Passenger Trains > Wheelchair accommodations on Amtrak inquiry

Anyone want to help this guy out with some photos of other information? We received this through our web site and I would like to be able to provide him some info:



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hi,I am in a wheelchair & going on my 1st train trip from Ft Worth to San Antonio TX in 2 weeks & i have looked on every site i can think of& had no luck,maybe you or someone you know can help.I'm looking for videos or pictures of how to get onboard & to my seat & to the restroom the picts.amtrak has don't show anything of use. Thank Tou for any help. Dennis White

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

At low level stations they have a hand crank chair lift.
If you are in coach,there is room for a chair as well
as a tie-down.
In sleepers there are rooms that have room for a chair.
Viewliners rooms have upper and lower beds,shower and
toilet.SuperLiner cars have the same without a shower.
As to handling toilet duties,I have no idea.
The Amtrak web site has virtual images of car interiors.

Uncle Joe,Seffner,Fl.

It sounds like he's traveling coach, is that right?
This is a day trip on the Superliner equipped Eagle.

The attendant has a ramp aboard the car that fits on the door sill- that's how he'll get aboard. Once aboard he'll be in the vestibule- to one side, through a door, is the lower level seating. There's enough room for him to stay in his chair, or transfer to a seat. To the other side of the vestibule is a bathroom large enough for has chair.
He won't be able to move from car to car, as that's only possible on the upper level. The attendant will get him what ever he'd want from either the café or diner.

Hope that helps- sorry. I don't have any photos, and am on vacation (from Amtrak) until the 3rd. I might be able to provide photos after that if he still needs them.

SR Bush
Dutch Flat



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/19/14 21:06 by BoilingMan.

Thanks guys, this is good enough and I will forward the info to him.

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

No photos. I use a wheelchair. He needs to make sure his reservation is tagged for special help and that he is bringing his own wheelchair. They'll ask if it is manual or power, whether it folds, and (in coach) whether he wants to stay in his own chair or transfer to a regular seat. Having the info on the manifest means they'll be looking for him at the stop and he'll have no issues and lots of help getting on and oriented. Small stations don't supply help (so you can't check that box) but still make sure the reservation is tagged for the wheelchair so he gets onboard help. On the scanner, I sometimes hear the engineer calling the conductor and asking where to put me, then stopping with "my" door wherever I am.

At staffed stations, check in at the counter, remind them about the chair, and ask them where to wait. If they say they'll come to get you at the right time, sit close to the window so they don't forget (some do). The good ones will radio the conductor a reminder, too.

Boarding is easy, don't worry about that. Likewise movement between coach seats and the accessible restroom, or movement around the H-room if that got booked.

Since this is his first trip, if he is in coach, he should reserve the transfer seat unless transferring is out of the question, so he can try both. They won't let him reserve the transfer seat unless he has a folding chair, so say it is folding whether or not it is. The coach attendant might try to take the chair away for storage but he should nicely say no, he needs the chair handy in order to get to the restroom quickly at times, or it carries his wallet, or something else appropriate and true.

In either coach or sleeper, but especially in coach, the attendant often doesn't make it down to help with snacks and meals, so he should pack hearty snacks just in case, a lesson I learned the hard way. They are just not used to people in wheelchairs traveling alone, I guess. It also helps to carry paper and pen to write down your order as a harried attendant will think he/she can remember it but then they get waylaid on the way to get your food and you get something different.

You might give him a heads up that the coach accessible restroom gets used for bathing and shaving by others, so he should try to use it before it is an emergency in case someone is hogging it that way. Also, people somehow seem unable to get their used paper towels in the trash, and sink water somehow gets splattered far and wide. So don't dress fancy. It has plenty of room even for a large power chair to maneuver. He can roll under the sink, but if he has dexterity issues, he might want to pack hand wipes.

If he needs help in the restroom, he will need to bring his own attendant but he can get them the same 15% discount he gets.

The Superliner H-room toilet is pretty easy to transfer to, it is a corner design with grab bars on both sides of the corner. Remember to close the curtains if in town!

If this is a round trip and he can afford it, he might take coach one way and sleeper the other, just to compare.

Ordinarily, people do not tip coach attendants the same way they tip sleeper attendants. I do, for each meal and sometimes also at the end of the trip if I've gotten really good service.

Taking the train is hands down the best way to travel any distance with a wheelchair. Since he might want to take other trips, he should sign up for AGR while he is at it.