Washington DC to Chicago train

Pros: Relaxing experience like in goog old times. No WiFi on board. Excellent personal service. Tips: Slow down and don't hurry.

Pros: Viewing lounge. Cons: Cafe cart had minimal and not very appealing choices. Tips: Bring a neck pillow, watch your belongings while on the Train.

Pros: Staff were really friendly and sweet, observatory deck was awesome. Lack of wifi didn’t bother me. Cons: Was content with everything. Tips: Bring neck pillows and ear buds to make sleep easier.

Pros: I had a great trip from DC to Chicago on The Capitol Amtrak . The staff at DC union was very helpful, one has to ask around a lot. Esp for a new traveller, every station is a new place esp Chicago union is very confusing. Getting off from intercity Amtrak and while trying to get on local train Metra in Chicago , I found there were no signs etc.. Cons: The train was delayed at Toledo, Ohio for more than 1 1/2 hours as the train engineer who was supposed to embark and take us onwards was nowhere, for whatever reason. Hence I missed my connection at Chicago union and had to wait an extra 2 hours for the next Metra train to Lisle... Chicago Union does not have many places to sit n wait.. For a new traveler, it’s a bit uneasy, so if a staff member could just stand ahead inside the carriage, before train starts, facing everyone and INFORM that it’s OK to recline AND extend the foot rest of the coach seat it would make the seat and the journey very comfortable. Tips: If you want to see the sights, don’t take the night train... I changed to a fast train, which was very clean, fast and had a fantastic viewing coach etc, but I missed out on the the scenery, The Capitol Amtrak from Washington DC to Chicago is a night train!!! I’m from Toronto, Canada and I’m used to clean, fast trains with viewing coaches, like The Canadian VIA , The Capitol was equally great, I loved it. It does gets quite chilly at night , so take an extra jacket or a light blanket, some snacks and magazines or books.

Cons: My husband and I were one of the 1st people on the train going from dc to chicago. They made us sit apart in seats 10 and 11. I told them I needed to sit with him because of a physical condition that I have and they refused to let us sit together. There were singles sitting all around us but no one would give up their seats so we had to to spend the entire trip, which was very long with many delays, in a booth in the observation car so I could sit on an angle. The women who I asked if we could have different seats just told me to sit back down in the seats they told me to. It was degrading being treated like that and extremely uncomfortable sitting at a booth for the duration of the trip. I feel you should refund our money for the trip. The train was freezing and many, many people were complaining to Amtrak and they were not able to fix the problem. The bathrooms were in terrible shape and not kept up throughout the trip. Tips: Don't listen to anyone and sit where you want to. There is no wifi on this line. Bathrooms are filthy.