Amtrak tandem restrictions

Someone from out of state sent me this note. Anyone who has taken a tandem or recumbent on Amtrak, please correct any misunderstanding (if any):



We were planning a trip next spring to do a good section of the Katy Trail. Things look promising when we saw that Amtrak went along the route and you could take your bike. What a cool trip take the train out from St Louis and ride the Katy trail back. Also from the prices it looked very economical. But as we dug into the details that was when things did fare well. Although we don''t think tandems are uncommon, we see three or four at least on every trail ride we have been on, Amtrak does''t consider them a "Normal" bicycle. Oh, but look you can check it as baggage if properly boxed. Great we said, we can do that. But wait a moment no checked baggage at the Kirkwood station. No problem, St Louis station allows checked baggage. No, no, no - stll have a problem because in Sedalia you can''t get check baggage off the train. Also it appears there might not be anny checked baggage allowed on the River Runner. Now we realize "speciality" bikes maybe are not the majority, but the make up a good portion. Recumbents, Tandems, Trikes, etc... appear to left out of this great opportunity. We may or may not actually come and do the Katy trail - we were planning on at least 5 days in the area, but perhaps another spot will be more to our liking. Pass on to people who have the power to change policy; Amtrak who claim to be a vital part of the Katy trail need to work a little more with the ability to bring all types of bicyles onto the train.

No misunderstandings....just a comment or two.

It would probably be most effective for the dismayed tandem riders to contact Amtrak themselves. Third hand information in an effort to get someone to correct a problem is often not real effective. If it's that important to you.....then you need to go to the source.

It's kind of like complaining on this forum about the cost of Coke and poor ambiance in Clinton.

Oh I don't know Trek. That wasn't nearly as bad as the doofus from Sedalia whining about his fried chicken order every time they go. My first question would be Why is there and "every time?"

We just had a wonderful week long trip on the KATY trail, taking the train from Washington to Sedalia. We took 4 bikes on the train, one of them being a recumbent. It is not a matter of Amtrak excluding tandems, but a tandem simply will not make the sharp narrow turn necessary to bring the bike aboard the train, nor will a tandem fit in the place where the bikes are stored for the trip. It is the length of the bike that prevents it from boarding the train. Additionally, the train only stops for a couple minutes and is boarded quickly at the stop.

I have been trying to get a grip on the Amtrak situation in regard to the Katy Trail. Can someone tell me in what towns the amtrak actually stops and if you can board with a bike or take a bike off at all or only some. I am talking about a regular bike for this instance. I tried to look at the rates on the Amtrak site...but it seemed as though I could only get on in KC, Sedalia, and a couple of other major towns along the trail. Any help on this topic would be appreciated.

I think there are maps/info on the Amtrak website to let you know station locations. I've had some of my best luck calling and getting info direct from Amtrak...on the phone while navigating their site.

There is an interesting article on crazyguyonabike.com by Dale Oswald titled "Rail Transport Using Amtrak" that may be of interest to some following this thread. At the CGOB site, click on the Articles tab and go to page 5 to find the Amtrak article.

Cindy from IN is correct about the length of a tandem being the prohibitor on Amtrak....for an assembled tandem. Most tandem riders are quite aware of the length of their machine and the limitations that may create when their bike is at length. S&S couplers were a great invention for longbike riders to take their bike with them in limited space situations.