Jim: For all those with folding bikes, S&S coupled bikes or who live near a train hub with baggage service, life is good. But I have none of these options, and neither do most people living along train routes. And to be fair I did consider the box option. When planning my Washington trip I even looked into taking a local train back to Newark (in the opposite direction) so I could arrange for a box (which BTW Amtrak recommends you reserve ahead of time, since they don't usually have them readily on hand and need to deliver to the station). But then I wondered what would I do with the box once I arrive in Washington? I'd essentially have to discard it, and purchase a new one for the return trip. Aside from the wasteful aspect, it creates a somewhat risky logistics challenge, especially if the box doesn't show up at the right time and place. Sorry to say that bike and train via Amtrak is not something one can spontaneously pull off on the fly... it requires a good deal of planning, logistics, and (frankly) major inconvenience.
I suppose I could take a bus, too...if I'm willing to pedal to a major bus station. There are buses that will take my unboxed bike and store it in the luggage bay as-is... This is OK, but I wouldn't store my Riv down there without protecting it from getting tossed around. I at least applaud the bus companies for attempting to accommodate the need... Hey, I just took my bike to and from Philly on the train this weekend. It took 2 trains (which I was fine with), but while I waited for the local train, 2 Amtrak trains passed me by, each one heading through Philly. It's a bloody shame I'm not allowed to ride these trains with my bike, even though I'd be willing to pay extra to ride Amtrak. Thanks, BB On Nov 3, 2:20 pm, Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery <thill....@gmail.com> wrote: > I agree that roll-on bike service would be great, but I have found > Amtrak to be a wonderful way to travel with a bicycle. If you are > traveling between two stations that offer luggage service, then simply > use one of the Amtrak bike boxes. It's not ideal, but it's not as bad > as people often imagine it to be. If you have a bike with S&S > couplers, then the case is small enough to travel as carry-on, no > luggage service required. > > On Nov 3, 12:26 pm, 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- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - -- 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.
