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Travel Deals / Train Travel / New York Travel / Green Travel / Amtrak / → All Tags

Ride the Rails from New York for 20% Off Amtrak Tickets

Once again Amtrak is giving New Yorkers a reason to leave the car in the garage and hop on a train instead. They have teamed up with I Love NY and are offering passengers 20% off their train fare in New York State. The savings can be applied to any trip on the following routes: Adirondack (NYC to Montreal), Empire Service (NYC to Niagara Falls), Ethan Allen Express (Albany to NYC), Lake Shore Limited (NYC to Albany to Buffalo) or the Maple Leaf (NYC to Toronto).

The deal is valid for coach seating and reservations must be made at least three days in advance. The promotion ends May 28, 2011. To book, just use this reservation form and your discount will be applied automatically.

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Travel Tweet of the Week / Twitter / Twitter Travel / On-Track WiFi / Acela / Amtrak / Train Travel / → All Tags

Tweet Of The Week: WiFi on Acela Trains is Surprisingly Alright

We love Tuesdays. Why, you ask? Because the day brings many travel tips and quips as "Travel Tuesday" on Twitter, and we're going to share our favorite with you. Got an avid travel twitterer we should follow? Let us know.g

It's a sad, yet true, fact that as upgrading technology is forever a race. Now that some airplanes have in-flight WiFi, the rest of aviation is running to keep up. And it can't just be airplanes, but trains too—Amtrak just got wifi on their Acela trains and in select stations, and it's even free. How much longer will it be until automobiles come equipped with their own personal networks so that passengers can surf the web faster on their smartphones?

And although we can now access the internet wirelessly in so many previously unimaginable places, cable and telephone companies like TimeWarner and Comcast continue to confuse and provide service that isn't all that fast unless you opt for the pricey packages. Twitter user @courtneywmay is irked as well:

Acela will have more usable Internet than this office. How sad.

Trust us—there is nothing more frustrating than paying through the nose for internet at home, only to find free service that beats the heck out of yours at places like McDonald's or a bus station. But then we're all for more WiFi everywhere, so we suppose we can't complain too much.

Related Stories:
· @courtneywmay [Twitter]
· Twitter Travel [Jaunted]

On-Track WiFi / Train Travel / WiFi / Amtrak / Acela / Technology / → All Tags

Amtrak Does Something Right! There's Now Free WiFi in Trains and Stations

The moment we've all been waiting for has arrived! Kind of. We mean, it's probably not the biggest piece of news ever, but it's exciting nonetheless and a step forward for USA rail travel when we say that Amtrak's Acela have free WiFi right now! They promised us that they'd have it flowing by March, and we're surprised to see that they were good on their word.

According to the AP, the free WiFi isn't just on the 20 Acela routes, but it's even at a few of their stations. You'll find a free Amtrak signal in the gate areas of Washington Union Station, Baltimore Penn Station, Philadelphia 30th Street Station, New York Penn Station, Providence Station and Route 128 Station in Boston. They also report that Wilmington Station will get it when they finish up their station renovations next year.

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Travel Advertising / Amtrak / Travel Ads / Airport Security / ORD / Train Travel / → All Tags

Amtrak Ads Invade The Bins At Airport Security

Amtrak might just be turning things around this year. They’ve adding WiFi to the rails, and now they’re trying to lure customers away from the crowds and inconvenience of air travel. They’ve begun to install advertisements in airports like SeaTac (Seattle-Tacoma), and they’ve even started to invade the trays where we part with all our travel gadgets before heading through airport security.

The new marketing strategy focused on the X-ray trays is exclusive to Chicago O’Hare right now, but we wouldn’t be surprised to start seeing it elsewhere. After all, there are plenty of other airports with aggravated passengers and Amtrak stations. The ads point out the humorous side of airport security by encouraging passengers to wear mismatched socks because Amtrak will never know. It’s true; we’ve had our share of awkward sock moments while waiting in the TSA line.

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On-Track WiFi / Amtrak / Train Travel / WiFi / Techonolgy / Acela / → All Tags

Amtrak Will Have Free WiFi Flowing Through Their Trains By March

Woo-hoo! Another victory for the modern traveler as Amtrak has named this the year of free WiFi aboard their Acela trains. To tell you the truth, we knew this was coming, even that it would be free, but we didn't know when it would be completed or if we could even count on it.

Well we can count on it! Amtrak announced that installation of WiFi on the Acela trains (which are the express routes on the East Coast) will be completed by March, as part of a celebration of the Acela's tenth anniversary of service. Other upgrades due for the trains include "leather seats and improved tray tables and power outlets." Score!

But who knows when we'll get to try out the WiFi and outlets; the Acelas are too damn expensive. Yeah right like we're paying $100 for a one-way to Boston when a WiFi and outlet-equipped BoltBus takes almost the same time and costs around $30. Keep trying, Amtrak, but we're proud of your achievements thus far.

Related Stories:
· Amtrak adding free WiFi on Acela Express Trains [USA Today]
· Amtrak Competes with In-Flight WiFi by Adding Internet to Acela in 2010 [Jaunted]
· Amtrak travel [Jaunted]

[Photo: pandoralyrael]

Holiday Travel / Thanksgiving Travel / Christmas Travel / Travel Tips / Train Travel / Amtrak / → All Tags

The Jaunted Guide To Surviving Holiday Train Travel

So maybe you shied away from buying airplane tickets this year or you've always ridden the rails over the holidays; either way leave it to us here at Jaunted to see you through today's insane travel rush. Millions of you will be out there on trains, probably Amtrak, and you'll be anxious to just get to your destination already. For a little quick reading with a dash of priceless travel tips, check out these Top 5 Stories To Help You Survive Holiday Train Travel:

· Explore the train; treat it like an adventure

· Be one with the train, and you may achieve nirvana

· The perfect accessory to long train trips: the 'Skwoosh'

· Bring wet naps and water, lest you end up like these Amtrak passengers

· Opting to upgrade to a room on the train could save your comfort during an 18-hour delay

Bonus story:
· If people do these gross things on flights, then it happens on trains too

[Photo: Jaunted]

Amtrak / Trains / Train Travel / Acela / On-Track WiFi / Technology / → All Tags

Amtrak Competes With In-Flight WiFi By Adding Internet To Acela In 2010

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?

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Amtrak / Trains / Train Travel / Vancouver Travel / Seattle Travel / Portland Travel / Olympics Travel / → All Tags

Amtrak Opening Up Northwest With Even More Seattle-Vancouver Service

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.

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Bad Ideas / Amtrak / Guns / Train Travel / → All Tags

US Senate Votes To Allow Amtrak Passengers To Bring Guns Along

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.

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Fall-Foliage-Map / Fall Foliage Travel / Fall Travel / Outdoor Travel / Amtrak / Train Travel / Vermont Travel / → All Tags

Fall Foliage Travel: Amtrak To True Maple Syrup In Vermont

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.

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Train Hell / Amtrak / Train Travel / Delays / → All Tags

Passengers Suffer Through A Hot Night In Broken Down Amtrak Train

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]

Train Travel / San Diego Travel / Los Angeles Travel / Amtrak / → All Tags

Trade The California Highway For Train Tracks And A Surfboard On The 'Surfliner'

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.

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