On Amtrak - dispherical

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I took the train. Here’s how that went.

March 2025#

I took Amtrak to two different hackathons. I didn’t want to take a plane, so I took the next best option, a train. I snagged literally the last economy ticket at 3AM to Manassass.

There was a station with a stop longer than 30 minutes, so I had IHOP delivered to the station. The train got there earlier than the food, so I was able to pick it up from the delivery guy instead. It was 5AM but it was still good.

The train ride lasted for about 12 hours, from 11:30 PM (Atlanta) to around 12 PM (Virginia) and it was very comfortable. My legs could stretch all the way out and there were two plugs.

May 2025#

This one I decided to take from Jesup (a small town in Georgia). I would arrive at Union Station (in DC) at 7:30. We ended up arriving at 6:30. I was impressed with how big Union Station was, even though I’ve been there before (although, not because of a train)

The price#

The price was USD 256. This was insane considering how much a Delta plane ticket (ATL to IAD) was (USD 177) or a regional airline (Contour Airlines, MCN to IAD) would have been (~USD 200). But, I think taking the train was worth it.

For starters, I did not have to go through security. Even though I have PreCheck, I do not like security. I also do not like Atlanta traffic, specifically near the airport. I also got to bring more bags and access them through the journey.

I will say, if you are tired of taking flights or want to spice things up, take a train once in a while. It’s fun!