Thoughts on Amtrak's Bike Policy by Train

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2023/04/10/ ... -cyclists/

Should Amtrak have a uniform policy? Or does each line's characteristics prevent that?

Opinion: Amtrak’s Patchwork Policy Could be Deterring the Most-Obvious Riders — Cyclists

The question of whether you can bring your bicycle on your next Amtrak trip should be a simple one. But it isn’t because Amtrak doesn’t give a straightforward answer: Its rules vary widely from line to line, with some corridors taking a hard no policy, to a near limitless bounty of bike storage without fees or reservations required for others, to a strict disassembled storage in a checked box only or four bikes per train for large swaths of the country. (That’s four bikes for the entire train, not per car.)
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Capitol Corridor, the rail line between San Jose and Sacramento, is one such line where lenient bike policies and ample storage have been great for cycling. The headline of the web page on pairing bikes with train travel is titled “Bikes and Trains — The Perfect Match,” an astute assessment of how well these two transportation modes can complement the relative shortcomings of the other.
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The Empire Builder runs daily from Portland just an hour and half to Bingen, Washington, across the Columbia River from the popular outdoor destination of Hood River, Oregon. Hood River is known for its access to hiking trails and scenic waterfalls along the Columbia River Gorge, plus is home to world-class downhill mountain bike trails. But the Empire Builder is one such line that only allows bikes disassembled in a checked box, and the walk from the small town of Bingen to Hood River is four miles one way, with most trailheads even further on foot and often up steep inclines. The station itself lacks shelter or even rain cover, not exactly the kind of place you want to sprawl out and quickly assemble a bike.
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It's such a pain in the butt to bring a bike if you live in Boston. You have to go the day before your trip since only 1 baggage out of Boston. Oh then you have to pretty much dissemble the bike to get it into a box if sent on the baggage. At least you can reserve a spot for bike on many trains which is the way to go that way I know I can bring the bike. But the fees who knows how much you will pay standardize it and get rid of the stupid box/dissemble policy for checked bikes.

My last bike trip from Pittsburgh to DC I just drove so I wouldn't have to deal with the BS.

It's a huge liability. The cost of some of the high end bikes and the exposure for damage makes boxing and disassembly a must if its checked as baggage.

Or, create dedicated cars for roll on/off self storage with zero liability assumed, but that will never recoup the cost of the cars...

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Answers to that:

-Liability Waivers

-Bike racks in LD baggage cars when available; bike racks in select passenger cars which could go where the current luggage space is.

Jeff Smith wrote: ↑Thu Apr 13, 2023 9:49 am Answers to that:

-Liability Waivers

-Bike racks in LD baggage cars when available; bike racks in select passenger cars which could go where the current luggage space is.

I can see the LD baggage cars getting a few bike racks. MARC designed racks that handle 125 MPH speeds that impressed Amtrak, so Amtrak can license that design.

For passenger cars... not so much. Baggage room fills up both on the racks and the side areas, even on the NEC. Running a baggage car on more NEC trains would be worth while... but then look at the Airo Sets, and things get troubling. But then, you could add another pair for baggage and coach...

Hmmmmm..... maybe a combined pax/bike car, along the lines of 75/25.

Jeff Smith wrote: ↑Thu Apr 13, 2023 11:56 am Hmmmmm..... maybe a combined pax/bike car, along the lines of 75/25.

Sounds like MARC's bike car. https://www.mta.maryland.gov/articles/311 for interior shots.

The problem I see is multiple trains so I need to get from Milwaukee. WI to Cleveland Ohio to Burlington VT. "Late Shore Limited in the middle of the night which has checked baggage then Ethan Allen which does not and pay twice for each train. Since Amtrak Express is no longer I cant send my bike and bags ahead of me.

I too believe Amtrak should embrace bicycle culture and make every train bike-friendly, either with roll-on baggage car bikeracks or devoted bike areas in at least one coach on every train.

The final-mile has always been an issue for intercity mass-transit travelers. Rideshare services like Uber are great for this, but bikes are also a terrific alternative.

In fact, today I commuted to work by bike (13 miles), and on my return trip I biked with a friend to a pub before catching a local train (Caltrain) to our town before biking the final miles home. It was fun, healthful, and we slightly reduced both carbon emissions and highway congestion. And I'm 61. Amtrak should embrace (and capitalize on) this trend.

According to NCDOT, the Carolinian, ​Crescent, ​​Palmetto, ​Piedmont, ​Silver Meteor, and ​Silver Star all have bike racks which suggests that every Viewliner baggage car is so equipped. I understand that Amtrak plans on having bike racks in the Airo trains (see STrRedWolf's notes on a video presentation about those trains).

RandallW wrote: ↑Fri Apr 14, 2023 5:13 am According to NCDOT, the Carolinian, ​Crescent, ​​Palmetto, ​Piedmont, ​Silver Meteor, and ​Silver Star all have bike racks which suggests that every Viewliner baggage car is so equipped. I understand that Amtrak plans on having bike racks in the Airo trains (see STrRedWolf's notes on a video presentation about those trains).

Ah, thanks for that. I had forgotten those notes. So yeah, Airo covers it.

The Downeaster does offer bike transport for $3-$8, but the rest of what I thought I knew was out of date so I deleted it.

More whining from the 1% cyclists who want everything handed to them on a golden platter but someone else to pay for it, because they somehow believe that they are owed reparations for riding their bike.

They refuse to pay for the space occupied by their bike (which is equivalent to the space occupied by two passengers) so they can pound sand. With all the bikesharing systems they are demanding (that take up public property and block sidewalks while paying no rent for that space), there is absolutely zero need to carry a bike on Amtrak. Freaking use those bikeshare systems.

Wow... because some of us want to be able to put our bike on a train we're whining and want everything handed to us?

As noted, for a number of trains, there is space in the Viewliner baggage or bag/dorm cars, so no, let me repeat that ZERO, passenger space has to be used. In other cases, non-revenue space in the cafe car has been used.

And in any event, if I want to bring my bike someplace, I'm perfectly willing to pay a fair price for it.

But, even with that option, it's not even practical in many cases to take advantage of that. For example, in Albany, the 10th busiest station it's very difficult to coordinate getting a bike to other places because in the past it required dropping it off the day before for an earlier train, which means its sitting in a baggage room for nearly a day. (it does look like Amtrak has improved this part).

As for rideshare programs:
You do realize that many places, especially outside of major cities do NOT have such. So that's basically useless as an option.
In addition, even where it's an option, I can speak for many bicyclists that it's not an option I'm really keen on because there's a big difference between my Trek Domane 5 Al bike 18 speed, with clips, and your typical rideshare bike with 3 gears. I can't imagine trying to do even the simple ride I did today on a 3 speed bike weighing in at probably twice of my bike.