Bike Rail Travel

This article is primarily Bike Rail Travel with your bike via Amtrak in the Northeast of the United States. Here is Amtrak's Bike Travel Policy.

Bike Rail Travel is the Northeast is a very liberating experience due to the density of the rail network and the destinations services.  However, there are some inherent frustrations in using a system that was never designed for bikes, and a staff who is inconsistent with knowledge and enforcement of the rules.

Not all trains allow bikes on them, and generally the trains that do only allow for 4 bikes.  When booking, ensure that this is an option that you can select (Its usually a $20 upcharge)

There are 2 ways that your bike will be carried on the train. 

The Bike Cubby Storage Method or the Baggage Car. In general, trains that have names ("The Pennsylvanian", The Lake Shore Limited") will use the Baggage Car approach. This isn't always true, as some named trains ("The Maple Leaf") use Bike Cubby Storage.

The most common Bike Rail Travel method you will run across in the Northeast on Amtrak is Bike Cubby Storage (my term, for lack of a better one). This requires the removal of the front wheel, and the bike needs to be hung from the cubby hook by the rear wheel so it doesn't swing out and block the aisle. (Also, that hook really can't take a tire bigger than 2.5"). There are generally 4 of these on a normal train, 1 in each coach car.

Don't count on any assistance, and get familiar with removing/installing your front wheel before the trip. Panniers should be removed in order to make you bike easier to hoist up to the hook, and these bags along with your wheel and other bike stuff, fits well on the floor of the cubby.

Make sure your conductor knows where you are getting off, and plan to start assembling your bike about 20-30 minutes before your stop.

The Baggage Car is a less stress-inducing method of Bike Rail Travel, but there are 2 issues to be aware of.  What happens is that the crew at you departure will tell you to lock you bikes to the internal Baggage Car racks (or not), while the crew at the destination is thinking the opposite. 

The challenge at your destination is 2-fold. Firstly, you cannot board the Baggage Car to retrieve your bike, and if it's been locked up, it becomes a challenge for the crew. The second issue is that many times the bike will have to be raised/lowered from the car to the platform if its a track-level platform. The crew will be handing your bike down to you, and if your bike is heavy this can be an issue. Also, this is a VERY LOW priority for the crew, so you may be waiting awhile.

There are 2 Bike Rail Travel situations that you will find yourself in when boarding a train with your bike.

By far, the best Bike Rail Travel situation is when the train originates from your boarding point. This allows the opportunity for getting on early (see below), in order to get you and your bike situated before all of the other passengers board.

The 2nd Bike Rail Travel situation is when you are boarding a train that is already in progress, and is full of passengers. The issue here is that you need to haul your bike on the train quick, and then get your bike stowed away in the bike cubby that you reserved. Many times, passengers will have put their own luggage in the bike cubby (you know, the one with the sigh "Bike Storage Only" over it). In this instance get the conductor to have the offending bags moved. I have been on trains where the conductor has said, "Oh well, you can catch the next train". Um, no...I have a reserved spot. Do not take this an an answer. Also, once the train is moving, you're golden.

In terms of getting on fast, Amtrak does seem to alert the train crew that there will be bike boarding at upcoming spots, and they have been very accommodating to help getting you and your heavy/unwieldly bike on, as well as clearing out deadbeat baggage storage.

Here is my method for getting on Amtrak trains at Moynihan Station in NYC with as little stress as possible. Although not technically illegal, one can imagine how this might be frowned upon. However, I did run my whole routine past an Amtrak conductor, and she though it was a great idea.

If you get caught, we never met.

This method can work at any departure point where the train originates from.

The big concept here is that the staff on the concourse level does not want people heading to the train early, HOWEVER the train crew/conductors DO want you to get on early so it doesn't get in the way of their general boarding.

The first part is to figure out the track. The staff at the upper concourse level will say that it gets announced “15 minutes before departure”, as they don't want a mad rush for the train. However, these track assignments are usually set in stone. For trains heading to upstate New York this is usually Track 5 or 6, for Pennsylvania 12 or 13 (not guaranteed, however).

The biggest part of this method is doing the intelligence work to figure out what track the train will be on. this involves befriending gate agents, or asking dumb leading questions at the baggage counter. Many times, if you act slightly exasperated you may get some helpful info to help make your trip easier (if you actually ARE exasperated, well that's a bonus!)

My method is to take the elevator down to the anticipated track with my bike (for Track 5+6 it's hard to find this elevator, it's sort of tucked back in a corner, but there are signs) 30 minutes before departure and act stupid on the platform where the train is waiting. Making contact with a conductor will get train info, and he/she will let you aboard. Sometimes, I’ll say that the staff on the concourse sent me down early…and thar is usually stretching the truth. If I a with a group, I will go down first, and then radio back to the crew that I found the track...kinda like a diver pulling on the line.

I have done this 15+ times, and it works each time. The only time I've ever had a tiny bit of friction is when an upstairs gate agent came down to the platform, and asked us what we were doing there. Again, saying an unnamed porter told you to come down works. Because, in the end, the train crew wants you on and out of the way early

Ultimately, what I tell people is that there will be "5 minutes of stress"...once you're on and the train is moving, it all fades away