Be aware that the important Amtrak long distance routes that connect major mountain bike destinations (as well as other biking spots) and that originate in Illinois, are not included in the "roll-on, roll-off" service noted below (and which, as many have noted, is common across Europe).
The California Zephyr stop in Grand Junction serves Moab, Fruita and other trail centers. The Denver stop serves the Front Range trails; Glenwood Springs serves the Glenwood Canyon and Aspen trail areas, and on and on... The Southwest Chief stops near Santa Fe and in Albuquerque serve numerous trails; the Flagstaff stop serves that area (currently on fire, so off-tail biking will be a lot easier for a few years) plus the Grand Canyon and Oak Creek (where your biking prowess can be enhanced by Pyramid Power!); etc. The most convenient stations on these routes for bikers from So. Central Wis. are in Princeton and Mendota, IL, which are far more practical to reach with a load of bikes than going into downtown Chicago. However, there is no roll-on/roll-off bike service available anywhere on these routes. Bikes can only be taken as boxed checked baggage, and stations that handle checked baggage are rare and far from Mendota and Princeton (Chicago and distant Galesburg). I could write a book about all the wonderful mountain (and road) biking family trips we've taken (and not taken) by train while having to leave our own bikes home and go to the expense of renting them (and usually at shops with scary names like Poison Spider...). While folding bikes can be a great alternative to full bikes if you're visiting your aunt in Portland, most generally don't seem able to get you up to the 75 million year-old dinosaur tracks in a long-forgotten river bed outside of Arches National Park, and other such remote wonders far from pavement. We subsidize Amtrak with our taxes and we should get more service in return. Keep harping on the Amtrak board to initiate roll-on-roll-off service in the (generally empty) baggage compartments of the coach-baggage car carried with most western long-distance trains out of Chicago. Join the National Association of Rail Passengers and keep telling them to continue advocating for this service. Even at a transport fee of $50 per bike per trip, a biker would be ahead financially before the end of the second day of riding, compared to renting - and Amtrak would have a little more pocket change generated from that part of its rolling stock capacity that often sits empty. Jeff Schimpff Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Madison, WI 608-267-7853 "Bus, Bike, Carpool to Work for Clean Air for Kids" "Pedestrians and cyclists are the indicator species of a healthier community" ________________________________ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Larry D. Nelson Sent: Friday, June 18, 2010 9:53 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Bikies] Bikies and Amtrak I didn't understand the issues regarding bikes on Amtrak so I communicated with a friend undertakes major bike tours each year in Europe and the USA. Paul also bikes about 70 miles from his home in Quincy, IL and then returns by Amtrak. Paul has invested in folding bikes that are encased in soft luggage (wheels on wheels) and that also addresses the problem. His folding bikes are road worthy for long tours, which also was a surprise to me. His answer follows and may generate some surprises such as, bikies need to talk to Wisconsin vs. Amtrack. From: Paul Marlin [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, June 18, 2010 6:42 PM To: Larry D. Nelson Subject: Re: Bikies and Amtrak The information in the emails is surprisingly thorough and correct. All Illinois supported trains, as well as MO, NC, CA, OR, and WA, have what bikers refer to as roll-on, roll-off bike service. The common denominator is state support; and he who pays, calls the tune. These states say carry bikes, so Amtrak carries bikes. The Hiawatha trains, which use EXACTLY THE SAME EQUIPMENT as the IL and MO trains, are supported by WI, who apparently said no to bikes. For that matter, IL and MO trains have a combination cafe - business class car; but I believe the Hiawatha's only have a snack cart. Of course on such a short run, this is probably a good compromise. So the best bet would be to badger WI for bike service. I would certainly lobby for bike service on the supposed new Madison trains. I understand they will use the same type of equipment (Talgos) that OR and WA use, which is I believe set up for bikes. In IL and MO you reserve space much as you would reserve sleeper space. It costs $10. The bikes get put where ever there is room, and varies trip to trip. Our (Quincy - Chi) trains and the MO (parallels the Katy Trail) trains all take up to 4 bikes, which is odd because the MO trains usually carry only 2 coaches + cafe car vs. 4 for one of the Quincy trains and 3 for the other. I don't know other state's bike capacity. The statement about the empire builder being discharge only at Milwaukee eastbound and receive only westbound is correct. But all is not lost, depending on where you are starting from and going to. Westbound on the Empire builder, Twin Cities for example, is no problem. There does have to be baggage service at the destination. If you wanted to get your bike from MKE to CHI but had to ride a Hiawatha, then you still might be able to check your bikes as baggage on the Empire Builder. The general rule is that baggage does not have to go on the same train that you ride. Cost is $5 and it must be boxed. which you can supply yourself or buy at the station for $15. I would check first with Amtrak customer service (call reservations as ask for customer service), because since the EB is receive only at MKE, a baggage man having a bad day might balk. You will have to either go to the station ahead of time to check it, or pick it up later because of the different timing of the trains. So simply MKE to CHI might be more trouble than it is worth. But if you were going beyond Chicago, e.g., east coast, west coast, New Orleans, Denver, Florida, etc. then the bike, like baggage, would be checked through to the destination. Again the destination has to have baggage service. Also, I would be surprised if the receive and discharge only restrictions at MKE are not waived for those transferring to other long distance trains. For example, Naperville in the Chicago suburbs is discharge/receive only for the Southwest Chief and California Zephyr, except if you are transferring to or from another train. The obvious reason for the restriction is to prevent a short haul customer taking up a potential long hall seat when there are other trains available. Amtrak's biggest problem currently is lack of capacity; many long distance trains sell out over at least a portion of their run. If you are going from Madison, the closest station is Columbus, which does have baggage service. So there should be no problem going either way. Note: folding bikes are considered carry on luggage and can go anywhere. As to my experience with bikes on trains, I could write a book. But until that time, I have a lot of bike/train info in various trip reports<http://marlinpg.home.comcast.net/%7Emarlinpg/> at http://marlinpg.home.comcast.net/~marlinpg/ Larry D. Nelson wrote: Paul, as you can see from the following email thread, the local bikies are a bit perplexed about bikes on AMTRAC. I recall you saying that you biked out from Quincy to the east and took AMTRAC home. What has been your experience about bikes on trains? The last seven miles of the Badger Trail is to be completed by Labor Day. We hope to see you both this fall. Larry D. Nelson, P.E. 1506 Cameron Drive Madison, WI 53711 608 271 8113 (H) 608 630 6532 (C) From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Dan Ross Sent: Thursday, June 17, 2010 3:39 PM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Bikies] Hiawatha Amtrak train On the train side of things, I think you are confusing two different Hiawathas. The Hiawatha Light Rail Line (Twin Cities Metro Transit Line 55) runs between downtown Minneapolis and the Mall of America via MSP airport. The Amtrak Hiawatha Train runs between Milwaukee and Chicago, and does not serve the Twin Cities. (The Amtrak Empire Builder, trains 7/27/807 and 8/28/808, runs between Chicago and Seattle/Portland, via Milwaukee and Columbus, WI, and St. Paul, Minnesota; but you cannot purchase a ticket for it between only Milwaukee and Chicago.) On the bike side of things, based on the other replies about inconsistencies--maybe we should work on getting bike roll on/off service on the Hiawatha? Several of the "local" Illinois Amtrak services (i.e., NOT the transcontinental trains, even as they roll through the state) appear to have that service, although (sometimes) for a fee. (Metra, Chicago-area commuter rail, takes bikes on certain trains for no additional fee with many caveats.) And, we should make sure that Amtrak is giving the same information out on the phone/web/conductors. Since Wisconsin DOT is providing funding for the Hiawatha, we can perhaps use that channel to enforce some consistency? Dan Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2010 09:24:02 -0700 (PDT) From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> To: bikies <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> Subject: [Bikies] Hiawatha Amtrak train Does anyone know if the Hiawatha (between Milwaukee and Chicago) takes bikes now? I couldn't find any information on the Amtrak site, but the Twin Cities Metro Transit site makes it appear that you can, at least going to/from the Twin Cities. Kathryn Kingsbury www.kathrynkingsbury.wordpress.com<http://www.kathrynkingsbury.wordpress.com/> LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kathrynkingsbury<http://www.linkedin.com/in/kathrynkingsbury> Skype: kathryn.kingsbury
_______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org
