Amtrak Roomette Overnight on the Northeast Regional Train

In this video, we’ll share our experience taking the Amtrak Commuter train, the Northeast Regional, overnight from Washington, DC to Boston, Massachusetts for ten hours in an Amtrak Roomette.

We discovered how comfortable an Amtrak Viewliner Roomette is for two people!

In this video, you’ll see exactly what it’s like to board this Amtrak Commuter Train at Washington’s Union Station and travel through eight states over 458 miles inside an Amtrak Roomette, Amtrak’s smallest private room.

Amtrak Commuter Train service through the northeast corridor is Amtrak’s most popular and they’ve recently added an Amtrak Viewliner with Sleepers.

This experience onboard an Amtrak Commuter Train in a Roomette proved challenging. We didn’t sleep as well as we thought we would and paid a price for it. Learn from our mistakes by watching this video about this Amtrak Commuter Train from Washington to Boston on the Northeast Regional Train in an Amtrak Roomette!

0:00 Introduction
3:47 Boarding Amtrak’s Northeast Regional Commuter Train
4:50 Amtrak Viewliner Roomette Tour
6:26 Departing Washington’s Union Station
7:47 Amtrak Viewliner Roomette Bed Turndown
9:06 Waking up in the Amtrak Viewliner Roomette
13:58 Arriving into Boston’s South Station
15:48 Bloopers

Amtrak Room Comparison:

Amtrak Cardinal (Another Viewliner Experience)

Don’t miss my video about Amtrak’s Empire Builder:

And here’s a link to the video we made about Amtrak’s Southwest Chief:

Amtrak's Acela to a plane:

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Music:
Off We Go – Jimmy Wahlsteen
The Long Walk – Jamie Norwood
Summer Vibe – Tomas Skyldeberg
Milky Way Express – Lupus Nocte
The Role of Pain – Martin Klem
In Heaven – A Month of Sleep

[thomasconlon]

I have traveled on Amtrak’s roomettes several times, both solo and with my wife. As a former U S Navy Submariner, I found the experience similar to living as I did on my Submarines. There were “close quarters” and the rocking of the train as it travels the rails. My response the first time we traveled by train was “I’m home.” 🙂. Speaking only for myself, I like the roomettes. There usually is enough room for both of us to somewhat stretch out our legs and the beds are reasonably comfortable. All in all, I like train travel, but you have to be ready for delays or the train not being on time. If you need to be at your destination in a hurry, air is best. However, if you “care more about the journey, ” and don’t have to worry about when you arrive, IMO the train wins hands down.

[martinc.]

One good thing about receiving that much rain? They’ll have Greenergrass.

I’ll show myself out.

[williamfitzhugh]

Anyone else loving Jeb's new found love of trains? I love the content!

[Annmarie-gdfv]

Being a Bostonian, I love the NE Regional when heading to DC or back home. My only overnighter was in a reclining seat which was surprisingly comfy. I prefer traveling during the day because I love the NE stations and coastline views.

[JasonPuckettNY]

A relationship that can survive a teensie roomette with a toilet next to the bed is a match made in heaven

[trainattendant]

LAX based Amtrak train attendant & av geeek! Thank you for your positive enthusiasm for American passenger trains! Working #4 SWC tonight! I'm appalled the cafe attendant was a poor representation of our product.

[wickedmasshole]

I can’t say I agree that the trip from bos to DC is the same experience in a bedroom. I have done two day trips to DC in a bedroom and myself my wife and our tween son absolutely loved it. Slept great, woke refreshed. Most important thing is to shower in the am, makes the bedroom essential for a day trip but will do it again it was a great day trip

[dizzyology]

I'm an old coot who frequently rode sleepers fifty years ago. My reaction to this video (which is well thought out and well presented, BTW) is: (1) Roomettes today differ very little from the roomettes of the 1960s and 70s. There are a couple of added amenities like charging ports, WiFi (if it works), and showers that don't sound inviting; and the removal of the in-room toilet is (IMO) a mistake. The reason is my point (2): I never, ever, would have considered a roomette as a comfortable travelling space for two people. For two, the only reasonable option then (and -- it seems -- these days) is a bedroom. In fact, when my wife and I took a transcontinental train trip and found that there were no bedrooms available for our dates, we booked a pair of roomettes across the corridor from each other. That enabled us to join one another when we wanted company and to retreat to our own spaces when we didn't. That solved the toilet problem, we each had plenty of room to move around, and we were able to sleep comfortably. So I don't think it's fair to evaluate roomettes as accommodation for two people. They weren't designed for that purpose. Technically you can fit two people into the room, but you're not going to travel comfortably.

[jaredharris]

I love the click clack sound the wheels make going over the tracks and the rocking it’s so relaxing

[bellagio]

My first trip on Amtrak (I'm from England so flew out the night before) was The Cardinal (New York - Chicago) straight onto The California Zephyr to Emeryville then straight onto The Coast Starlight to Portland and I did all of this in Coach (non stop for 5 nights!). I was soooo ready for my hotel in Portland and that shower in the hotel felt amazing! I then got onto the Cascades and travelled up to Vancouver. I maxed out my rail time that holiday and by then end of it felt like I knew Amtrak inside out! Would love to do it again though and now I'm 10 years older might treat myself to a Roomette!

[philnaegely]

the cafe car should be open from the minute it takes off....and the attendant shouldn't be yelling. hope you shared that with amtrak.

[adaazodeh]

Glad I didn’t see your video before my Arizona to Houston trip on Saturday😊. Mine was fine; the railway tracks are probably better maintained. The cafe attendant made me a fresh pot of coffee, even though there was enough in the pot for one cup.

[neil]

There's no excuse for the cafe car attendant to yell and be rude. On one or two occasions in the past I have found them to be a little curt, though most are friendly.... Overall the video was fun and interesting. I am so eager to ride the Acela to Boston or DC again when I am able to.

[Hardia]

Northeast Regional does have some rough track sections which might have kept you from sleeping. NE corridor is heavily trafficked which contributes to wear & tear. As a frequent regional rail & long haul rail user, I do hope some railroad infrastructure help is coming soon.

[pamgodsoe]

When we moved from NYC to the Bay Area we did a similar thing. Our POD was going to take a week to arrive, California hotels are expensive so we figured the train would be a nice adventure. We travelled via the California Zephyr, three of us in a room. Was tight but not uncomfortable. Enjoyed meeting people in the dining room (most times we had a extra person added to our table). We love meeting new people

[witt]

I work unusual hours at work (night shifts, late afternoon, early morning etc) and I totally feel "jetlag" when working a lot. For me, your spot on with your not enough sleep in a 24h period theory.

[seatravelers]

Great video! I appreciate your honest review. After our overnight experience on The City of New Orleans we now pack foam ear plugs. It drowns out the horn enough that it makes it easier to sleep.

[ionvasile]

Jeb, this video sounds like a "term paper in a creative English class", I admire your control of the so-called "wood language".

[stephenringlee]

Having done this over the years, some advice for sleeping: bring an eye mask and either ear plugs or noise-cancelling ear buds. Avoid the wine at the occasional wine/cheese receptions (yes, they had this once in the Chicago first class lounge before boarding.) Take a melatonin before bed and get up early for a shower in the car's shower room. You will find the rocking a little disconcerting at first but one gets used to it. The sleeping car experience beats coach seats hands down.

[sethsimmons]

Wow, you got yelled at to leave...Amtrak’s customer service at its finest.