Do Amtrack trains have 100V A/C???

Title says it all, but just to beat it to death:

Do Amtrack trains have 100V A/C???

That'd certaintly make it easier to run my laptop on a muti-day Amtrack trip.

For that matter, do Amtrack triains have wifi???

 

Some do, some don't. Amtrak has lots of different trains...

 

1st class/business and sleepers yes, coach not many, link.

 

Thanks very much for the link!

No mention of wifi, which doesn't surprise me much.

Maybe that's what 4G smartphones are for?

 

I can only speak about trains on the Northeast Corridor trains (between Boston <--> New York <--> Washington DC).

There are two types of trains:
Acela Express - One 110V socket per seat. WiFi for the entire train
Regional - One 110V socket per seat. WiFi is slowly beign rolled out train-by-train, so internet access is not guaranteed.

 

Other Songs here is a link about the Wi-Fi.

It looks like it will be painful, remember 56K and slower? Sounds like that to me. So yea I think that is what your 4G phone is for. I used airplane Wi-Fi and not even worth the $5.

 

I agree. Do not expect to have consistent connectivity, or fast speeds. Especially when you are in remote areas between some major station stops, or going through the underground tunnels when pulling into a major city train stop. The internet access is "good enough" to check email, or to background-load a bunch of web pages across multiple browser tabs that you'll read. It's not something you'd want to use for any kind of interactivity or online gaming.

If you're looking for a high-speed and reliable internet connection, I'd suggest a 4G WiFi hotspot or a 4G tethered smartphone. You can expect 5Mbps - 20Mbps downstream on a 4G connection, about 50ms ping times, and a network that is stable enough to do online gaming (e.g. a 45-minute League of Legends game on the train between Washington DC and New York City).

 

I guess times have changed. Although not in every day service, every now and then they would use rolling stock from the 70's and 80's.

 

Might also be worth mentioning that unlike on airline, business class on Amtrak isn't always ridiculously expensive. As in, you might be able to afford it even if you're not wealthy.

 

Meh. Business class on Amtrak trains isn't all that big of an upgrade. The only real difference is that you get meal service, and you get to sit in an "exclusive" car.

If you want food on a train, buy food at a train station and bring it onto the train with you. That will be better food than what they serve.
If you want an "exclusive" car, look for the Quiet Car. That car is usually the emptiest car on the train.



The real advantage of using Amtrak (vs. flying) is that:

* You can show up at the train station 10 minutes before your train is scheduled to leave, and still get on without any hassle or rush.
* Schedule changes are easy. You can easily take an earlier / later train by just paying the fare difference in the ticket (if any). Amtrak does not charge you "change fees" or price-gouge you by charging you $2,000 for a last-minute ticket. If you're scheduled for a 6:00pm train, but get to the station early and want to take the 5:00pm train instead, it is usually very easy to do so.

It's a very low-stress way of travelling if you live along the Northeast Corridor.