Passenger Trains > Amtrak to Denver Q

I am planning a trip from Emeryville to Denver in August on Amtrak for my wife and I.  We will likely get the roomette. 
Is there car rental pickup/dropoff at the Denver station?  
How do I get the best price on Amtrak? 
I see that the advertized arrival time at Denver is about 6:30 pm:  our destination is about two hour's drive away. What are the chances the train will be over a couple of hours late?  
Any thoughts are welcome. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/14/19 12:57 by Lyell.

No rental cars at DUS proper, however my understanding is the major rental companies (Hertz, Enterprise, probably others) will send a car over from their downtown locations if you reserve and call them when you arrive.  That's probably fastest.  The other option is take the RTD A line to the airport where you've got a full range of rental car agencies.  If you're already going east of Denver to your final destination, that might actually be faster by bypassing all the in-town traffic and basically dropping you on the far eastern outskirts of the city.  (The old joke around here is that DIA is the best airport in Kansas...)

By August, the CZ is generally running near schedule, which by my reckoning is no more than 30-40 minutes down.  Generally it's heavy snows in the Sierras during the winter and freeze/thaw cycles in the springtime Rockies that really screw up the schedule eastbound.  Westbounds tend to get stomped on by flooding in the midwest in the late spring/summer.   The only thing that really messes with the eastbound CZ during the summers is trackwork on the Moffat, and typically that'll just send it via the Wyoming mainline for a week or two (which typically puts it ahead of schedule).

At least that's my experience, both from a passenger point of view and railfanning the Grande wondering "where's Amtrak?"
 

Avis which is located only a few blocks away picks up at the station (or at least did two years ago). It's close enough to walk but probably not with luggage. 

heat restrictions occasionally approaching glenwood?  You can always take the a train to airport but their cars are more $$, availability is tight often.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/14/19 18:04 by dan.

Enterprise downtown office at 2255 Broadway will send a car over to DUS to pick up reservations, AND they will deliver customers back to DUS when returning a car.   I've used their services at this location many times.

There is a trade-off to consider.  The inventory of rental cars will be much greater at the airport and hours of operation much more extensive.  Car rental companies in Denver's core area will have a more limited selection of vehicles with fewer hours of operation (possibly closed or about to close when #6 arrives in Denver).  However, the costs of renting a car for the airport will be higher than from a downtown location.

Although I am not familiar with Train 6's timekeeping during the summer months, it may be prudent to book a hotel for the night you arrive in Denver and plan to drive to your destination the next day. 

At the end of last year, we rode the Zephyr from Emeryville to Denver and spent a night at the Oxford Hotel which is a great place to stay very close to Denver Union Station.  Alternatively, you could stay at less expensive hotels located further from the station.
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/14/19 18:15 by RuleG.

Thanks for all the comments.  We like the idea of booking a hotel near DUS and dealing with the car, etc. the next day. I last rode Amtrak about 20 years ago: its been  too long.   I think that when riding Amtrak, it needs to not matter if the train is half a day late...
We will be driving to Estes Park .... remind me to take my SLR!

Lyell Wrote:
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> How do I get the best price on Amtrak? 

To get an idea of what the best price might be, try AMSNAG. Â [url=http://biketrain.x10.mx/amsnag2.0/amSnag.php]http://biketrain.x10.mx/amsnag2.0/amSnag.php[/url]  Put in a range of dates and stations and it will show you the current prices for up to 30 days.  I don't know your requirements but traveling a day early or later might be less expensive.

> I see that the advertized arrival time at Denver
> is about 6:30 pm:  our destination is about two
> hour's drive away. What are the chances the train
> will be over a couple of hours late?  

As far as what time the train will arrive in Denver, that's a really hard one to guess.  I would suggest going to the Amtrak Status Maps Archive Database.  https://juckins.net/amtrak_status/archive/html/historychart.php   This should give you an idea of what to expect.  Just remember, it's like your stock broker would tell you.  "Past performance is no guarantee of future results."  Every day is a new train with new problems.  I've been on #6 about 4 times in the past several years and we were always within 15 or 20 minutes of the advertised time.  

> Any thoughts are welcome. 

I hope you find these two websites helpful.  As far as a car goes, I can't help you with that one.  Have a great trip.

John

There is a new hotel Indigo which is quite nice 2 blocks west of the station. I stayed there a dew weeks ago and by downtown Denver standards it was pretty reasonable ($169 per night plus tax). As for a high room with a view to the east and you will get a nice view of the city and the station platforms.

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As a general rule with Amtrak's poor performances the last several years ( frequent locomotive failures enroute, bad order cars enroute etc.) don't book anything the day of arrival and always make alternative plans/reservations based upon your train being anywhere from 3 to 12 hours late. That way you'll be covered regardless of what happens. My most recent 2 trips on # 4 we were 9 hours late and 6 hours 20 minutes late arriving Chicago. Luckily I was able to make my connection to # 48 both times. 

    IMHO-Ross Rowland