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Since I am a travel writer, I must combine my travel
with my work, meaning that I need to bring along my laptop on many
of my train trips. In terms of battery capacity, my laptop is better
than many others, lasting for about four hours on a fully charged
battery. However, most of the trips I take last far longer, and
so the need to at least recharge the laptop becomes an issue.
As Amtrak brings new coach cars into use, there
is a steadily increasing number of seats that have electric outlets
available, although many still do not. Below is a summary of the
availability of electrical outlets on various lines and types of
cars. This is by no means comprehensive, and I would love to hear
from travelers about what they have found on other lines.
Acela Express
There are electrical outlets at every seat, Business and First Class,
on the Acela Express.
Acela Regional (formerly the Northeast
Regional)
There are electrical outlets at every seat in Business Class and
in some of the newer coach cars. If the snack bar arrangement is
the type that has an adjoining car with booths, there are usually
electrical outlets in at least some of the booths.
Other short runs
There are electrical outlets at every seat in Business Class and,
as with the Acela Regional, the lines are beginning to upgrade coach
cars.
Transcontinental Trains
All sleepers have outlets. On the double decker trains (e.g. California
Zephyr and Empire Builder) there are outlets in some of the new
coach cars. On these double decker trains, there are also at least
three outlets available in the public spaces - one at the back of
the snack bar car, near the floor, behind the seat that is in front
of the lavatory; one on the ceiling over the first booth that is
on the opposite side of the aisle; and one on the upper level, in
the lounge car behind the wet bar area.
The San Joaquin and the Capitol (Central
and Northern California)
These wonderful trains have outlets, as well as lots of work tables,
just about everywhere.
The Pacific Surfliner (Southern California)
This great train has outlets at every seat, and audio and video
in Business Class.
The Silver Service (New York-Miami)
Silver Service from Miami to New York has some cars without outlets
at every seat. In those cars, seat number eleven does have one outlet.
The newer lounge cars have outlets beside most seats. The cars are
a good place to take a break and recharge both laptop and personal
batteries. Thanks for the update from Bob Steinkamp, Rejoice
Marriage Ministries.
The Adirondack (New York State)
As of my last trip on this line, eight months ago, no coach seats
had outlets. However, the lounge adjacent to the snack bar has outlets
in each booth.
Lake Shore Limited
All sleepers have outlets. However, unlike on the double decker
lines, I was unable to find any available outlets in public spaces.
The Cascades (Oregon and Washington)
These new Talgo trains have outlets at all seats.
From a reader:
One tip for those who happen to have a large brick for their AC
Adapter on their computer or CD player or what have you...Bring
a short extension cord with a plug that isn't very large. I found
out unfortunately on one of the Superliner I cars on the Empire
Builder that I was unable to plug in my computer's AC Adapter because
of some sort of padding surrounding the outlet.
Contact us with your
tips.
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