Amtrak has expanded its Carry-on bike service to more routes and more trains, but it’s still not as simple as some bikers had hoped for: the extra-charge service requires removing the front wheel and all bags before boarding.
The service, which has been available on a number of long-distance trains since 2015, is now available on most of the railroad’s Northeast Regional service, which links cities between Washington and Boston, as well as on a number of routes Amtrak operates for state authorities in Connecticut, Pennsylvania and northern New England.
Newly-redesigned luggage racks that can switch to bicycle hanging racks make the change possible although limited on many trains to two bicycles for now; Amtrak says it will make more racks available as it re-equips cars. Not as convenient as some European trains that are set up for as-is bicycles, but a long step forward from requiring bikes to be boxed for baggage cars.
