Amtrak

My use of this Amtrak station is very limited. I actually haven’t used it for the train. I have been there to pick up friends from the train. Personally, I have used it for bus service as I have recently used the charter buses to get to and from O’Hare. I like that this station serves many functions. The train, city buses, and charter buses all stop here. And they are located in different areas, which makes it easier to navigate. When the Greyhound arrives, they call out the bus information. Very helpful for passengers. My Peoria Charter was running a tad bit late so I went inside to investigate. There are multiple counters, so make sure you are going to the right one. From the signage, I wasn’t sure where I was supposed to go for charter buses. But that staff there were nice and helpful.

One job and they have never been on time… ever. How can that be? I’m certain that positions are filled by advertising «need not apply if competent.» Time to reevaluate your business model.

This station is one of the better ones I’ve been to. I frequently make the journey from Carbondale to Chicago, and this station is a smoke-​break on that long ride. It’s a good thing that this station is so nice though, because Amtrak itself is terrible. If you’re expecting your train to be on time, you’re going to be very disappointed. Typically, they’re about an hour late. So make yourself comfortable and bring a book when you get here, because you’ll be here awhile.

Train arrived over an hour late :(. There was a freight train in front of us for more than half the trip…

The employees are nice, polite people and the train seats are comfy with lots of legspace and outlets, but oh my god, Amtrak trains are almost NEVER ON TIME. Grab a book or something in case you wait from 30 minutes to two hours for the train to arrive so you can board it. It’s because the railroads are prioritized for shipping cargo, so the train will stop and wait for long periods of time for them to pass. This means you, the passenger, will most certainly be delayed. I do not recommend taking the train if you have to connect to another ride or be somewhere at a specific time.
Regarding ticket prices, it competes with Greyhound in terms of cheapness. Usually buying tickets a month in advance will give you the lowest price of $ 15. Then a week later, it pops up to $ 22, then $ 29, and finally anywhere from $ 30 – 159 on the week or day of your travel day. Once the normal seats sell out, your only option is to buy a ticket for the bedroom style compartment (which is in the $ 100s). It is ridiculously expensive, so I suggest buying a ticket from Peoria Charter or Greyhound if you miss the $ 15/​$ 22 prices. It goes to Union Station and from there, $ 5.25 will take you via Metra to the suburbs. Hence you pay less then a bus ticket if you plan accordingly.
The train itself is really nice and clean. Pick a nice smelling passenger to sit with and you’ll be fine. My only bad experience was this creepy old guy who kept talking on the phone then fell asleep on me. Ughhh. They have a café with tables in the back of the train that sells lots of food like donuts, Starbucks coffee, Redbull, fruit, etc. It also has a bar where a nice man in a suit and tie will mix you a drink or give you a beer. The wifi sucks though and is not reliable in my opinion. Greyhound and PC do it better, but Amtrak is much more roomier and inexpensive.

Great service from the staff and crew members, but never is on time. In three years of taking this train to and from Chicago and Champaign, Il. It has only been on time three times. This isn’t a exaggeration. I’m serious. If I run my business like Amtrak runs their business. I’d be out of business!

I wish the guy in front of me would stop farting. Also another lady to my right smells like Play Doh. What I’m reviewing I guess is the amount of effort Amtrak takes to Febreeze this place after people eat at the goddamn McDonalds at Union Station and then shit their pants.
Recommendation: bring some odor eliminating plug ins or something

A clean station with helpful staff. I rode the train from Flagstaff, AZ to Kansas City, then to Champaign via Chicago. The crew on the trains were always very pleasant and eager to please. The food in the diner car was outstanding. The trains were usually early into the stations except for a half hour delay leaving Chicago due to a weather delayed connecting train, but most of that had been made up by the time the train arrived in Champaign.

last time i took Amtrak anywhere it was to Chicago from Champaign. The train broke down about half way there and we were stranded out in the middle of nowhere for about 3 hours. btw we didnt get any kind of refund or compensation for time lost or inconvenience.

I love taking the train whenever I come back home to Champaign from Chicago. With gas prices the way they are, I actually spend less money taking public transportation! Throw in the ISIC card student discount, and there’s no question how I’m getting home next weekend. The only catch is that you need to plan your trip several weeks in advance to avoid having the fare go up. Being flexible with times is also an advantage to getting a good deal.
As a medical student, I really enjoy being able to study the entire trip instead of getting frustrated in Chicago traffic. The trains may not have Wi-​Fi, but they do have power outlets perfect for doing offline work on the laptop.
The Amtrak station is found on the second floor of Illinois Terminal, while the local MTD buses are found on the ground level. The entire complex is small and cozy, so there’s no concern about getting lost. And if you start to get frustrated because your train is delayed, never fear as there are some great restaurant bars across the street!

I’ve lived here all my life, and know that the terminal itself (as far as city buses/​Greyhounds go) leaves some to be desired. But after years of just driving up to Chicago, I finally needed to utilize Amtrak when I planned a trip to New Orleans, and it was a pleasant experience.
The man working the counter when we arrived was extremely personable and helpful, and checking bags/​boarding was a breeze. (Same goes for the reverse process on our arrival back home.) Clean bathrooms, a Subway and vending machines downstairs, very reliable WiFi.
But the reason I went for four stars was one man: «Mr. Charles.» Mr. Charles is an Amtrak employee who single-​handedly made my trip (there and back) enjoyable. He’s incredibly helpful, funny, and sweet. He never stopped smiling once, even when he didn’t get any sleep on our overnight trip back. He’s just incredibly polite, and manners go a long way. So Amtrak, please read this and give him a raise!
As far as the ride itself went… most people don’t take it as far as we did (from almost the start of the line to the very finish), but if you do, I’d get a sleeper car if you can. There’s decent leg room (I’m 5’11″), but not quite enough for a person to get entirely comfortable and sleep well. Two outlets at every seat, pillows available upon request.
No WiFi? No me gusta. I was definitely disappointed there. The dining car was too overpriced to even consider, and the lounge car was only slightly better (but, $ 2 for a can of soda? Come on, now). There were obnoxious people on the trip that made things less than pleasant from time to time, but what are you gonna do? Those people are everywhere, that’s not Amtrak’s fault.

just another Mcdonalds

This is the best way to get to and from Chicago from Champaign. If you book long enough ahead of time, you can ride for $ 13 each way. If you wait until the last minute, you are going to pay $ 36, which is still less than the private busses.
If you are going to Chicago, the Amtrak drops you at Union Station, which is really convenient to take the Metra out to the ‘burbs, Blue Line to O’Hare, Orange to Midway, el to wherever (3 block walk) or busses and trolley (a free bus) to wherever else. It is true that the train can run late, just like the private busses, but it is extremely rare for this to occur on the early morning trains.
I actually prefer it to driving, as I can do work on the train, read a book, or sleep. Trains are much more spacious than buses or planes and have plugs for laptops, etc (no WiFi yet). You can even walk around, and use a human-​sized bathroom. In the car all that I can do is sit, eat, and get older.
You can also drink on the train (café car has beer, but you can also BYOB). Just sayin’.
Also, if you are feeling awesome, check out the Rockstar Ride: departs Friday & Saturday nights from Champaign at 7:59pm, arriving downtown Chicago at 10:45pm. Departs from Chicago on Saturday/​Sunday morning at 8:15am. A night to never remember.

Both times I have taken the Amtrak back and forth between Champaign and Chicago I have been late on both legs of the round trip. The delays have ranged from 1 hour to 3 hours. It should NOT take 5 hours to get from Champaign to Chicago on a train.
Unfortunately as one of those pesky Chicago dwellers who does not own (nor plan on buying) a car, this is pretty much my only way for me to attend U of I football games. Well, I guess I could rent a car for the weekend, but that would be around $ 100+, whereas Amtrak is $ 13 each way if you book far enough in advance. As long as the football game is at 2 PM or later, you should make it, since the train is supposed to arrive in Champaign at 10:45 AM. But if you have an 11:00 or noon game, do NOT expect Amtrak to get you there by kickoff (or even halftime in some cases).

I guess there is no way to really make Amtrak improve by making a one-​star review, but I think it’s awful how expensive it now is to go to Chicago given the quality of the service. I live in Stockholm now and was entertaining notions of going back to Champaign to do another degree, but really… it’s an isolated place if you don’t have a car. It shouldn’t be a big deal to go to Chicago. It shouldn’t use up all my money or my patience. I’ve had 11 hour delays on Amtrak! Chicago is a major travel hub and the closest major city. The fact that it is so difficult to get to hurts the University.
Sweden benefits enormously from having fast, relatively cheap, and hassle-​free railway. I don’t have to sit on a cramped bus next to a McDonalds eating elementary school kid or endure six hour delays on a crappy train to get to places like Oslo and Copenhagen. I’m bragging now, but UIUC needs Amtrak to shape up.

Just logged on to
to buy a one way ticket to Chicago for a Monday train a couple weeks from now. Price for a ONE WAY ticket has gone up yet again to $ 37.00!!!
Thanks to a slow day at work, I decided to do the math on this to see exactly how much of a ripoff Amtrak really is. At $ 1.70 a gallon for gas, even if you were to drive a Hummer H2 to Chicago, it would only cost $ 21.00 in gas to get there. If you’ve got a Prius, driving would run you less than $ 5.00. A 38 foot Winnebago would cost about $ 32.00. In fact, you would need a vehicle that gets only 6.2 MPG for Amtrak to be the less expensive option. Did I mention I’m having a slow day at work?
Moral of the story: Don’t waste your time looking at Amtrak as an alternative to driving. Even if you have a vehicle large enough comfortably sleep 6, it’s still cheaper to drive. I also don’t imagine Amtrak’s reliability issues have been resolved by the price increases, so the extra cost really doesn’t get you anything other than a strong likelihood of a 90+ minute delay in reaching your destination.

My experience with amtrak was surprisingly pleasant. My morning train in to chicago was sterile-​ly clean and almost empty, but took 4 hours (scheduled for 2.75). My evening train smelled like extreme BO, but only took 2 hours (scheduled again for 2.75). This state of affairs can be described as «surprisingly pleasant» as I expected BOTH legs of the trip to take 4 hours AND smell like extreme BO.
Despite my friends’ urgent warnings, no indigent peoples tried to talk to me or make friends on either train. I think I will use the amtrak again! Way less stressful than driving in the city, and not any more expensive with gas in chicago being up to $ 4 a gallon.