The Great Ballpark Tour - Day 6 (but talking about Day 3 for now)

Add comment June 30th, 2008

Playing catchup here as we’ve done nothing but run around since coming to the capital Friday evening.

For those of you worrying, yes we got a complete ballgame in on Saturday. But it did have a rain delay. Of course it did. The weather is supposed to be fine tonight in Baltimore, but I’ll believe it when I see it.

More later on our weekend in DC, but, again, this *is* a transportation blog so here’s some takeaways from the Amtrak trip from Pittsburgh to DC:

Train: Capitol Limited, train 30

Departed: Pittsburgh, approx 7:40 a.m. (scheduled 5:45 a.m.)

Arrived: D.C., approx 4 p.m. (scheduled 1:30 p.m.) This is according to independent site AmtrakDelays.com

Note: We were booked on the 7:20 am Pennsylvanian to Philly, transferring to DC, so we could avoid the ridiculously early Capitol Limited. But when we got to the station, the Cap Ltd was running late, so we asked and were able to change our tickets. Good thing too…

Positives:

• The friendly and helpful staff, such as the Pittsburgh agent who changed our tickets and the various conducters and train personnel.
• Because it’s a long-haul train, it has a ridiculous amount of legroom in coach compared with airplanes. Seats also had legrests and reclined enough to be quite comfortable (and because of the legroom, you weren’t cramping the person behind you).
• Unlike the Pennsylvanian, this one had a dining car. The food wasn’t stellar but the community seating is always a plus for me. We had a great time talking to a couple of women, one from Michigan and one from Virginia, about tourism and travel experiences.
• This train also had a second-level sightseeing lounge for great views of the Cumberland area, Harpers Landing and other pretty spots. Also, a great location for more random conversation with people, including a gentleman from Montana distantly related to one of my college friends. Small world.
• Upon arrival to D.C., I was debating which Union Station I liked more, the capital’s or Chicago’s. Oh man, I forgot how nice Washington Union Station is, with its restored architecture and great mix of stores and services. This is actually my favorite Amtrak station, though I’m still a Grand Central fan for overall train stations. But here’s a tip - the “New York style pizza” in the food court is only marginally authentic.

Negatives:

• As always, the unreliability of Amtrak’s long-haul routes is the biggest problem. Amtrak doesn’t own its tracks, instead using Norfolk Southern and CSX lines.  The big causes of delays on the route are freight trains clogging the tracks and signal problems. It’s something I know Amtrak is working on as it tries to get more power with the freight companies to keep its schedule.
• That said, it’s even more annoying to hear people complain loudly about the delays, saying “They don’t know how to run a train.” I feel like giving everyone who says something like that a card that says “call your Congressman” because it’s the relative lack of funding over the years that has given Amtrak infrastructure that doesn’t serve it well. We’re never going to get great intercity passenger service without funding it.
• I won’t harp on the food because, well, what do you expect from any train, plane or rest stop? But the servers were a bit overwhelmed and one made several mistakes taking orders that rankled some fellow passengers.
• As I hinted in the Detroit post, I wish Amtrak had the funding for nicer stations in more places. They do a great job when they can - Washington, Milwaukee, etc - but the Pittsburgh station was a sad place. Here’s hoping, should Illinois lawmakers get a capital plan approved, the new stations that get built in northern Illinois really shine. I know they’ll be simple, but nice new train stations could add to communities.

So, more positives than negatives, and most of the negatives were out of Amtrak’s control. If you have a liesurely schedule and can afford a late train and a slower trip than the plane, I recommend Amtrak. You’ll be comfortable, meet interesting people and see some great places.

More on the capital tonight…