Part of the joy of a journey by train is the ability to explore the stops along the way, and what better way to do that than by bike? If you’d like to ride the rails with your bike, Amtrak offers a number of different services to transport your bike onboard.
Each train has different equipment and loading procedures that dictate what service will be offered. The capabilities of your origin and destination station also determine how bikes are handled, so check out all the details before you book your rail trip.
Your ability to get yourself and your bike to and from your cycling destination on a budget can be a challenge. Many domestic airlines charge upwards of $150 to transport your bike as checked baggage each way. That, in some cases, is as much as your fee for a seat and some peanuts.
The fee for boxing a bike at an Amtrak station that takes baggage is about $15. Those routes with roll on service charge of $5-$20.
Biking has become so popular that Amtrak has begun to offer self-checked carry-on bike service on a number of their routes. Space is very limited. On some routes, as few as 3 spaces may be available, so you must reserve a spot. If you can lift your standard size bicycle shoulder height to the holding racks, this makes for an economical way of traveling.
On a few of the Cycle of Life Adventure Tours, like the Seattle to Glacier, the Wild and Wonderful cycling tour in West Virginia and our Northern Appalachian tour, Amtrak has various levels of bike transportation available to get you and your friend home.
Check out www.amtrak.com/bring-your-bicycle-onboard. Check these fare samples.
