Meeting the train in Raleigh
Kelly and I were pondering how we would spend our rare, unscheduled Saturday this past weekend when a note came in from our neighbor, Reid.
“Hey, Jacob and I are heading to Durham on the Piedmont at noon today w/ our bikes. Will we catch the next train heading to Raleigh around 3pm. Only 10 bucks round trip, not bad?” it said.
It was already after 10 AM at that point but with nothing else lined up to do we scrambled to gather our bikes, snacks, and sunscreen for a fun trip on the train and bikes.
All aboard!
The N.C. Department of Transportation partners with Amtrak for its daily service between Raleigh and Charlotte. The DOT recently began midday service between the cities, providing schedules which are far more convenient for day trips and half-day trips across the state. Special fares with 40% discounts have been offered this month to introduce the new midday service. I simply went to Amtrak’s website, booked tickets for the family (and our bikes), and chose to pick them up at the station.
Only I mistakenly booked a one-way trip to Durham the first time around. Whoops! A quick call to Amtrak’s 800 number straightened it out. Total cost of our travel during this little adventure? Twenty-one dollars!
Ready to ride
We arrived at Raleigh’s Amtrak station at 11:30 AM, exactly twenty minutes before departure. The tiny parking lot was already full so we hunted for a spot on the street. Wheeling our bikes over to the platform, I left Kelly and the kids and went inside to take care of ticketing.
With four travelers and four bikes making two trips each, the ticket machine in the lobby slowly cranked out sixteen tickets! Each one of these would have to be punched by the conductor at some point during our train trip, so remember to keep them handy. Also, the bikes all needed luggage tags, so a good plan would be for one person to ask for luggage tags at the customer service window while another waits to for the tickets to print.
Riding in style
Along with our tickets and tags, we rolled our bikes down the platform. We learned that our train would be backing into the station, so we had to be in place when the train arrived. Pretty much right on schedule the train backed into place. Judging by the way the baggage crew blinked when they saw us I took it that they aren’t yet used to seeing bikes on board. Even so, once the crew learned of our bike trip many of them became enthusiastic supporters.
Our bikes were handed up into the baggage car one by one, with five of them occupying vertical bike racks and one riding free on the floor. I knew in advance that the train only had five racks but the Amtrak site let me book what I knew were a total of six (Reid and Jacob’s were already booked). The crew didn’t balk at the extra bike and kindly loaded it up anyway.
Bikes on board, we joined the crowd of passengers taking their seats in the coaches. Before we were even settled into our seats the train lurched forward on its way to Durham and beyond.
To be continued.