<p>I just ran across this promotion on another U’s website. I remember some people speaking of taking the Amtrak from the Northeast or New Orleans to the UA campus. Might save money for high school college visits.</p>
<p>[Campus</a> Visit Helping College-Bound Visitors Find Their Way](<a href=“http://campusvisit.com/amtrak/]Campus”>http://campusvisit.com/amtrak/)</p>
<p>The Crescent is a very nice train. There are spacious seats with spacious legroom. There is a lounge car and a dining car. There are also sleeper cars.</p>
<p>The Crescent is not running every day between Atlanta and New Orleans for January and February 2014 because of track work right now. I think it may run on some weekends, but check the schedule. We love taking the Crescent from NOLA to Tuscaloosa, especially since Southwest no longer flies direct from NOLA TO Birmingham. It is very affordable, very comfortable, and we bring a rolling cooler with drinks and sandwiches, so we just stay in our seats and read. You can get up and stretch your legs, use the restroom, listen to music, and don’t have to stop for gas, either! Beautiful scenery out the window, too. Highly recommend!</p>
<p>how long does the train trip take from new orleans to birmingham?</p>
<p>Looking at using Amtrack to get my son back to campus after a weekend home in a couple of weeks. How “walkable” is it from the amtrack station to campus? Looks like only a mile or so (he walks way further that that to church each week) but wasn’t sure about neighborhoods/busy roads/confusing turns, etc.</p>
<p>i am sure he could find a friend to pick him up.</p>
<p>He probably could get a ride - but he likes being independent/walking and so I’m sure he would rather do that even if it is 2-3 miles. (The walking vs ride situation came up a lot in high school.)</p>
<p>The train gets in early afternoon so it seems it would be safe - just wanted to check.
He only brings his backpack home on weekends so there wouldn’t be luggage to deal with.</p>
<p>That Crescent train sounds fantastic!</p>
<p>Does it actually make a stop in Tuscaloosa or do you have to get off in Birmingham and transfer to a commuter line? Would love to not have to rent a car once we arrive in town.</p>
<p>The Amtrak Crescent line stops in Tuscaloosa at the Tuscaloosa Amtrak station, which is about 3 miles from campus. If arriving on a weekday, the Tuscaloosa Trolley picks up nearby every hour.</p>
<p>GAMomto4, it’s possible to walk to UA from the train station, but it may be easier to walk to the Downtown Intermodal Facility (the Tuscaloosa Trolley hub and free parking garage) and take the free shuttle (every half hour on weekdays). On nights and weekends, contact 348-RIDE for a free shuttle from downtown to campus.</p>
<p>I used that discount program when my student was in high school. It was discontinued for a while, glad to see that it was reinstated. I posted a while back about train travel on the crescent to Tuscaloosa. To recap, it’s clean, efficient, comfortable, but time consuming when traveling from New York.</p>
<p>You can call a cab to pick you up when you get to the Tuscaloosa train station. It is only about a five minute ride and costs just a few dollars plus tip.</p>
<p>Thanks, SEA_Tide!</p>
<p>robotbldmom, I remember that post and that’s what originally got me interested in traveling by train. Sorry, I can’t remember, did you splurge for the sleeper cars or just tough it out in your seats? It’s about a 22-hour trip from Philadelphia to Tuscaloosa, but honestly it doesn’t sound any worse than traveling by plane overseas. (Flying these days, in general, is so unpleasant!)</p>
<p>I take a taxi from the train station to the dorm or my hotel when I get to Tuscaloosa. The train often ran late, so I gave a generous tip to the driver, but I think it’s only about 10 bucks. Good to know about the bus, though. That’s a great alternative.</p>
<p>Commuter line? LOL!! The Crescent is the ONLY passenger train through Alabama.</p>
<p>LucieTheLakie: Oh, it is definitely more comfortable than coach seating on an airplane. The seating is two on each side with an aisle in between, so for two travelers it is fairly private. The windows are nice and large, great for viewing and the seats are quite comfortable. If I had any complaint, it was that the leg recline portion of the seat is a little short for taller people. There is plenty of leg room when seated with a small footrest bar under the seat in front of you, but the leg rest itself does not rise up very high. You can get up and walk around any time you want but you do have assigned seating (in the sense that once you choose a seat that is where you stay assigned for the journey).
There is an observation car and a dining car. We “toughed it out” in the regular seats -no sleeper car. The sleeper cars are fairly expensive anyway.
Bringing a small cooler aboard with drinks and sandwiches, and small snacks will save you money. However, if you can, try having one meal in the dining car. It is a really cool experience. The food is fine, and it isn’t too expensive but there is something very interesting about watching waiters carry food on a moving train.</p>
<p>Yes, I traveled from New York’s Penn Station, so it was a twenty four hour journey. Bear in mind that Amtrak does not own a majority of the train tracks, so it has to yield at times to other trains, including freight trains, which can cause a bit of a delay. Still all in all, it was just twenty four hours from New York to Tuscaloosa.</p>
<p>Train travel on the Crescent is not the “Orient Express” exotic train experience nor the grand train experience of yesteryear but it is something unique.
I would say that if the price is right and you have the time…give train travel a try. We met some rather interesting folks aboard the train. You just never know who you will meet and what stories they might tell.</p>
<p>Thanks so much, robotbldmom. That actually sounds perfect for us because we’re going over my son’s spring break, so we have the time to travel by train. And I’m really looking forward to having that time alone with him, before he flies the coop. [/sniffle]</p>
<p>When he was really little, he was in LOVE with trains and would dress up regularly like an engineer. We used to tell people he was destined to be an “engineer” one day (“No, not that kind of engineer, a railroad engineer!”), and it’s kind of funny that he’s developed an interest in engineering in the past year. I’m hoping to learn more about Bama’s civil engineering department when we’re down there because I think transportation networks may be an area of interest to him–although given Southland’s response to my question about commuter lines, I’m guessing there’s not a big market for those jobs down there!</p>
<p>For all you Crescent lovers:
<a href=“https://myspace.com/thescottmiller/music/song/amtrak-crescent-34456131-102897393[/url]”>https://myspace.com/thescottmiller/music/song/amtrak-crescent-34456131-102897393</a></p>
<p>(I discovered the song on my computer when I was searching for my Amtrak rewards number. It’s still available on iTunes.)</p>