Amtrak Station

I took the train from salt lake city, ut. To charolston, w.v. The ride there was ok i only had to take a bus for about 50miles ,
The problem came when I first arrived at the train station.
1.They insulted me by asking if i should be traveling alone-​you see i have a service animal
2.They comp me a free room with all my meals free so that meant dinner and breakfast. (For insulting me)
By the time the train pulled into the station it was past 11ay night so i had to go to bed hungry.
3.They promised me a red cab every stop i needed to switch!! trains which i didn’t get and the one time i yell at them i was yelled at to shut up or wanted to catch my train id better run now you tell me if you run with bad lag surgery on hand. A dog all my luggage, my laptop, etc

This station can be hard to find, it is in a portable building at the central hub by the light rail line, not in the greyhound station. You do not need to check in at the desk if you have the etickets, they rude girl behind the desk will tell you this if you did not realize it. You can get straight on the train by having the conductor scan your ticket. If you have a sleeper the walk is pretty far. You can park for free in the lot directly across from the station, we left a 10 year old suv there for 3 days and nothing happened to it. The employees, greyhound, and trax/​frontrunner customers all park there. You do not need a pass to park there. It is first come first serve and only is full on nights when the club on the corner has concerts, so check ahead.
Use the amtrak app, the trains run late a lot and the app is pretty accurate.
The staff on the California Zepher were all pretty nice. We had a family room and a roomette. The family room is spacious (relatively), it was clean, but the train is older so there were scuffs and worn marks everywhere. The family room comes with a narrow full size bed, pretty comfortable about 6 feet long with the option to overflow onto one of the kid beds for another few feet for tall people. The bunk above is a very narrow twin and another narrower kid bed. The kid beds are short but doable for a shorter adult, kinda like sleeping on short couch. The roomettes have one narrow twin and one even narrower twin above, the above bunks in all rooms are quite close to the ceiling. The family room has places to stand, change clothes, stack stuff, but the roomettes do not, you will have to change laying down or in the changing/​shower rooms. The view is better on the second level, family rooms are only available on the lower level. A porter helps you change your room from day to night and makes your dinner reservations, lunch and breakfast are first come first serve. The food is very very good and included when you get a sleeper, I reccomend the steak it was fantastic. Stay away from the chicken apple sausage at breakfast it is pretty gross though. The dining staff is good but not super fast, luckily you are in no hurry. My son fell asleep at dinner so they brought me mine in my room, very nice. The sleeping is possible, but on the 6 train you are closer to the engine in the sleeper so the train horn is more audible. It is similar to sleeping in an motorhome as it heads down the freeway, you are in a moderately comfortable bed but it is rocking and creaking and bumpy. Your porter will wake you for your stop. The barhrooms are similar to airplane barhrooms but a little bigger, I didnt use the shower. There is a comforable observation deck through the dining car for the good views. Remember to tip you free meal as if you were paying for it and to tip your porter. This is not the best way to travel if timing is important. The trains run hours late pretty regularly and we spoke to a man that was running 12 hours late on his trip from one line in California to the Zepher. Our train was ontime on the way out (the 5) and 2 hours late on the way in (the 6). I felt like the passengers in the sleeper section were polite and courteous. We had fun. It wasnt a bad way to travel. Drinking your own alcohol is allowed in sleepers only, you can buy drinks at the snack bar or at dinner too. Keep in mind amtrak stations are usually in the bad neighborhoods, the one in slc is a really bad spot bu Utah standards, but we felt safe for the short trip from the car to the train, I would not wanna hang out for hours here though.

The place is alright. It’s totally fine for what it’s supposed to be. But there is one employee there who is very rude. My friends had never traveled on Amtrak before and every instruction she gave was so vague that they didn’t understand, and when they would ask for clarification, she would act dramatic and sigh and generally behave like a bitch. A man came in, with a ticket, well dressed and clean cut, except his face was covered in blood. He walked up and before he could say anything, she said, «I can’t talk to you until you go wash your face. Go wash your face.» He tried to ask for help, saying he had just been jumped after parking his car, (not surprising, given the neighbourhood), and she proceeded to interrupt him and tell him she wasn’t interested. She was horrid to everyone. Dark curly hair. Awful attitude.

This is not a review of the station as much as the personnel on the California Zephyr. We rode from Martinez to Denver and, a week later, returned. Both times the Amtrak personnel and customers were remarkably rude in Salt Lake City. Keep in mind that it was the middle of the night (3am one way and 1:30am the other trip). Yet employees talked as if it’s noon, volume raised, thoughtlessly waking passengers. It created an atmosphere that welcomed the boarding passengers to do the same. Amtrak needs to review its protocols and train its personnel better. It was awful. Won’t travel on an overnight train again, I think.

I passed through here twice. Once at 3am in the morning when i arrived and once at 3:30am when I left 4 days later. Outside, there were 4 – 5 taxi cabs waiting around the circle when the Amtrak California Zephyr came through. Getting off the train, you could either go into the station or bear left towards the circle. The station itself is small but well kept. There was a bathroom setup which helped. Kind of felt off the beaten path but so are most Train Stations these days. I was worried about it being pretty much empty this time of the night, but there seemed to be around 20 – 30 people plus the attendants and the train support people.
It was good. I would not feel bad about using it again sometime in the future.

For us travellers, there are plenty of small and large (enough space for a large backpack if the contents of your pack are unloaded) lockers which charge by the hour. There is no information here for those new to the city. Fortunately, the station is part of a transit hub and the traveller can easily get from here to the airport via public bus.
The Temple and the two historic train stations are all located w/​i walking distance and the neighborhood seemed safe at night.

I have taken the California Zephyr from the Bay Area a few times, either to Denver or all the way to Chicago. That has also included a stop in Osceola Iowa so that my folks could pick me up for a visit.
The first day’s travel takes you up the Sierra Nevada mountains (and under the Sugar Bowl Chair Lift) and past Reno/​Sparks just before nightfall. And upon waking up in the early morning, I am here at this Salt Lake City Amtrak Station. It’s small and sadly separated from the old historic Union Pacific and Rio Grande Depots. But at that time of morning I’m normally too tired to care. Besides, the day ahead brings outstanding train-​side scenery in Eastern Utah and Western Colorado.

glad utah has a proper public trans hub, and a proper train/​bus station. almost took a ride on frontrunner, however, i had to exit due to time constraints. thankfully i work for the U and ride for free.

It is a small station but the staff are more then friendly and helpful with assisting you to your train and with your luggage. The Hot Chocolate out of the Machine could be updated but not bad when its a Chilly Salt Lake Morning.

Very small station. but it does the job!
The Amtrak station is part of the Salt Lake City Intermodal Hub
that includes service by Greyhouse Bus Lines also.
In addition the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) provides
both commuter rail service with its FrontRunner line,
serving Ogden to the north currently, and in the future
Provo to the south.
These are some of the services and conveniences that the station offers:
Enclosed waiting area
Restrooms during station hours
No Quik-​Trak Hours
Payphones during station hours
Help with baggage during station hours