Comments on: Amtrak in Charlottesville – One Person’s Experience

By: Rose Landerer McCae

Rose Landerer McCae — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:02:10 +0000

Still living 4 miles from our capitol and considering retiring to Crozet, HOWEVER Washington is my hometown and shall come home often. Thank you for the information – I’ll have take the train from Union Station to UVA -check out Crozet.

By: Stephen

Stephen — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:41:03 +0000

Good point by Ivy & Jocelyn that adding people adds to the fare. It was not until after I wrote this article that this point occurred to me. Yea, its obvious and I wish I had mentioned it in the article. Thanks for bring it up.

I do want to mention that children 2-15 ride for 1/2 price. Still, unless Amtrak is running a special, it’s $43.50 each way. That does start to make driving more attractive. It is hard to beat the stress-free travel of the train, though. It depends on how much that reduction in stress is worth paying for.

My son really dislikes being in the car as well. I think he would absolutely LOVE the train and being able to walk around and explore.

By: Ivy

Ivy — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:37:29 +0000

Great piece.

Econmically, it makes sense if you’re solo. If you have a family of 4 (or 3 or 5), you save money and flexibility by driving. Of course, maybe the train is more fun.
I wonder if they could add some sort of family rate during a day that proves to be less than full.

By: Jan

Jan — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:15:25 +0000

My wife, 7 yr old daughter, and I just spent Sunday – Tuesday in DC having taken the train up. It was fantastic to not have to drive up to DC. We purchased lunch at “The Market” and spread out our food once we were on board. I then spent the time working, reading, and watching a movie with my daughter. I frequently travel to DC for work and hope I can arrange my schedule to take the train rather than drive.

By: Jocelyn

Jocelyn — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:06:38 +0000

As someone who lived in DC for several years, the time in DC is really too short and the price too steep. Those who know where free/cheap parking is can get where they want to go and back home for less than $44/person (depends on one’s vehicle)–adding more people to one’s party makes the price even steeper. Traffic is an issue, sure, but can be avoided with patience and attention to time/construction. Accidents are always a wrench in the works, of course.

I may take the train one day with my toddler, just so he can enjoy the ride. We’d likely hit the Zoo or one of the museums and then hang out with friends and wait for my husband to make the drive up from C’ville to pick us up (perhaps en route to my husband’s folks’ place near Philly). That would be one way I could see making the trip worthwhile–several more hours in DC and 2.5 hours I don’t have to spend in the car with a kid who dislikes his carseat.

I have not done any DC daytrips simply because my child does dislike the car. I’d have already been visiting from time to time if it were feasible. But four hours just isn’t enough and certainly isn’t worth almost 50 dollars (even more now that my urchin is past the age of two and requires his own fare).

By: Joe Crozet

Joe Crozet — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:56:21 +0000

Thanks for taking us homebodies along on your train ride. It was very enjoyable!

By: Fran

Fran — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:53:37 +0000

You can get to Metro from the train without going outside. As you come up the escalator into the station turn to the right and follow the hall all the way down to the end. Metro is down the escaltor at that end of the station — its a red line station.