. While testing an app, I got tons of errors when calling remote services. I didn’t have to resort to using my phone’s data plan, though, which has allowed me to save my precious bytes.
Ride
People on the train have been very courteous and I had no worries about leaving my carry-on in the coach cabin while I went to the dining car (unless you have a sexy underwear fetish, why would you want my bag anyway?). The train does jostle a bit at times, reminding me of some of the more turbulent flights I’ve experienced but for most of the ride it’s pretty easy to read/write/type without trouble. If you are prone to motion sickness, it might be a bit difficult in spots. I was unable to fall asleep but that may have been due more to my excitement at starting the trip.
Lessons learned so far
I really enjoy not driving. And not having to sit still for hours on a plane. And not having to take my shoes off. And not going through metal detectors.
Bring an ample supply of snacks that you like. You are also not allowed to consume your private stock of alcohol outside of your sleeper cabin. With the price of the available sleeper at $1100, I’ll settle for Sam Adams.
My first thought upon arriving in DC was “why didn’t I do this sooner”. It took only a few minutes walking from Union Station to remind me why I loved working here years ago. There will be a lot more train rides to DC (an possibly points north) in the future.
The Cocoa Nomad 