I traveled long-distance on Amtrak for the first time. These 10 things surprised me.

In all my travels between cities — which have led me to explore almost all of Florida — I had never set foot on a long-distance train.

While I am familiar with local light-rail systems like Miami’s Metrorail or the New York City subway, I have most often opted for long-distance, intra-city buses when moving around Florida. The state is loosely connected by a network of rail systems, including the local Brightline high-speed rail and the commuter trains TriRail in South Florida and SunRail in the Orlando area.

On my latest trip from Miami to Tampa, I opted to try Amtrak, which services both areas through its Floridian line, which travels from Chicago to Miami. On the way to Tampa, I rode in the coach economy class, and on the way back, I had a first-class roomette.

These 10 things surprised me as a first-time Amtrak passenger.

I was surprised that traveling by train was not cheaper or faster than driving.

At first, I expected my train journey to offer a clear benefit compared to other methods of transportation, like cost or time.

However, the train ride — which made nine stops between Tampa and Miami — took longer than it would take me to drive or, obviously, fly between the same two points. In fact, my almost-six-hour train ride was an hour and a 1/2 longer than an average drive starting at the same time of day.

While the train reached a top speed of about 80 miles per hour, which would be a bit faster than driving on the highway, it also faced a fair amount of train traffic, and our average speed was closer to 45 miles per hour, which is slower than the speed limits on Florida highways, which usually have a minimum speed of 50 miles per hour.

Of course, I reaped some benefits by traveling by train rather than driving the route. I didn’t have to deal with road traffic, and I had the chance to sleep, eat, and relax on the journey.

I was also surprised that the ticket cost wasn’t much cheaper than driving or flying. An ultra-economy flight on a carrier like Spirit Airlines from Tampa to Miami can cost between $35 and $150, depending on when you book. Driving the trip would cost an average of $34.16, as calculated using The Zebra’s fuel cost calculator and AAA’s state average fuel prices.

I paid $60 for a single coach ticket (and $230 for the first-class ticket), so both driving and flying could’ve been faster and cheaper.

Riding by train felt like traveling back in time.

Despite the extra time and cost, there were benefits to taking the train — it was a fun and enriching experience that felt like traveling back in time, with routes going through rural areas that were once hubs of industries like manufacturing.

The stations themselves — many of which were built during a time when train travel was a much more common form of transportation — felt like glimpses into a different era.

In Tampa, for example, I boarded the train at Tampa Union Station, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, having been built in 1912.

I experienced more waiting around on my trip than I expected.

Expecting a somewhat elevated travel experience compared to long-distance buses, which can often be delayed by road traffic, I was surprised by the amount of waiting around that I experienced on my particular journeys.

On one leg of the trip, for example, I stood in line for food in the café car for almost an hour, and on the other, my train was delayed by five hours due to extreme heat — a factor that is increasingly impacting rail travel, The New York Times reported in 2024.

Amtrak did not respond to my requests for comment about my experiences.

Boarding was quick, with no security checkpoints.

Once your train arrives, you can just hop in and find your seat, similar to long-distance buses.

While I appreciated the uncomplicated boarding process, a thought or two about safety did cross my mind when comparing it to airplane boarding. That said, as someone used to traveling via long-distance, intra-city buses, I wasn’t too concerned.

In documentation about its safety measures, Amtrak said “the security framework that works in the airport setting is not easily transferable to the rail station system,” and its trains instead rely on the Amtrak police department, a dedicated police force working inside train stations and aboard the trains, to ensure passenger security.

I experienced what felt like never-ending airplane turbulence while on my journey.

Even compared to driving or riding on a long-distance bus on the highway, the train ride felt very bumpy, mirroring the most turbulent of flights.

For one of the legs of the trip, I booked a first-class roomette, and was glad to have a space to lie down to ward off any motion sickness.

I wasn’t limited to my seat.

Roaming the cars was one of my favorite parts of traveling by train.

Although walking between cars was difficult — the bumpy ride meant I had to hold on tightly to available handles while going from one car to another — I enjoyed the freedom to walk back and forth between eating and sitting areas, giving me the chance to stretch my legs on the long ride.

Unlike traveling by bus or airplane, it felt very communal.

With the café and dining cars open and waits often affecting all passengers, traveling by train was much more communal than the heads-down, headphones-on experience of airplanes and long-distance buses.

The compact space aboard the trains makes it nearly impossible to avoid striking up a conversation with someone next to you, or at the very least, enjoy a fair share of eavesdropping.

I was surprised by how much the first-class dining car felt like a fine-dining restaurant.

With the $230 roomette ticket, I received a complimentary dinner in the first-class dining car.

I was surprised the experience resembled a fine-dining restaurant, from the amenities to the attention from the staff.

With each table having its own white tablecloth and rose bouquet, I almost forgot that I was moving at nearly 80 miles per hour during my meal.

However, the food options in coach and first class weren’t all that different.

Unfortunately, the train I’d booked a first-class ticket for was five hours delayed. By the time I boarded at Tampa, which was at the latter end of the train’s Chicago-to-Miami route, its complimentary first-class food options had run out.

While I was expecting a three-course dinner with options like steak or roasted salmon, we were instead offered a turkey sub, a ham sandwich, or a cheeseburger, offerings I recognized from my previous travel in coach.

However, I know my experience probably wasn’t typical, and I received an apology email from Amtrak. I still enjoyed the food that was served, even if it wasn’t the three-course steak dinner I had expected.

Amtrak did not reply to a request for comment.

Overall, traveling by train felt more like an experience of its own than just a way to travel.

Even with all its delays, inefficiency, and dwindling food options, traveling by train gave me a more full and enriching experience than I was expecting.

From looking out the window at new, rural locations to experiencing school-cafeteria-style communal eating, my train journeys felt more like experiences of their own rather than simply a way of getting from point A to point B.

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