| In April of 2023, my sister Eileen and I traveled from Columbus, Ohio to San Francisco, California. I never travel light anymore: because I suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Fibromyalgia among other things, I need to make sure I take enough along that I will be comfortable. For this trip, that included a power wheelchair which I had purchased the previous October. The chair would turn out to be an incredible tool for someone who is an ambulatory user, and give me a lot of freedom on the trip. It also meant I needed to do a lot of planning before we even started the trip. Is Traveling by Train in the US Accessible? We took the train. There were many reasons, including an annoyance of flying, dealing with jet lag, and the desire to see the country west of the Mississippi River, for that choice. It is necessary to remember that flexibility is a must in travel, especially when you are disabled. We arrived at the station in plenty of time to get our luggage checked, which was good because the men dealing with the paperwork were no help in getting tags on the luggage. Another lesson learned: pack what you need, but don’t overpack. The lack of help continued as we had to take all our luggage, plus me in my wheelchair, down to the platform level. Again, there was no help, despite asking. They said they weren’t allowed. Never be afraid to ask, even if the answer is not to your liking. Tipping on an Accessible Amtrak Train: Traveling as a disabled person is more expensive. You should be able to get tickets which cost the same, whether you travel on plane, train or ship, but you are going to need professional assistance unless there are enough people to help you. Tips will be expected in America. A $5 bill here and there all adds up; more if you only have $20s. Make sure you take small bills with you if you don’t want to tip everyone a lot. We traveled both coach and sleeper car during the trip: most of the tips we paid were to the sleeper car attendant, who helps get your food if you can not get up to the dining car, and also makes sure your berth is supplied with water and toilet necessities. We also tipped the red caps, who help with luggage. They are professional and very helpful if you have many bags and few hands. Accessibility on the Regional Amtrak Cars: The regional rail cars are fairly small. There are places for a wheelchair to go, and you can get from those locations to the wheelchair friendly bathrooms easily enough. Coach seats on the larger trains that go long distances across the country are pretty much the same. There is a smaller car that has wheelchair seats and an accessible bathroom in the same car. Make sure they know in advance you have a chair. You are able to book wheelchair seats when you make a reservation. Remind them when you arrive that you have booked wheelchair seats. It helps to remember that these people are human also and are busy trying to get everyone on board as speedily as possible. Accessibility on the Large Cross Country Amtrak Cars: The large cross country cars have two floors. The top floor has coach seats, a dining car, and an observation car. It is not accessible, but if you are ambulatory there are railings on both sides close together. If you have a sleeping berth, you will be downstairs. Food can be brought to you, but you may need to ask. There will be a menu in your berth. If you don’t get a sleeping berth, you can still buy their three course meals for a hefty price; you can also buy hot food from the cafe. You’ll need someone who walks to get that for you. Conductors are supposed to help, but often don’t. Never be afraid to ask. Taking shelf stable snacks is a good way to cut down on money and ease the hunger when you get an uncooperative conductor. Getting on and off the trains is where you will receive the most help. Some trains are low to the platform. These have a ramp you can use to get up into the train. The ramps are not perfect and even a power chair user will need a running start to get over the initial bump. For higher cars, there is a hand-crank lift. This is extremely hard to turn in unless you have a chair with a small turn radius. I had someone who was able to physically lift my chair and readjust it but I acknowledge that is not realistically possible in most cases. While there were tricky spots on rail travel, I did find that there were so many helpful people, both employees and fellow travelers, who were willing to help. I have highlighted the few pitfalls a wheelchair user could or will face, but I enjoyed my trip on the train so much, I will definitely go again. There is a camaraderie there you don’t find on planes, and it’s an excellent way to go cross country without having to get in and out of the car or bus/coach. Dori Smith Huge thanks to Dori for submitting this piece. Dori produces handcrafted trinkets which she sells on Etsy – you can check out her products at https://smithsundries.etsy.com and show your support for disabled small business owners. |
