Coming Soon: Amtrak Roll-On Bike Service

Photo by Don Willott

Have you dreamed of traveling to a distant state by train with your bike, but cringed at the thought of having to box your bike for the journey? Dream again. Amtrak roll-on bike service is on its way!

Amtrak announced plans to include bike storage racks on its new long distance equipment. The new baggage cars will be installed on all 15 long distance routes by the end of 2014. That includes the Coast Starlight and Empire Builder routes serving Washington state.

“It’s clear that Americans want a national system of intercity passenger rail and Amtrak is moving ahead to build new equipment to meet customer demand,” said Amtrak President and CEO, Joe Boardman.

Washington Bikes executive director Barb Chamberlain is looking forward to switching to trains for her long distance travels.

“Roll-on bike service will make me choose Amtrak over air travel every chance I get. I’ve been waiting for this to transform my vacation choices. This will open up a huge market for Amtrak since bike travel is growing like crazy and legs sometimes need a rest,” she stated.

Bicyclists traveling by train in western Washington and Oregon have been accustomed to roll-on bike service on Amtrak Cascades service sponsored by WSDOT and ODOT. All Amtrak routes in Washington will have roll-on bike service with the expansion to Coast Starlight and Empire Builder routes.

Read complete story from Amtrak blog.

Sign-up for E-News

Name *

First

Last name *

Last

Email Address *

City *

ZIP code *

Optional: tell us about your biking interests (check all that apply):

Travel

Rides/Events

Safety

Education

Policy/Advocacy

Infrastructure/Connections

Other (describe below)

If other, please describe

We send e-news, action alerts, and emails asking for your support of our work

Check here if you prefer not to receive emails asking for your financial support of our work.

Check here if you do not want us to exchange your email information with other organizations whose missions complement ours

By filling out this form, you opt in to receive email updates about bicycling events and issues in Washington State.

The post Coming Soon: Amtrak Roll-On Bike Service appeared first on Washington Bikes.