I've taken my bike on the NE Reagonal (and Vermonter) a bunch of times. Getting on and off is a PITA but worth the hassle.
Here are some tips I'd wish I'd known the first time: 1) There's only a few bikes allowed on each train so make sure to add your bike when you buy your ticket. 2) Get there early and check in with the Red Cap desk. This way you'll have a shot at getting on the train before everyone else. 3) Prep everything BEFORE getting on the train. Disengage front brake, disconnect dyno hub, take off any bags, etc. Once on the train there's very little room and all the other passengers will be annoyed/mad at you for having a big dirty bicycle on the train. 4) The luggage rack/bike storage thing will definitely be full of other peoples luggage. Be prepared to move it and when people get mad at you, just be nice and play dumb and say, "The conductor told me to do this." Once the bags are moved, it's a bit of a puzzle to convert it into bike hanging mode. Lower the cross bars first, then the actual racks. Take off front wheel, hang bike by rear wheel, put front wheel next to bike. 5) The cars with bike storage have little bike stickers by the doors. 6) Even though bikes are allowed and you paid $20, every Amtrak employee will be annoyed/mad at you for having a bike. Maybe someone will be helpful, but don't plan on it. 7) Boston is easy to get your bike on and off (platform at street level), New York is a pain but generally the Red Cap people are cool, Philadelphia (my home!) is a pain and most everyone is in a bad mood. 8) Fenders make it way more difficult. I take them off before any train trip. All this being said, it's the best way to travel with a bike. Once you are settled in your seat it's a delight! -T.J. On Thursday, June 4, 2026 at 8:24:36 AM UTC-4 [email protected] wrote: > Hi Jon, > > I brought my 60cm Platypus on the NE Regional from NYC to Philly a few > months ago. It was a bit of a challenge to get it into the hanging bike > cubby, but it did fit. I had to turn the bars 45 degrees to get the front > end of the bike to swing back into the space after hooking the rear wheel > onto the hanger. The other challenge was removing the front wheel while > other passengers were trying to get around me in aisle, so in hindsight I > probably would have completed this step before boarding. > > I'll second Melanie's point - when not being used for bikes, the bike > storage spaces have luggage racks that other passengers will leave their > bags in. I just asked a conductor for help, and he removed the bags and > swung the luggage racks out of the way for me. > > Hope this helps! > > Alex > > On Thursday, June 4, 2026 at 8:01:09 AM UTC-4 Melanie wrote: > >> You should also be prepared to remove people's bags from the bike storage >> area that you need to use. >> >> On Wednesday, June 3, 2026 at 1:16:33 PM UTC-4 Kesler Roberts wrote: >> >>> I've taken a bike on that route a couple of times but only north of DC >>> and my experience has been that they have a hanging rack (one per car) and >>> it is terrible but manageable. You have to remove the front wheel and any >>> panniers or other larger bags and hang the bike from the rear wheel. You >>> might get lucky though and have a train that lets you put the bike in a >>> luggage car but I don't know that you can find out beforehand what you're >>> going to get. >>> >>> On Wednesday, June 3, 2026 at 11:33:39 AM UTC-4 Jonathan Carmack wrote: >>> >>>> Hey all, >>>> >>>> Sorry for a question that may have already been answered or is highly >>>> specific (mayhaps), but have any of yall brought your Rivendell, onto the >>>> Northeast Regiona? I’m looking to do a point to point ride, and will be >>>> going from Union Station in DC to Culpepper. If you can share your >>>> experience with this, especially given the long wheelbase of something >>>> like >>>> the Gallop which I will be bringing. >>>> >>>> Is there are a luggage car? Can I hang the bike myself? You’d think >>>> this would be discernible from the website but I guess it’s even line and >>>> station dependent. >>>> >>>> Much appreciated >>>> >>>> - Jon c >>>> >>> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/71338f1c-b75a-4d66-9623-12a0e672d6d0n%40googlegroups.com.
