Accessible Train Travel Between on the Amtrak Carolinian
wheelchairtravel.org
Ride aboard the wheelchair accessible Amtrak Carolinian train and travel from Charlotte to Cary, North Carolina and points beyond.
alliejay and Josh Grisdale5 Comments-
I took the Empire Builder Amtrak line out to Seattle in September. Amtrak personnel were great as always, but the wheelchair accessible car left a bit to be desired. I was also disappointed that I spent a year planning the trip, but was unable to use the viewing car at dining car after being told the ride was accessible because the viewing area was only reachable by stairs. This was a huge let down while going through Glacier National Park. Hopefully with the updates Amtrak is making will make the viewing area accessible
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That is heartbreaking. Did you at least have a big window?
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@tabifolk yeah, it was decent sized. It was just disappointing that I wasn’t able to leave the handicap cabin in the 3 days I was on the train. I had to take every meal in my room. The rooms could also use a couple more grab bars around the bed. Unfortunately we were in an older train, easy to spot because of the sealed up ashtrays, so not sure how much work can be done on it or if we just have to wait for the trains to be upgraded. Another note, my mother was my traveling companion and she is shorter than average, but I couldn’t go into the top bunk and the ” stairs” to get to the top bunk were designed with someone much taller/bigger in mind, and there was no grab bar by the stairs. Like I said, the staff were amazing, but the train car left a little to be desired
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@Victoria but they did just upgrade the wolverine line to Chicago, and it is much more handicap friendly, including a space for power wheelchairs to park in what would normally be a seat. And the bathrooms no have an automatic door opener along with an automatic lock on the inside!
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Sounds promising – let us know if you ride it!
