Most Amtrak routes offer Café service, with a variety of meals, snacks and beverages for sale. Customers in all classes of service are invited to the Café and service is available from early morning until late at night.
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Flexible diningA wide selection of wine, beer, and spirits (the first one is on us), plus unlimited soft drinks throughout the journey. Complimentary room service provided by the Sleeping Car attendant. Exclusive onboard lounge space for Sleeping Car customers to dine and socialize 24/7.
All your meals are includedYou can enjoy good food, drinks, with a window seat to view incredible scenery. In addition to our regular menu items, kids can get all their favorites onboard. All food onboard is handled with the utmost care for your health and safety.
General Guidelines: Tipping is NOT required, but is considered correct for the service crew personnel on the train. Recommendations: Snack bar attendant: roughly 10%. Dining car: 15% of menu prices (sleeping car passengers may want to note this when ordering their meals).
Private Stock. You may bring aboard your own private stock of alcoholic beverages subject to the following limitations: You may consume private stock alcoholic beverages only in Sleeping Car accommodations for which you have a valid ticket. You may not consume private stock alcoholic beverages in any public areas.
You're allowed to walk about the train as often as you'd like. Just make sure to watch where you're walking onboard the train between cars. The safety plates often shift and pinch when the train is in motion. You don't want to be the victim of a freak accident while trying to enjoy your bucket list vacation.
Sitting in the café car for the entire ride is totally acceptable. If you purchase sleeping accommodations (roomette, bedroom etc.), your meals are in included in your ticket.
A small cooler counts as a carry-on bag, and you can bring snacks, meals, take out food from nearby restaurants and even alcohol on Amtrak (note that to consume alcohol, you must be in a roomette or bedroom).
Checked baggage service is available at a number of our stations and on many trains and Thruway Services. Not all trains or locations are equipped to handle checked baggage. Before you travel, make sure to check and see if your train and origin and destination stations accept checked baggage.
If you're traveling in coach on some of Amtrak's long-distance train services, you'll now have the opportunity to use the dining car onboard. Coach passengers will now be able to enjoy full-fledged meals for an additional cost in the dining car, which was a beloved service removed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
You may bring your own food and beverages onboard for consumption at your seat or private Sleeping Car accommodations. However, you can only consume food and beverages purchased in Dining and Lounge Cars in those cars. Personal food and beverages are allowed in the upper level of Superliner Sightseer Lounges.
Pro Tip: The best part about traveling by train? No liquids restrictions! Make sure you don't leave home without bringing the necessities! Each traveler may bring 2 personal and 2 carry-on items plus check up to 4 bags (2 free and 2 at $20 per bag).
Planes and trains do move, though. Passenger rail cars are a special type of water system, called an Interstate Carrier Conveyance (ICC), covered under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
In almost all cases, Amtrak seats are not assigned. The exception is Acela Express route seats and business class seating on the Northeast Regional, Carolinian, Palmetto, and Vermonter. Otherwise, Amtrak has a first-come, first-serve seating policy for coach seats.
Arriving at the StationPlan to arrive at the station at least 30 minutes before your train is scheduled to depart (Auto Train passengers should arrive at the station at least two hours prior to departure).
The average Amtrak Coach seat measures 23 inches in width (compared to around 17 inches for airplane equivalent seating) with exceptional legroom and the ability to recline for an even more comfortable sleeping position.
You can lock the door when you are inside the roomette, but you cannot lock it from the outside, so avoid leaving valuables in the roomette when you are not there. Bedrooms offer larger private accommodations at an extra cost. The only non-private seating on Amtrak trains is coach seating.
You can bring a smaller cooler or insulated lunch bag with you on the train to include refrigerated foods, or consider buying a meal at or near your starting station to eat while on board. If you're planning to pack food at home before your trip, here are some idea: Salty snacks like nuts, chips, crackers, pretzels.