Does anyone use Amtrak?

My son has been accepted and there is a good chance he will be attending Tulane in the fall. The cheapest and almost fastest way for him to get back and forth will be to take Amtrak on the City of New Orleans. Do very many people use the train, and what is it like.

I took the City of New Orleans from Chicago to Memphis once in the early 1980s and it was pretty wretched. On the other hand, I rode it to New Orleans once with a huge group of football fans and it was great, but I think they added extra cars. Anyway, I’d love to know what kind of experience one could expect on the train.

We have taken the train from CA to Chicago and New York. 44 plus hours several times because my husband doesn’t fly. Recently we have been meeting him. My husband will be meeting us in March at Tulane taking a train from LA to New Orleans. Feel free to ask any questions. We are experts. My husband will be taking the Sunset Linited. Sorry I thought I posted this weeks ago.

@skeptile If my son takes the train it will only be seven hours, and in my view it will be a cheaper and maybe faster option to flying. I’m just curious if it will be neat, clean, comfortable, and quiet.

I suspect we’ll use the train for our next trip down just to see what it’s like. He’ll be less antsy if not riding alone.

I cannot speak to that line directly but I travel the Northeast corridor frequently. The Boston to NYC route and it is the BEST way to travel. Plenty of room, power outlets, and a dining car. You can bring your own drinks and snacks on there. No security lines. Such a wonderful way to travel.

You’d probably get better 411 from travel sites like TripAdvisor etc.

Given the wide range of places that Tulane kids come from, there’s only going to be a very small number of kids for which the train (versus plane or auto or bus) is even going to be a reasonable option.

I haven’t lived in New Orleans for 25 years, but as a mom, I’d probably want to make sure the train station is in a safe location. As I recall, it wasn’t the best. I’d just make sure he is aware of his surroundings.

@luckymama64 good point. The train station is NOT in a safe area.

I survived a catastrophic amtrak collision and derailment, so no, I wouldn’t recommend them.

@MotherOfDragons There was a terrible train crash some years back, say 2000, that killed a north Mississippi woman who had taken her daughter to Chicago for a shopping trip. The daughter lost all or part of a leg. So I’m aware that bad things can happen. But I think trains have a better record than cars.

@dolphnlvr6 Is there a lot of crime at the Amtrak station? It’s right next to the Superdome and the Hyatt Regency. As someone who lived in New Orleans for a couple of years ages ago, the entire city qualifies as “not safe” to some degree. It’s just something you have to be aware of.

@EarlVanDorn they are safer than cars, but less safe than planes.

https://www.bustle.com/articles/83287-are-trains-safer-than-planes-statistics-are-clear-about-which-mode-of-transportation-is-safest

The issue I have with them is their lack of maintenance, lack of engineer drug testing, and lack of adherence to safety protocols. If I’m going to give over control of my own destiny to someone, I’d like it if they weren’t drunk or stoned, or both (the engineer in my wreck was stoned).

Between that and the bad areas where a lot of amtrak stations are located, I’d say don’t be penny wise and pound foolish when it comes to your kids. Find a cheap flight.

The train station in NOLA is located in a sort of middle zone in regards to safety. Immediately east of the station is downtown/Superdome/Hyatt area and just across the street to the south is a new, bustling condo and restaurant area. However, just west under the interstate is a dangerous area (Central City) and a large homeless population. If he is coming in during daylight or early evening, he is fine to walk from there to another location. If arriving in the middle of the night the station itself will still be fine, I would just not leave there on foot. But he could catch a cab or Uber from there.
I have no experience riding the train myself, but I know from others that it is unreliable in terms of time. 7 hr trip can often take 11-12 hrs due to small incidents, delays etc…

My husband talks to everyone, he is just like that. Our last trip to NOLA in December he struck up a conversation with a group of men who had just gotten out of jail in Newark NJ and were put on the train to NOLA. They had just arrived.

That area is not very populated, even during the day, unless it’s game day. I would not send my son via train to have him get off at the Amtrak station at any time of day.

I’m going to come down on the train with my son just to see what it is like this semester. I am much more concerned with the comfort level of the train than the safety issue. I guess we can make up our mind then.

Our choices are:

  1. Let son take car and pay monthly garage fees, as I’m not willing to have him park it on the street.
  2. Use airplanes, which is fairly expensive. For the Top Scholar’s Weekend in March it will be a six-hour flight (plus 1.5 hour driving and 1 hour prior to boarding plus 1 hour to city, so about 10 hours) and cost $435 r/t. (There are no direct flights, and there don’t seem to be many fast connections).
  3. Use train, which involves hour drive by us plus about an eight-hour train trip. The cost is as low as $41 each way, so cheaper and faster than flying.
  4. Serve as chauffeur, almost six hours each way.

The best option if for the school to simply give all students a place to park their cars, but the rules are the rules and we can live with them. Next to that the train looks like a good option if it is neat and clean and not filled with bums. So we’ll see. I get the feeling that there are some students who only go home Thanksgiving and Christmas, which is fine, but I’d like for my son to come home every few weeks. I went home several times a week sometimes, but I didn’t live that far away.

My daughter is a freshman at Tulane and her boyfriend from high school is a freshman at the University of Alabama. He has taken the train from Tuscaloosa to New Orleans 4 times and she has taken it to Alabama once. They both think it’s nice. The seats are huge and they use the time to study and sleep. They just catch an uber from the station to campus. It’s not been a problem at all and they feel safe. They have met several kids from the University of Alabama taking the train to New Orleans for the weekend to visit. Amtrak even has a student discount so it’s probably cheaper than driving and a lot less hassle than trying to find and pay for parking in New Orleans. Several kids from Alabama are taking it to New Orleans for Mardi Gras.

EVD – sounds like the time and cost and logistics of the train are comparable to taking a Greyhound bus. Give it a try and see how it works. Good thing about bus/train is the kid can sleep or study. The worries about the train station are way overblown – cab or Uber and your kid is fine. Your kid will face many similar situations in Nola just by attending TU.

Some frosh do bring cars to campus. You just have to park on street a couple minutes walk away from campus. Many kids in the dorms park on Broadway. Right by The Boot, where your kid will be spending time anyway!

My kid made do with a mountain bike for 2 years, then parked on street for two years when living in a student apartment. I can’t recall for sure, but I don’t think the car had to be registered as a resident to park on the street. A car was definitely handy for Costco runs and such. My beater SUV was the perfect vehicle – Nola’s potholes are pretty yuge.

I took Amtrak back and forth to college, because it was significantly cheaper than flying. 7 hours isn’t bad. I’d give it a try. If not, I’d chauffeur as the next best option. Also, I doubt your son will want to visit every few weeks. Don’t get your hopes up. :slight_smile:

First of all, to each-each own. Now, regarding Train (amtrak), Planes and getting a degree from Tulane, we are very fortunate as low-income family. That is to say, as a parent, I can not afford extra car for my son. And without any scholarships from Tulane and Vanderbilt and external scholarships, our son has to start his school with going to community college.

During his schooling at both schools, my son was hardly ever going home. Every summer, he did REUs (undergraduate research) and tried to find any internships from out of state companies. He went home only one time and he took greyhound, yes greyhound the bus because it was cheap.

I guess being poor has taught our son that he does not have any luxury in life and he has to work, work harder for it and sacrifice safety etc. However, now he appreciates those hard work, living cheap and adjusting lifestyle as they have built his character and made him wise and humble. In the end, my son who has graduated last May 2016 (with cum-laud from both schools), now he has been working as Aerospace Engineer in Cali right after graduation with high paying job for entry level; really high paying job above average. And he is still maintaining his humble and simple lifestyle.

So, why we have to argue about Amtrak, plane, etc? If you think Amtrak is not safe then don’t use it. If your kids do not have any money for transportation then don’t go home every summer, every xmas and new year, every holidays, etc. Well, then again to each-each own.

Have you read this thread?

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1949133-amtrak-always-late.html#latest

Regarding the Amtrak always being late, this is because our railway systems are outdated, out of money, etc. Japan has better trains called bullet trains and way better than Amtrak, etc. And the beauty of it, they are hardly ever being late as described as follows:

The Shinkansen is very reliable thanks to several factors, including its near-total separation from slower traffic. In 2014, JR Central reported that the Shinkansen’s average delay from schedule per train was 54 seconds. This includes delays due to uncontrollable causes, such as natural disasters.[17] The record, in 1997, was 18 seconds.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinkansen#Punctuality

Now, the question is how the Japanese Govt can afford the better railway systems than us the USA? simple answer is they do not have to protect their own country as protection comes from us the US. Their money for protection their country has been shifted into railway systems and other infra-structure (s).

Truly sorry, if this is a bit off topic. My bad.

Freshmen cannot have cars on campus, so parking in the deck is not an option. There may be some private garages for rent nearby, but they may be hard to come by. DS parked his on the street, and moved it to high ground when it rained.