Are amtrak trains safe?

Question

i have only been on one for a few hours and i am going on a 19 hour ride in 2 weeks, im really nervous

Answer 1

You'll be fine.  

Try this - count all the amtrak crashes, accidents, etc. that you've heard of or can find for the last 5 years.

Now go to the amtrak website, and count the number of trains going into and out of just the major cities - NYC, Chicago, DC, Baltimore, and LA, for example.  Find out how many arrive and depart each day.  Multiply that by 365, and then that number by 5, to get the rough number of Amtrak trains that travelled through those cities for the last 5 years.

Divide that number by the # of accidents you found, and that's a rough guide to your odds of having an accident.

And if that doesn't ease your mind, remember this - it's almost impossible to have a head-on collision between trains, but it happens every day between cars.

Answer 2

Yes.  There's a number of reasons I say this.

One, you are on the ground.  Should something go wrong, the train only has to stop and not prepare for an emergency landing as you would with a airplane.

Second, you didn't mention where you will be going from and to but chances are very good that you will be riding on trackage owned buy a major Class-1 freight railroad.  Major Class-1 railroads depend on their tracks to be in good condition to ensure their successful operations and keep their customers happy.  The tracks of today are heavy, continuously welded rails that are sometimes over a half mile long and result in a very smooth, comfortable and safe ride.

Third,  If there is a problem, there's usually a porter or a conductor close by who can be alerted to a problem.  They are more than happy to answer questions should you have any.

The only problem with riding Amtrak is it's punctuality.  It's not always on time and sometimes can be delayed.  Usually this is due something amiss on the freight railroad's end.  The nature of freight operations mean that Amtrak has a very small window with which is operates and when things are delayed, Amtrak gets delayed.

Have fun on your trip!

Answer 3

I went on an amtrak train for about a 10 hour trip.  The train was comfortable and I enjoyed the ride.  Incidentally, on the way back, there were technical difficulties which required us to exit the train and board buses, after some waiting, for our destination.

Answer 4

No vehicle is 100% safe. They are machines and it is a drop of a dime whether or not something may malfunction. There is no real way to guarantee that a car, train, boat, plane or any form of transportation is safe.

Answer 5

I personally would trust Amtrak because it is the USA major train system bit i wouldnt trust it for over 15 hrs or so because the american trains are not near as good quality as European trains. Also trains are not very popular here either..

Answer 6

The bathrooms on Amtrak trains can get quite unsanitary, so I suppose this poses a health hazard. The smaller bathrooms are usually kept more clean than the larger bathrooms (this is because they are used mostly by the female passengers).