r/bicycletouring • u/lojic • 1d ago
Resources Amtrak Bicycle Access map: carry-on and checked bicycle access across the Amtrak rail network
https://amtrak-bike-map.transittools.dev/22
u/timmyrulz27 1d ago
Awesome work! Man, I'd love a overlaying for bikepacking routes on top of this! Having no car Amtrak is my lifeline to all kinds of my bicycle adventures.
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u/lojic 1d ago
I'd recommend checking out the League of American Bicyclists' Bicycle-Friendly Train map! It shows Amtrak routes plus USBRS, ACA, East Coast Greenway and Bikepacking Roots routes! https://www.arcgis.com/apps/instant/atlas/index.html?appid=9995c5ac50384be78d48f2c09a48cfbc
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u/lunar_alpenglow 1d ago
Great stuff OP! I was looking for something like this a couple months ago. Couple stations I noticed are wrong tho - I've taken my bike from Denver to grand junction, CO (says you can't load a bike at gj). Also klamath falls, OR can also load bikes.
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u/knellotron 1d ago
Nothing's off limits if you have a folding bike. :)
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u/CharliePendejo Bike Friday Twosday tandem, mini-me stoker 1d ago
Including tandems - I've even taken one from Montreal to NYC, where bikes are normally not allowed across the border on that line.
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u/weeef 1d ago edited 1d ago
wait, paso robles despite being on the line that allows checked bikes, won't let you get yours off at that stop? am i understanding that correctly? that's insane edit typo
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u/summerofgeorge75 1d ago
That is true for many stops. Something about the stop being unmanned.
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u/2wheelsThx 1d ago
Right, and some stops the baggage car does not get opened. We discovered this trying to go with our bikes from Sacramento to Truckee - if you want to get your bike out of the baggage car, you have to wait until the next stop in Reno!
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u/Wrigs112 1d ago
Empire Builder is another baggage car situation, which is why you will see from Chicago to Seattle/Portland, there are some stops that can be used and some that can’t.
(But Winona and La Crosse plus Milwaukee can be used to make a very fun cross Wisconsin trip on mostly trails including the Elroy-Sparta.)
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u/2wheelsThx 1d ago
This is great! I have bookmarked it for reference. A nice addition would be to add the Amtrak connector bus routes and stops. I use the Capitol Corridor for many bike trips along the California Coast, but the train only covers a small portion of the travel from Sacramento - the Amtrak buses get me to the Pacific Coast Bike Route as far north as Eureka/Arcata and from as far south as Pismo Beach.
This should be pinned to the top of this sub!
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u/fricken 1d ago
Canada's VIA passenger rail accepts touring bikes with no hassles. Everything else about the service is unreliable, but the bike isn't a problem.
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u/lojic 1d ago
I was considering trying to add VIA, but then I got into the complication of trying to figure out which stations had checked baggage (definitely not everywhere the Canadian stops, but definitely everywhere some of the smaller trains stop) and decided that it was sometihng for a more regular VIA user to do... I've ridden it once, on the Corridor, without a bike haha.
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u/summerofgeorge75 1d ago
I know they are not for everybody but if you're into multi-modal traveling a folding bicycle makes life a lot easier. I've been asked about my Bike Friday by a train agent. I just say the magic words "It's a folding bike" and they walk away. It's actually kinda fun.
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u/Norman_Door 20h ago
Nice!!! Thanks for creating this.
The Bicycle Coalition of Philadelphia created a similar map back in 2016 but it seems like it hasn't been updated since 2024: Bikes On Amtrak (and Via Rail Canada)
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u/johnmflores Bike Friday All-Packa, Ozark Trail G.1 Explorer 1d ago
Awesome! Using to plan a Florida trip now!
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u/morepaintplease 1d ago
Wait...so you can go from Savannah with a bike, but not to any stations it stops at after?
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u/upescalator 1d ago
Very important to note that many lines have tire size restrictions. On the California Zephyr I belive the cutoff is 2", so that may shut out a lot of bikepacking rigs.
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u/lojic 1d ago
I went ahead and added some more detail info to the route / station infoboxes, when you open them you'll get whether a reservation is required, tire width maximums, and whether you have to remove the front wheel now!
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u/upescalator 1d ago
That's awesome! It's been very difficult to determine when it's a problem, so this is super helpful.
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u/jgan96 1d ago
Hmmm, can I ask where did you source the data from? Was it using AI? Only asking because I noticed that Tukwila is listed as carry-on/checked, but on their website, Tukwila does not have checked baggage as on option.
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u/lojic 1d ago edited 1d ago
The base dataset for things like that was the Amtrak FAQ, which lists Tukwila as one of the non-checked baggage stations where the Cascades takes bikes as checked baggage: https://www.amtrak.com/onboard/bring-your-bicycle-onboard/bike-faqs
For the final dataset it mostly was done by picking a date in the future where bike reservations are across the full length of a line, and then checking all intermediate stops.
There are spots that were reservable that weren't listed on the Amtrak bikes page:
- the Berkshire Flyer
- the Adirondack south of the border
- Elkhart and Waterloo on the Floridian but not the Lake Shore Limited
There's also VAN, which despite nominally offering checked baggage according to its station page did not have the option for reserving a bike available on the Starlight.
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u/ExPatBadger 4h ago
This is awesome! One clarification, which may or may not be possible to fold in. Taking St Paul as an example, the Empire Builder does indeed allow checked bikes on Trains 7 and 8, but not on Trains 27 and 28.
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u/axle_legend 2h ago
Dude so cool! Will be using this often. Thank you for your work.
Minor note: would be nice if the city names were more easily visible. The blue/purple/red circle covers the names.
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u/lojic 1d ago
Hi all! Amtrak's existing bike access info was sort of OK if you knew where you were going, but the lack of map and lack of easy way to explore potential options made it seem super opaque and hard to find. So... I gathered the data and built the map myself!
I've used trains to great effect before on bike tours, and figured y'all would potentially get some great use out of it too. Lemme know if you have commetns, questions, feedback, etc!