Alright so how broke Amtrak is and how badly they need more passengers and cash is old and negative news. So how about some good news for train travel? Just a few days ago, it was announced that Amtrak is planning for WiFi on its Acela trains by 2010. This is what their passengers badly need, and hopefully the Northeast's few Acela routes are just the beginning.

2010 may be just around the corner, but frequent Amtrak passengers have been vainly attempting to connect to a network onboard for months now. For instance, when we chugga-chugged our way for fifteen hours (each way) between NY and the Midwest in March. Oh yes, we found an open network or two that moved with our train, but couldn't successfully connect. What's that about? ]]> JetSetCD 2009-11-02T17:14:21-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/25/143536/094

Amtrak's Northwest Corridor, already busy in anticipation of the 2010 Olympics, just got a little bit busier. As of August 19th, the train company has added a second daily train to the Seattle-Vancouver portion of their Cascades route, a network of rails that bind Portland to Vancouver and back. The new train means that travelers now have direct daily round-trip service starting all the way at the bottom of the route and all the way till the end.

Amtrak Cascades connects Portland to Seattle with four daily round-trips, and then travelers are routed to their final destinations accordingly. They're celebrating their 10th anniversary this year, with the expanded Seattle-Vancouver route being a part of that. For the rest of the celebrations, which include promotions and events, there's even a dedicated 10th anniversary page.]]> Omri 2009-09-25T16:58:49-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/18/15944/6009

The United States Senate, in a ringing endorsement of the 2nd Amendment or something, has taken the bold stance that passengers riding on trains should be allowed to transport handguns as checked baggage. Apparently everything else has been taken care of, so they had time to get to this:

The Senate voted Wednesday to permit passengers on the Amtrak passenger railroad to transport handguns in their checked baggage... 'Americans should not have their Second Amendment rights restricted for any reason, particularly if they choose to travel on America's federally subsidized rail line,' said Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who made the proposal. Current Amtrak policy, put in place after the bombings of passenger trains in Madrid five years ago, prohibits weapons, including firearms, from being carried on its trains.

]]> Omri 2009-09-18T15:51:44-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/14/2620/48420

Live in on the east coast and have a serious craving for some real, true maple syrup on your pancakes before you head out for fall foliage-spotting? There's no other option for such a weekend trip then other than Vermont, with its 50 state parks and late September fall foliage peak.

Actually, the trip to Vermont should be just as packed with red, orange and yellow scenery if you hop on Amtrak's Vermonter, which originates in Washington DC, and goes up through Delaware, New York City, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont almost to the Canadian border. ]]> JetSetCD 2009-09-14T14:13:52-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/8/18/113152/336

Less than a week ago, passenger aboard a Continental Airlines regional jet were stuck on the tarmac in Rochester, MN, during storms for over 12 hours, with no permission to leave the plane and no clearance to resume their flight. They had no food, no room to stretch or properly sleep through the night, and the smell from the bathrooms was overwhelming.

History now repeats itself, but this time it's an Amtrak train that put its passengers through hell. Happening in a different Rochester, this one in NY, an Amtrak train broke down and left passengers with no air conditioning or even lights. The train sat on the tracks for hours until a CSX locomotive was able to tow it into a station. "The train had no power, and passengers say they had to endure hot, sticky conditions inside the cars, with odors from the restrooms adding to their discomfort."

Since we're veteran Amtrak travelers, we've run into littler breakdowns and once a 13-hour one where the train crew fetched fried chicken fast food for the passengers, but nothing overnight and nothing where we would have had to sleep holding our nose. Perhaps we should start traveling with a full-size pillow and a rebreather?

Related Stories:
· Amtrak train towed to NY station after breakdown [Newsday]
· Passengers Forced To Be Cramped Campers Onboard Regional Jet [Jaunted]
· Amtrak Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Jaunted]]]> JetSetCD 2009-08-18T12:00:53-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/8/14/4259/78283

If you need to get from San Diego to Los Angeles, or vice versa, the hour-and-a-half car ride could easily double given the horrific L.A. traffic. Avoid the road rage and smog by hopping on Amtrak and taking a two-hour-and-40-minute scenic train trip north. The Pacific Surfliner leaves from San Diego station and travels the Southern California coast to L.A.'s Union Station, and for those looking to go farther, the line goes all the way north to San Luis Obispo.

The stops in between vary according to train, but some include Solana Beach, Oceanside, Anaheim and Irvine. And it's not like this is a rare occurrence; Amtrak makes 12 daily round-trip treks between San Diego and Los Angeles, and between Santa Barbara and San Diego.]]> Jennifer Kester 2009-08-17T17:26:58-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/5/28/84647/7022

While the airline race to be the first with fleetwide WiFi (which Virgin America won) sure mobilized the WiFi supporters over these past few months, it seems as though the hubbub has also awakened Amtrak.

In yesterday's post on Amtrak's summer discounts, a commenter alerted us to the Capitol Corridor's plans to implement on-track WiFi (as opposed to "in-flight") as soon as they find a suitable contractor. This would mean internet access to accompany increased electrical outlets for the 170-mile rail corridor of these Northern California counties: Placer, Sacramento, Yolo, Solano, Contra Costa, Alameda, San Francisco, and Santa Clara.

Calling all companies capable of getting California's rail online—how about hooking a corridor up? It's just too bad GoGo only does airline installation because the whole Amtrak network could really benefit from a speedy, nationwide plan like now.

Related Stories:
· Capitol Corridor Wireless Network [Capitol Corridor]
· Amtrak Discounts Summer Fares, Insists Trains Are Cooler Than Buses [Jaunted]
· Train Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: pandoralyrael] ]]> JetSetCD 2009-05-28T09:17:01-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/