ProRailHelping people travel by train
-- and have more trains to travel

Here are some Web sites you may want to check out as you plan your next Amtrak trip.

(Found a Web site we ought to know about for this page? Email us at prorail@hotmail.com)

AMTRAK'S OWN GUIDE TO TRAVELING BY TRAIN. Review Amtrak's extensive advice, designed mainly for first-time travelers, here.

COACH USA/VAN GALDER HAS ADDED A SIXTH daily roundtrip run between Madison and Chicago Union Station. More

TAKING PHOTOS OR VIDEO RECORDING ON OR AROUND TRAINS AT AT STATIONS. Have questions about when you can and can't take photos of or on your train or at stations? Perhaps you've read news stories in the recent past of passengers and others sometimes being stopped from taking photos by Amtrak personnel. Here's the link to the current Amtrak policy on taking photos and making video recordings, taken from its Web site when it was updated March 12, 2009.

You may wish to make several copies of this policy and carry them with you when you're traveling by train or just visiting a station, both as reference for yourself and to show to any Amtrak representative who may question or stop you when you're taking photos or recording you believe are permitted by the policy. Amtrak employes may not always be aware of the policy or all of its provisions.

You may prefer to print out a copy as it actually appears on the Amtrak Web site, for added authority when presented to Amtrak representatives.

The National Press Photographers Association has prepared its own analysis with more details on the policy here.

FIND YOUR SLEEPING COMPARTMENT HERE. Booked or booking an Amtrak bedroom on your upcoming trip and wonder where it's located in your sleeping car? Find the bedroom number or letter on your ticket, then click here. (Use your back browser to return to this ProRail Web site.)

RESEARCH ON-TIME PERFORMANCE. We have two suggestions for you.

Check the status of Amtrak trains on Amtrak's own home page at www.amtrak.com Look for the "Train Status" box. Immediately beneath it in small type, click on "Historical On-Time Performance."

Here's a privately-maintained Web site called "Amtrak Delays" with train status and on-time performance records. Click here.

HERE'S A SUMMARY OF INTERMODAL CONNECTIONS BETWEEN MADISON AND AMTRAK stations in Columbus, Portage, Wisconsin Dells, Milwaukee and Chicago. More

HIAWATHA TRAINS HAVE OWN WEB SITE

Amtrak and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation have established a special Web site just for the Hiawatha service route -- amtrakhiawatha.com. It also displays a new Hiawatha logo for the Hiawatha trains running between Milwaukee and Chicago.

There's also a link to a printable schedule card and a detailed map showing the location of the airport station, as well as a way to send an e-mail with any questions or comments directly to Amtrak. You also can find fares for trips and book tickets online; in addition, you can check out current promotions for the Hiawatha service here.