Amtrak Reviews 

Comfortable and easy trip.

I must say, it cost me a lot to realize, as I was used to how Amtrak runs in the California Corridor, that it is different in the rest of the country.
For example, I could not find the shuttle, nor anyone that knew a damn thing at the Phoenix Airport about it and almost wore my wife out walking around the airport before the trip even started. Then we paid for a ride all the way back to town and two hotel nights as the train leaves Maricopa at 5 am every 3 days!
But what you find is the early morning train and a bygone experience that is priceless and relaxing way to travel. People of all shapes, sizes and colors and backgrounds and nearly everyone willing to share. Never had to worry about my computer sitting in the observation car and made many freinds and even gave some advice to a drunk Woke person who really had poor self esteem, about not buying into to every brainless label and category people put on you. We are all more than a category or limited label—whether as to sex or mental capacity! Really enjoyed all the Amish I met and a couple of real southerners, black, white and native. An exceptional way to really relax and just hang out with God’s children on their way to different places in life!

My wife and I just completed a round trip to NYC from Richmond, VA this past weekend. SABINA: stands for Such A Bloody Experience Never Again. We decided to travel Business for $ 435 per ticket! Upon our boarding in Richmond, and reaching the Business Class car, we found that the door was not functional, i.e. it did not open. Therefore we had to hurry on back to the end of the next car, which is where we came from, to board the train and sheep our suit cases and bags 1.5 car length! So much for business class treatment! None of the Amtrak staff, including the conductor, knew about the door issue! The ride, while still on VA rail, was somewhat acceptable. This unfortunately changed for the worse once we crossed the State line into DC. Regrettably it got worse as we proceeded north. The cars were shaking and rattling so bad, I kept wondering when we would reach the moment when the train would derail. I am not exaggerating! Forget about attempting to type on a computer. The food and beverage car was an absolute joke! Coffee, once the server arrived from his break, and plastic wrapped sweets with a 100 year shelf life! That’s it! The seats were the exact same as in cattle class, just a little more space from row to row. The form or shape of the seat back could not have been more ergonomically incorrect. My shoulders and back still hurt 48 hours later. Like I stated at the start of this review - NEVER AGAIN!

My young adult son and I took a round-trip on the California Zephyr from Chicago to Provo, Utah. Including the train rides from our hometown to Chicago and back, plus layovers in stations, we spent about 80 hours. Most of the unpleasant parts of the experience were beyond Amtrak’s control and related to the behavior of passengers. I can’t hold Amtrak responsible for its ticket-buyers being inconsiderate, smelly or snoring. The Amtrak staff ranged from benign to very nice, and we encountered one single delay of nearly an hour — again over the course of 80 hours of traveling — which I don’t consider egregious. If the ticket and food prices were a little lower, I would give them 5 stars. I will definitely ride with them again. It’s a big train and not too difficult to identify the unpleasant passengers and avoid them. I hope more people who like Amtrak will publish positive reviews, because I think such a low star rating for them is not an accurate reflection of their average trip.

Two stars only because some good past experiences on auto train. But the latest was so bad I'm still baffled. First class from Sanford to Lorton, roomette, cabin attendant refused basically the most basic of services. I'm currently at the station now waiting to disembark and my bed has not been put back up despite calling 3x. He refused all services on this first class 17 hour trip. Amtrak needs more consistency. The tickets are not cheap.

I am extremely dissatisfied with my recent Amtrak travel experience. From the moment I boarded, the trip was disorganized and uncomfortable. There was no designated space available for my luggage, which created unnecessary stress and inconvenience. Additionally, although my ticket was booked together with my daughter, we were not seated anywhere near each other. Instead, I was placed in business class, separated from her entirely, which defeated the purpose of booking together.

To make matters worse, several passengers occupied seats with their personal belongings and refused to move them, even when it was clear that seating was limited. This lack of enforcement by staff contributed to an already frustrating situation. Overall, this was the worst Amtrak experience I have had. Given the significant inconvenience, lack of proper seating, and poor management of passenger conduct, I believe a full refund is warranted.

We decided to check off a bucket list item on our trip to DC and take a train ride with Amtrak. Yes, it takes longer, but we expected the nostalgia and comfort to make it worthwhile.

Since we were traveling overnight, we booked a small sleeper cabin. It was tight—which we expected—but it was also difficult to navigate for first-time users. While the beds were clean and ready, the overall room was not. The luggage area even had bits of leftover food. I will say the conductor on this leg was helpful and attentive, which we appreciated.

The return trip was a completely different story—and not in a good way.

We had to book business class, as it was the only option available. Again, the seating area was not fully clean. There were crushed chips under my seat, and I had to listen to them crunch for the entire trip.

On top of that, the conductor was rigid to the point of being unreasonable about seat assignments. Even when another passenger gave permission for a seat change—or when seats were clearly no longer occupied—he refused to allow any flexibility. This directly contradicts what is stated on their website about conductors assisting with seat changes.

More concerning was his attitude. He was rude, mumbled complaints about passengers under his breath, and created an uncomfortable environment for everyone around him.

We went into this experience hoping for a unique and memorable adventure. Instead, it turned into 12 hours of discomfort and frustration. Experiences like this are exactly why people don’t return.

Afterward, I looked at reviews—and unfortunately, our experience isn’t an isolated one. That’s what makes it worse. It suggests a pattern that hasn’t been addressed.

We won’t be taking another train trip like this. At least on a plane, if something goes wrong, it’s over in a couple of hours. This was 12 hours of dealing with poor service and uncomfortable conditions.

No thank you.

You’ll get charged random extra fees

If you get on an Amtrak train you have it coming.

Worst train of my life. Got delayed two different times and didn’t get refund at all. I can’t believe this happened and honestly am amazed it happened back to back. Never get on this train it will be more worth to go with a different business. Worst experience ever

My daughter and I have been taking this train for several years now and sometimes we are unable to get tickets

I'm convinced that the corporate sadists at Amtrak, or as I like to say, Asstrak, actively pump stale hot piss smell throughout the train cars just because they can.

Have tried this site several times. There is always a glitch. Most recently, filled in all details hit pay and it all disappeared. It is a very frustrating site and customer service always has delays and loops you around when asking for a call back.
NOT USER FRIENDLY!

If I could give minus stars I would. What an outrageously terrible company and useless service .. train almost 3 hours delayed now. What a disaster

I would like to greatly commend our cabin attendant for his great service and humanity towards a fellow traveler who was rather odiferous. He handled the situation in a professional manner . My wife and I look forward to interacting with him on our return trip on the Texas Eagle22 on the eighteen. I forget his name but we were in the disability seats .Just got to Arlington today.

Calling customers at 6am to discuss bike space. are you serious? Bunch of disrespectful clowns

Going on the app you have to press press and get nowhere and then they sent an email that I never received I received all my emails from every other purchase or whatever I'm communicating with and it's frustrating and I've been calling them three times today and on hold for at least an hour or more

Booked seats months in advance of our trip, when we arrived at the train station they told us there were no seats available and we had to take a bus they laid on as extra, absolutely shocking and i will never ever try and travel with them again. Absolute disgrace of a company!!

I had two different train tickets booked that were advertised as fully refundable before departure. They then cancelled the train and automatically booked me on a bus to a different city hours away instead of canceling me and sending a refund. They made me jump through hoops to cancel and when I finally did they sent me an email that I will have the full amount refunded to my card. A month later when I checked on my credit card statement they had only refunded less than half of the amount. I will never spend a penny on Amtrak again. I hopey you go bankrupt.

I RECENTLY BECAME A CUSTOMER OF AMTRAK TRAINS AND HAD REPORTED TO PEOPLE AT WORK AS WELL AS TO FAMILY MEMBERS HOW I ENJOYED RIDING FROM FAYETTEVILLE, NC TO WASHINGTON, DC TO VISIT A SISTER WHO LIVES IN DC. MY RECENT TRIP WAS ON PALMETTO 90 ON 03/13/2026 DEPARTED AT 12:46 PM. I DID NOT HAVE A PROBLEM WHEN THEY BOARDED A LADY WITH 8 TEENAGERS FIRST SO THEY CAN BE TOGETHER BUT UPON BOARDING AND SEEING SEVERAL OPEN SEATS, I PROCEEDED TOWARD AN OPEN WINDOW SEAT BEFORE AN AGENT GAVE ME A PIECE OF PAPER WITH #14 ON IT. I WENT AND SAT DOWN TO THE WINDOW SEAT AND THE AGENT CAME AND TOLD ME THAT I COULD NOT SIT THERE BECAUSE THOSE SEATS WERE RESERVED FOR COUPLES OR PAIRS AND I HAD TO GO TO THE NUMBERED SEAT ON THAT PIECE OF PAPER HE HAD GIVEN ME WHICH HAD A LADY ASLEEP AT THE WINDOW SEAT SO I WAS PLACED IN AN AISLE SEAT; I AM 73 YEARS OLD AND I AM NOT EXAGGERATING WHEN I SAY THAT I WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED BECAUSE I WAS UNABLE TO SLEEP
DUE TO PEOPLE WALKING BACK AND FORTH TO BATHROOM OR CAFE AS WELL AS BOARDING OR GETTING OFF TRAIN AT THEIR DESTINATIONS, WITH CARRY ON BAGS EITHER RUBBING AGAINST MY ARM OR SHOULDER. I ALSO BECAME NAUSEATED FROM BEING SO UNCOMFORTABLE AND SLEEPINESS. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW BEFORE MY NEXT TRIP TO WASHINGTON WHETHER PASSENGERS WILL BE ASSIGNED SEATS FROM NOW ON SO I CAN MAKE OTHER ARRANGEMENTS. I HAVE TO BOOK A RESERVATION BEFORE APRIL 3, 2026.