I believe the OP was talking about the northeast corridor. Hearing about opportunities on the west coast, just leaves the rest of us wondering why not us too. For almost decade, my daughter lived in DC and traveled home to VT regularly. Unfortunately, she could not bring her bike - boxed or roll-on, north of NYC. I understand that the economic conditions in the past two years has boosted train travel and in fact when the nightly Amtrack nears the end of its run here it is always quite busy, but management doesn't seem to have much imagination about supporting, cyclist, families or the elderly, who could be the bulk of their business.
michael westford,vt On Nov 3, 6:36 pm, Montclair BobbyB <[email protected]> wrote: > Yeah, but then as you're pedaling you'd be missing the ride of your > Bleriot, right? > > On Nov 3, 5:29 pm, kevin lindsey <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > On the very positive side is the Valley Transportation Authority > > (VTA), the light rail service here in Silicon Valley. I take it every > > morning; racks are almost always available and, if not, I'm free to > > stand with my bike so long as I don't block the aisles. The trains > > linger at the stations long enough to get on and off, and overall the > > system is extremely supportive and inexpensive. The only downside, in > > fact, is my Rivendell; hefting a commuter-loaded Bleriot onto the > > ceiling hooks is about the only thing that makes me miss my > > featherweight carbon fiber road bike. > > > On Nov 3, 12:11 pm, Ray Shine <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > The most convenient and user-friendly bike/train experience I have found > > > is the > > > local CalTrain line that runs between San Francisco and Gilroy. I have > > > bike/trained on Amtrak to from Oakland to Portland (14 hours late due to > > > mandatory ceding of right-of-way to freight haulers), Capital Express to > > > Sacramento from Emeryville (second best experience) and frequent BART > > > rides. > > > Local Bay Area chaps will disagree with me, but I find BART to me a > > > needlessly > > > restrictive hassle. Despite the hype, BART does not make it accommodating > > > to > > > bike with BART. Back to CalTrain. I use it often. Each train has a > > > dedicated > > > bike car with an easy-to-use rack system, seating above the bikes, etc. > > > Too bad > > > the longer run lines don't pattern their policies after CalTrain -- > > > INCLUDING > > > BART! > > > > ________________________________ > > > From: Montclair BobbyB <[email protected]> > > > To: RBW Owners Bunch <[email protected]> > > > Sent: Wed, November 3, 2010 10:26:51 AM > > > Subject: [RBW] Riv & Rail - Travelling by Bike and Train > > > > I can't stop thinking about my experience this past weekend, > > > travelling to the Philly Bike Expo on my Bombadil and the train. It > > > definitely opened my eyes to the possibilities of this kind of combo > > > travel, but perhaps more important it exposed weaknesses in the train > > > transit system that will need further development. But overall it was > > > a great experience. > > > > This was my first (of hopefully many future) bike-train trip(s). Does > > > anyone else have experiences travelling with your bike by train? How > > > would you rate YOUR train service in terms of bike-friendliness? My > > > key observations about Amtrak, NJ Transit and SEPTA (greater Philly > > > area): > > > > - In the hall of shame is Amtrak, which although they allow folding > > > bicycles at all times, they prohibit roll-on/roll-off along the > > > Northeast Corridor line (even during off-hours), a situation that > > > frankly is unacceptable. This is our national rail system, our taxes > > > subsidize this system, and yet their mindset is so far behind the > > > times, it's frustrating. In fact, I wrote a letter to the Northeast > > > Regional Office of Government Affairs at Amtrak (Peter Cohen) last > > > winter, requesting special permission to roll my bike onto the train > > > to Washington to represent my state of NJ at the National Bike > > > Summit. Not only did Mr Cohen not reply, after receiving my second > > > inquiry he referred me to a customer service rep, where I got the > > > stock party-line answer "We don't have the equipment to handle > > > this"... which is a gutless and LAME response. (Thumbs DOWN!) > > > - NJ Transit allows folding-bicycles at all times, and full-size bikes > > > (roll on/off) during off-peak hours. The new double-decker trains are > > > very well-suited for bikes (in the accessible/wheelchair area) and > > > score high marks!!; the older single level trains are less well- > > > suited, and require placing bikes in seating areas in close proximity > > > to other passengers, often encroaching on the aisle. The conductors > > > were VERY helpful... this was much appreciated (thumbs UP!) > > > - SEPTA trains have a policy similar to NJ Transit, and these trains > > > are single level with no special accommodations for bikes, other than > > > to occupy an accessible seating space (like NJ Transit's older > > > trains). Conductors were polite and very accommodating (thumbs UP!) > > > > The encouraging news is that Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood > > > and the League of American Bicyclists are leaning on organizations, > > > including Amtrak to change their policy, and to make it feasible for > > > full size bikes to roll on and roll off Amtrak trains. > > > > One day I hope to hop on a train (with my Riv), and perhaps visit a > > > few people on this forum. > > > > Peace, > > > > BB > > > > -- > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > > "RBW > > > Owners Bunch" group. > > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > > [email protected]. > > > For more options, visit this group > > > athttp://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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