Has anyone here ridden aboard the Amtrak Venture cars? Are the seats as bad as they look?The Amfleets were so comfy. This shit looks like coach on a plane.
>>2026198Seats are ass. Absolutely zero lumbar support if you're above average height and not obese. I blame the ADA for most of the design choices here. Somehow, despite the American loading gauge being 4" wider than Euros, the seats are each an 1" narrower than what you get there. This is because someone decided the entire train should be fully accommodating to large wheelchairs instead of simply putting all the handicap seating next to the dining car.It's an asinine design choice and I've been letting them know every time they have a RFC period, except I'm sure my voice is being drowned out by the universal design fanatics who think anyone should be able to go anywhere and who would, if given the opportunity, gladly outlaw practical infrastructure like stairs because they are not inclusive.Trains are not going to beat airplanes for speed or cars for convenience, so if Amtrak wants them to become more popular, they need to offer a better ride than other modes of transit. Seating should be where they have the advantage, and the Amtrak Venture cars represent a huge step backwards. Pic related should be the default, but can't fit a wheelchair in it, so they're verboten
>>2026247>Seats are ass. Absolutely zero lumbar support if you're above average height and not obese. I blame the ADA for most of the design choices here.Blame Amtrak/midwest state DOTs who went for the cheapest option. Brightline seats are comfortable and it's the same rolling stock.
The economy seats on the VIA Ventures are alright, could use more padding and thigh support but they're still a big upgrade from the renovated LRCs which are dreadful if you're tall and thinFeels backwards but I've always found long distance/commuter coaches to have the best seats of any mode of transport. I would gladly sacrifice some width and even leg room for some actual fucking padding
>>2026247>not obese>muricaYou're kidding, right?
>>2026198Sure, took a 5 hour trip (business class). Autistic detail incoming.My travel experience: domestic and international first/business on Singapore and American. Have ridden Acela first/business also.Pros:- Arrived exactly on time within the minute.- Dining car available with decent food.- Lots of luggage storage- Very wide and spacious seats, with singles/doubles/quads available.- USB and 120v plugs available for each seat (type B I think).- Seat have a coatrack and two armrests.- Huge bathroom.- Huge windows and doors.- Great wifi, can stream videos/music.Cons:- Bathroom only has a blow-dryer.- Bathroom was out of soap.- Bathroom sprung a water leak 3/4 into the trip and was closed.- Seats DO NOT recline. The bottom slides out slightly, that's it.- Very hard seats, I was constantly shifting. They feel harder than economy class aircraft seats.- Some seats already had the "recline" buttons broken.- Felt a little dirty, crumbs/splashes on the seats despite this being the first trip of the day.- Trash cans are way too small, they were overflowing by the end.- Overhead trip info displays were not on/working.- Horrific screeching speakers that got noise feedback every single time they made a station announcement.- Amtrak employees were surly and grouchy, which for some reason seems to be the case no matter where you go in the US. They could do with some customer service training.Neutral:- Pretty full for a Monday on a non-holiday weekend, but not crowded.- We pulled over once for another Amtrak train, but that was the only time.- The car was not super quiet but not loud either, in terms of passenger/track noise.Verdict: worse than flying, better than driving.
>>2027631>Seats DO NOT recline. The bottom slides out slightly, that's it.>- Very hard seats, I was constantly shifting. They feel harder than economy class aircraft seats.This is a shameIMO the main sell of Amtrak over flying is that it's more comfortable. The amfleet seats felt like couches.
