Amtrak Trains Used in Hurricane Gustav Evacuation

I read a series of postings on the Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum about how Amtrak trains were being used to evacuate New Orleans residents in advance of Hurricane Gustav.

This photo of an evacuation train set is stunning and shows how a variety of different kinds of rail cars, many of which are older and not used for regular service anymore, are linked together and used for a very worthwhile and potentially life-saving purpose.

It would be nice to see rail travel more widely involved in evacuation and preparedness plans in the future.  Furthermore, investing money in infrastructure such as train stations, extra tracks, and service to more cities that do not currently have train service will give our country more options when emergencies arise in the coming years.

Cheapest Amtrak Ticket Ever

One of my earlier postings detailed a trip to Paoli, PA I took last year on Amtrak which was extremely inexpensive for an Amtrak trip (the ticket was $6 from Philadelphia).  I recently found what probably is the absolute cheapest Amtrak ticket possible (other than free tickets earned through Amtrak Guest Rewards) — a trip from St. Louis, Missouri to Alton, Illinois.  The base fare on this run varies from $2 to $7, and with discounts such as student advantage, military, etc. the price can be even lower.

Here’s a photo of an actual ticket to prove that it’s real.

Obviously, earning points should not be the only reason to take a train trip.  But it’s not a bad thing to earn points on a meaningful trip, such as one for business or to visit friends or eat dinner.

Same Money on Amtrak rides between NYC and Philadelphia

While playing around on Amtrak.com, I noticed some peculiarities in the pricing of tickets from New York City. If your travel plans involve travel from NYC to Philadelphia, it might be worth looking into the price of tickets to cities west of Philadelphia to see if they are cheaper.  You’d just get off the train in Philly.  Some possibilities to try include Paoli ( PAO ), Lancaster ( LNC ), and Harrisburg ( HAR ).

Here are two screen shots that show an example of the pricing oddity.

NYC to Philly pricing

NYC to Lancaster pricing – note same train number

Amtrak Trains are Fast!

I played with a Garmin GPS unit on my Amtrak ride from Philly to Harrisburg and was amazed at the speeds our train was hitting, especially in the rural areas near Lancaster, PA.  The highest speed recorded on the journey was 111 mph, and the speed at the instant this photo was taken was 108 mph!

Trip to TJ’s Drinkery in Paoli

Some photos from my trip last night to TJ’s Drinkery in Paoli, PA, a restaurant I enjoy visiting because of its proximity to the Amtrak Keystone line ($12 roundtrip fare from Philadelphia and you earn guest rewards points), the great beer selection (no Miller Lite or Coors Lite, rather, you enjoy finer selections such as Victory Baltic Thunder, Newcastle, or one of about 200 other selections), and the food, which is also quite good.

 Beers served in proper glassware.

 List of draft beers available.  Most cost about $5.

 Amtrak Keystone train in Paoli station

 Amtrak rail ticket from Paoli to Philadelphia showing $6 one way fare.  You will probably never see a cheaper Amtrak ticket.

 Quesadillas.  Mmm!