Salt Lake City Amtrak — Attraction in Salt Lake City

Amtrak is amtrak. For what it is. We traveled coach out to Utah and got upgraded to a roomette on our way back. I used to work for the Fred Harvey company and it's really hard to know the level of train service back then was exquisite and then to deal with this is hard to fathom. I would guess to venture Noone in amtrak knows who Fred Harvey even is. Nevertheless there is coach and then you get into roomettes, bedroom, bedroom suites, family rooms, and then handicap access rooms. We have primarily dealt with the zephyr going from Merced to montgomery and back to Denver then Denver to salt lake and back. Thus trip was a nightmare long story short is if you travel in coach do not expect to get into the dining room although it is open to coach the attendants act like it's really exclusive and a high class venue and not good enough for coach. The food trust me is glorified microwaved food on the tables. I've worked trains where they can actually cook your meal on the Train so it is possible amtrak just chooses not to. Amtrak should really think about utilizing two dining cars on the zephyr line. For the amount of people on that train. Even if they used one as overflow and hired one extra person to man the tables with basic setvice. The snack bar is grab n go and they microwave hot items in the plastic bags they come in. For the zephyr. I would book as early as possible and definitely pay more for the sleeper because it is horrendously crowded in coach. At 4 pm to 7 at night from Glenwood down to Denver we were full they let off a bunch of people but then added 111 people in denver so they didn't put a dent in capacity. I got off in denver silently thanking God we were not getting on that Train. Please also know it's anywhere on any of their lines really but amtrak has to yield to cargo trains as the cargo bno sf own the lines so you need to build a day into your plans. The zephyr can be upwards of 15 hours late and amtrak does do their best to compensate for that. We have never used the observation deck but it has beautiful views everytime I've passed through. The union stations for Chicago and Denver are absolutely gorgeous and remind me of a time long ago and the ticket agent in salt lake was sooooo sweet offering my kids cheez it's and paper train caps and choo choos at an ungodly...

I would rate less than one star if I could. This has been THE WORST travel experience of my life. It is a 7 hour drive from Salt Lake City to Reno. An overnight train seemed reasonable for a college student who doesn’t have a car to travel home with. I arrived at the Amtrak station to go home at 11 pm last night and was informed that the train was delayed. UNTIL 2:30 IN THE MORNING. Luckily, my aunts live close by and we’re able to pick me up. The station was not clean nor comfortable nor safe. They then brought me back to the station later and made sure I got on the train. I found a seat and tried to sleep. My 8:30 am arrival was now supposed to be 11:30. However, very briefly after my stop in Winnemuca, where people were smoking ON THE TRAIN not out at the station, we took a very sudden emergency stop. We have not moved in over an hour and aren’t expected to for at least 90 more minutes. The information I have been able to glean from short unhelpful announcements, as calling for an attendant has failed 3+ times, is it was a trespasser situation. Basically, we ran someone who was on the tracks over. We are now stuck waiting for the coroner and are under police control with no idea when we will be released. Our expected arrival time is now 2:30 if not later. This is insane and unacceptable. At least 6 hours in delays for a 7 hour drive is simply awful. This is my first experience on Amtrak and I am deeply disappointed. I will have been on this train trying to go home for at least 12 hours by the time I make it back to Reno. As a college student, Amtrak seemed like a great option. Cheap tickets and a relatively quick overnight train. I...

I purchased a round trip from Los Angeles to Omaha. I arrived at 11:30 PM for my 1AM bus to Bakersfield which arrived at 1:15AM but with only 12 seatzs for the waiting 55+ people. There was no lines to queue up passengers, so it was a madhouse full of shoving and pushing people. Another bus arrived at 1:45AM to take the rest of us to Bakersfield. The next two legs-the train to Stockton and the bus to Sacramento bee were on time, but the main train, the California Zephyr arrived more than an hour late. We had two docents from the California Railroad Museum describe the building of the Central Pacific Railroad on board the train from Sacramento to Reno. The view from the lounge car was very impressive and beautiful. The seats were comfortable and the service staff were very friendly and efficient. My train arrived more than two hours late into Omaha.

My return trip started badly with the train being more than two hours late. By the time I arrived in Sacramento, I had already missed my connection by over three hours, so I was told to go to the end of the line in Emeryville. I took a bus to Santa Barbara and the Pacific Surfrider to LA, arriving over nine hours late.

I did enjoy talking with the other passengers on the trains, but as a business travel tool, Amtrak has a far way to go here...