Amtrak to Ft Lauderdale

[dotheyes]

We are thinking about taking Amtrak from Orlando to Ft Lauderdale.

Anyone ever go by train or know anything about the Ft Laudrdale station.

Are taxis available at the station? etc any info will be appreciated.

Dot

[bsdmhutch]

I've not done this, but I know the reliability of the train being on time is very small. Amtrak has been known to run hours late. I would be hesitant to rely on it if you are looking to be somewhere at a specific time.

[alphakitty]

Here's the link to the station in Ft. Lauderdale. As long as you are going in a day or two early, a late train won't kill you, but they aren't very reliable, I agree.

 

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Station/Station_Page&c=am2Station&cid=1080080550686&ssid=111

[dotheyes]

We are going the day before.

Dot

[DocF]

Since I work some with Amtrak, I hate to say this, but the two departures from ORL to FTL, trains 91 & 97, are not known for their timekeeping. They operate on CSX tracks and CSX dispatchers, at their best, are not very capable of operating trains on time. Also, the CSX lines in Florida are quite congested and freight seems to take precedence over passengers. It is not supposed to work that way, but it does in real life.

 

Traveling the day before would be prudent. As to taxis at the FTL station, I suspect there will be one or two hanging around looking for a fare at arrival; there usually are at most Amtrak stations. If there is not a cab at the station, one can be called and should arrive in a few minutes. Please note the FTL station is not manned after 9:15 PM.

 

Doc

[Cassandra]

Doc is right however, its not Amtrak's fault. The amount of freight train traffic down there is usually the culprit.

 

Freight has right of way down there, so it usually holds up the trains. We take Amtrak down to Orlando from NY. It's fun and meals are included when you have a sleeper car.

 

We usually start hitting traffic as we leave Washington, DC. Although if you check the schedule of the previous days, they do make it ontime.

 

Your best bet? Get a flight out of Orlando, probably a puddle jumper flight.

[dotheyes]

Our train is suppose to arrive at 5:15; do you think they would be that late?

We did get the sleeper car; thought it would be nicer. The station is only 7 miles from the hotel we spending the night at. I guess I better give them a credit card number to make sure they hold the room. We got such a good rate on the hotel thought we would splurge on the sleeper.

Hubby does NOT fly it would be great to take a plane down.

 

So we don't have to take any food or drinks along? Six hour trip. Could have gotten a 4 and half hour trip but that would arrive an hour later and we wanted to make sure it is still light when we arrive.

I will also get some taxi numbers before I go.

Thanks again

Dot

[DocF]

Guaranteed hotel reservation would be prudent. The Florida trains have been as late as 951 P at FTL and as close to schedule as 628 P. CSX is a most erratic carrier and they do not even make an effort to keep Amtrak trains on schedule.

 

We could go into an Amtrak bashing, but the fact is that airline schedule keeping is getting horrible too. Only 72% of domestic flights were on time last year and it is getting worse by the day. Mid to late summer, I would not be at all surprised to see a total meltdown of the air traffic control system. It is being held together with string and chewing gum now.

 

I guess what this all boils down to is if you must be someplace at a particular time and you must rely on public transportation, allow a large margin for late arrival regardless of what mode of transportation you are using.

 

Good luck,

Doc