Raleigh Union Station — Attraction in Raleigh

Positives: The inside of the station is nice. Definitely an improvement over the old station. There are vending machines and a kiosk for coffee. Very comfy seats, places to plug in phones and laptops, lots of seating and it's spacious. Oh, and quiet. Clean restroom and a modern feel.

Negatives: Parking. There is none. At least not free. $18 per day / parking for a 4 day trip to DC will run almost the same price as a Business Class ticket. After the newness wears off, more and more Raleigh riders will drive to the Cary station to park for free. In fact the woman I sat next to day admitted that the Cary lot is almost full most days. Others have commented that $18 isn't too much to pay for parking, but you can find competitive daily and long-term parking prices at RDU and free parking at all other rail stations in NC except Raleigh. ( Charlotte may be the exception. )

WiFi: There is none. Not everyone has or wants a $600 smartphone with a $40 a month data plan. RDU has WiFi through Bongo (sp?). Amtrak seldom runs on times. There are delays due to CSX trains. If you have to wait in a really nice lounge, it would be great to work while you wait. The ticket clerk said there is a Free Raleigh WifI deal that works by the window. I tried standing by the window and couldn't find it. Went outside and sat on the steps. I found the SID and connected, but there wasn't any Internet. This should be an easy fix. Add one star when US gets free WiFi for guests.

Signage: Small. There is a 3 foot by 3 foot street sign by the sidewalk indicating that you've arrived at the station. That's fine. Once you know where the station is, you'll find it. If you mapped it on your phone, you'll find it. If you don't know, however, you will probably drive right by it at least once. The main sign on the building faces the boarding platform. It looks impressive from the platform. But if you're on the platform you arrived by train, so you don't need to know where the station is. A larger, nicer sign facing Martin St. would help those running late ( I wasn't ).

All in all, it's a nice station, but from a practical standpoint (parking, getting inside the station, walking out to the platform to board the train) the old station was easier, faster, and cheaper.

People say change happens and we need to adjust. I agree change happens. But if you're going to do something large, do it well, do it right, and keep your key customer...

AMTRAK HAS GOTTEN ON MY LAST NERVE TODAY! I want everyone to know how AMTRAK is mistreating my son! My son road the train for the first time on 1/21/18 from Raleigh to Greensboro to go back to college. He left with a few bags and a suitcase. In the suitcase were the groceries we picked up over the weekend for him. Well, when he got there they told him that the suitcase was over 50 lbs. They had him open it and when they saw the food they said that it wasn’t allowed on the train. WE HAD NO IDEA. He texted us so my daughter (who had just dropped him off) turned around to go back to get him. He texted us and said no worries, some man that works here said I could buy a box and put my food in it. He said because my son didn’t know he’d let him go ahead, just don’t do it again. They checked the box in, along with his suitcase, gave him his claim ticket and sent him on his way. Unfortunately, when he got to Greensboro, there was no box. They had him fill out a claim report because they could see that the box did get checked in but they couldn’t find it. Last night I spoke with the Greensboro Amtrak employee 3 times because he was calling around to other cities where the train made stops but no luck. He told me to try again today because there was a train headed to Durham so I could see if it went there. After being in the phone 6 more times today, it still hasn’t been handled. They are only saying 2 things, the employee that helped my son said he knew nothing about the food & they informed me that there was food, they are not responsible for replacing it because it’s a prohibited item. My problem with this is one, he saw the food in the suitcase because it was overweight so Tyrese had to open it. Second, he suggested to my son buy the AMTRAK box because he didn’t know to do that on his own. Third, they are really ignoring the real problem. Every time I speak to someone, the only thing they say is well he wasn’t supposed to have that food. No one is acknowledging what the employee did or even acknowledging the fact that the box is still missing. They’re too busy protecting an...

First of all I want to discuss the station itself. We took a day trip from Charlotte to Raleigh. Arrived exactly on time. We found the station to be nicely renovated. The staff was quite helpful. There was a leak from the HVAC system onto the floor. This could have easily been a fall risk for the lady with a walker across from us. Some of the ceiling was coming apart, but still overall a good renovation job. Lots of Amtrak literature around the station. The restrooms clean and serviced. There was one soda machine, one vending machine.

Our layover was to be 75 minutes. The incoming train delayed due to trees on the track and we waited a total of 3 hours. No fault of the staff, they kept us updated. If we had known the total wait early, we could have enjoyed the restaurants just across the tracks. I would frequent the station again.

I feel obliged to dock two stars for the return train to Charlotte. It came from D.C. or maybe New York. It was a bit more crowded, but there was ample seating. We walked to the diner car and at least a couple of cars smelled heavily of urine.

We remained mostly in the dining car. More of a snack car than real dining. As usual most stuff a bit overpriced. The attendant was helpful. Across from us was a gentleman who drank vodka mini bottles, a lot of vodka mini bottles. I thought after a while they could cut him off, he never bothered us, but it's a train, not a bar.

The train staff clustered at the rear of the car. The radios blaring. They were somewhat loud. Discussing their hotel stays and which one was better. Also enjoying a communal box of Popeye's Friend Chicken.

The CLT train to Raleigh was far superior to the return trip. Overall not a bad...