Rail Review: Amtrak Northeast Regional Business Class

Baltimore-Washington International Airport is one of the airports in the United States that has an Amtrak rail connection. This allows you to reach the airport from Union Station in Washington DC in 30 minutes which is much faster than going from the city to Washington Dulles. I sampled this service in November 2016, so we will have a look at it.

Booking Tickets

Booking tickets in advance is very easy on the Amtrak web site. The Business Class seat cost me $27.00 and despite the online booking system being broken, it eventually fixed itself and I was able to book online. Your ticket is issued to your e-mail as a PDF which you can print out and bring with you. I believe you can also receive your ticket on the Amtrak mobile app.

Union Station Washington DC

The Washington Metro has a stop at Union Station so I arrived at the station this way. The station feels rather compact for the main station in the capital city of the USA and is quite pretty.

There was ample time before my train was due to leave and my friends had mentioned there was a Shake Shack in the station that I should try out. The salted caramel shake was spectacular! The burger and fries are delicious however they are quite pricey for what you get. Once done I wandered down to my boarding gate and was en route when my train was announced.

Northeast Regional

Passengers with Priority Boarding are provided with a dedicated lane which saves having to be in the long line of other passengers. The Business Class seating is in the first carriage after you arrive at the platform which saves a lot of walking.

On board, the seats are wide and have a lot of legroom. Above the seats there is plenty of room to stow bags and my carry on bag fit with ease. What I found interesting is the fact there are no arm rests between the seats. There is quite a bit of seat recline as well, which must be welcome when taking the service for its full length. We departed on time and headed off to Baltimore-Washington International Airport. Shortly after leaving, the Conductor came around and checked tickets. One person was pleasantly told he was in the wrong place and he moved off forward to Coach.

Seat and Amenities

Amtrak services feature free wireless Internet which I am happy about. The Wi-Fi is not particularly fast but it is adequate to do the odd thing on a phone. The seats feature a sturdy tray and flip down foot rests.

Happily the train also features charging points for your device. There is a club car forward where you can purchase food and drink however as I was on board for 30 minutes, I didn’t check it out.

Overall Thoughts

The Amtrak train service is perfectly comfortable and a very good way to get to Baltimore-Washington International Airport. When arriving at the BWI station, there is a bus which takes you to the main terminal. This is free and it takes around 10 minutes. As the train is so fast, I would recommend this for people flying between Washington DC and London as a solid alternative to Dulles.

Thanks for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

Like planes? See my “Does anyone remember” series.
Flight reviews your thing? Mine are all indexed here.
Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.