On the Train

Food

Most trains have food cars that offer everything from fine dining to a cup of coffee. Dining or meal cars generally offer fully prepared hot meals. Lounge, dinette, and café cars offer more casual dining including sandwiches and snacks. Alcoholic beverages are usually available in these areas as well. If you have any dietary requirements or simply don’t want to eat train food, you are allowed to bring your own food and drinks, including alcoholic beverages, on board trains as well. There are special rules regarding where you may consume your own alcoholic beverages. You may at least want to bring some snacks on your ride in case any complications arise on your trip and food supplies become limited.

Smoking

Smoking regulations on trains differ. For the most part smoking is banned on trains in the United States, but not always. Other countries have mixed policies: some have smoking cars, some ban smoking, and some don’t. Depending on your preference you may want to ask the train company you are considering about their policies.

Entertainment

There are usually several forms of entertainment available in case looking out the window seems a bit stale. Many trains have an electrical power supply available at each seat so passengers can plug in cell phones, CD players or laptops. Trains with lounge cars sometimes offer movies for passengers to enjoy and some even have audio/video entertainment in sleep cars. If you are lucky, you may even have access to audio/video at your seat.

Phones

Unless you are in the quiet car you are usually allowed to use a cell phone. Some trains are also equipped with their own cellular phone service. You probably want to avoid using these phones unless it is absolutely necessary because the rates are extremely high. Major credit cards are usually the only method of payment accepted for this phone service.

Quiet Car

If you need to get work done while you travel or you simply want some relaxation, inquire about whether your train has a quiet car. This car, which is usually first-come first-served, is for those who want less noise than they would find on a normal car. Quiet cars prohibit anything that disturbs the silence such as cell phones and video games.