I've got three major experiences: BART, Amtrak California, and Amtrak -BART allows bicycles to roll on but only during non-commute hours, which is great for one-time trips or if you're lucky enough to have a flexible commuting schedule but sucks if you actually want to do a multi-modal commute (esp. across the bay). If the car is crowded you often have to stand with your bike, which isn't that bad since most trips are only about 20-30 mins. -Amtrak California, at least on the Capital Corridor line (San Jose- Sacramento) allows you roll on bikes and there's usually at least one car with racks for ~10 bikes. Busy times (holidays/weekends), it can be hard to find a spot, but the vast majority of times it's easy to find one. Great for when I visit the Bay Area from Sacramento, i usually bring a bike. -It's not roll-on but a lot of the longer distance amtrak lines (I took the coast starlight from sacramento-seattle and portland- sacramento this past summer) allow you to check a boxed bike as luggage, but their boxes (available at the station) are significantly easier than boxing a bike for shipping or airline travel. The amtrak boxes are big enough that all you have to do is take off your pedals and turn your handlebars sideways and then roll the bike into the box. Tall folks like me with high saddles might have to drop their saddle some. So, not as easy as roll on but still pretty easy, especially if you're traveling overnight.
On Nov 3, 10:26 am, Montclair BobbyB <montclairbob...@gmail.com> wrote: > I can't stop thinking about my experience this past weekend, > travelling to the Philly Bike Expo on my Bombadil and the train. It > definitely opened my eyes to the possibilities of this kind of combo > travel, but perhaps more important it exposed weaknesses in the train > transit system that will need further development. But overall it was > a great experience. > > This was my first (of hopefully many future) bike-train trip(s). Does > anyone else have experiences travelling with your bike by train? How > would you rate YOUR train service in terms of bike-friendliness? My > key observations about Amtrak, NJ Transit and SEPTA (greater Philly > area): > > - In the hall of shame is Amtrak, which although they allow folding > bicycles at all times, they prohibit roll-on/roll-off along the > Northeast Corridor line (even during off-hours), a situation that > frankly is unacceptable. This is our national rail system, our taxes > subsidize this system, and yet their mindset is so far behind the > times, it's frustrating. In fact, I wrote a letter to the Northeast > Regional Office of Government Affairs at Amtrak (Peter Cohen) last > winter, requesting special permission to roll my bike onto the train > to Washington to represent my state of NJ at the National Bike > Summit. Not only did Mr Cohen not reply, after receiving my second > inquiry he referred me to a customer service rep, where I got the > stock party-line answer "We don't have the equipment to handle > this"... which is a gutless and LAME response. (Thumbs DOWN!) > - NJ Transit allows folding-bicycles at all times, and full-size bikes > (roll on/off) during off-peak hours. The new double-decker trains are > very well-suited for bikes (in the accessible/wheelchair area) and > score high marks!!; the older single level trains are less well- > suited, and require placing bikes in seating areas in close proximity > to other passengers, often encroaching on the aisle. The conductors > were VERY helpful... this was much appreciated (thumbs UP!) > - SEPTA trains have a policy similar to NJ Transit, and these trains > are single level with no special accommodations for bikes, other than > to occupy an accessible seating space (like NJ Transit's older > trains). Conductors were polite and very accommodating (thumbs UP!) > > The encouraging news is that Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood > and the League of American Bicyclists are leaning on organizations, > including Amtrak to change their policy, and to make it feasible for > full size bikes to roll on and roll off Amtrak trains. > > One day I hope to hop on a train (with my Riv), and perhaps visit a > few people on this forum. > > Peace, > > BB -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
