Amtrak Station ABQ

Well, I can’t believe this AmTrak stop has such a bad rep. I mean, yeah… I’m also giving it 2 stars, but you’d think someone had a pretty decent time here considering all the stops overs made here. Anywho, I do like the fact that there are vendors alongside the tracks so tourists, like myself, can peruse all the little New Mexico goodies. They also have restrooms, plenty of seating, and a little concession area if needed even though it may not be considered the best of the best. This Albuquerque station wouldn’t be half bad if there was ample security, standards/​protocol of some sort, cleaner grounds, and potentially a source of entertainment by means of arcade, TV, elevator music, or something along that line. If any of those are currently present, then I must have missed it as I hurried out the front to check out the surrounding area during each visit.

Having spent a very short amount of time here, I can only write about my initial impression. On a recent Amtrak trip through New Mexico, we were able to get off the train at this station for about an hour.
For most of the stop we stayed outside along the train tracks. There were a few tables set up with Native American crafts to buy.
Before leaving we walked through the station and out the front entrance. Inside the station was busy. The bathrooms were ok-​clean. The lobby was nice. There were some vending machines and seating. But once outside the entrance, the grounds were a unkept and dirty.
There were several loiterers hanging around that made us feel uncomfortable.
Next time through this station we will stay close to the train and avoid going into the station.

Beware when transiting this station. DEA agents routinely alight the trains, question passengers, and perform searches of luggage. Last month Joseph Rivers, had $ 16,000 stolen by a DEA agent and no charges were ever filed. In ABQ. And it seems to be a routine occurrence. All the Amtrak rides I’ve ever taken, I’ve NEVER encountered this behavior at any station.

Utter disaster. I was afraid to order anything at the eating area for fear of fatal food poisoning. The dirtiest establishment I have ever seen, including a dog that appeared rabid that the staff made no effort to calm. I would drive hundreds of miles to a different station just to avoid this Dantean circle of hell.

Felt like I was going to get mugged here. Disgusting surroundings, the poor security guard was overworked with homeless and crazy people. There was a rabid pitbull who bit a man while I was waiting for my cab. AVOID AT ALL COSTS.

Creepy and smells of urine. A far amount of homeless people and druggies in the area. It’s kind of ok during the day not safe at night. Just Nasty!

I was scheduled to fly from my home in Pittsburgh, PA to Albuquerque, NM around the middle of September 2001.
As I stood watching the television screen, along with a number of others that early September morn, I knew that I wasn’t getting on a plane in a couple of days.
As I watched the Twin Towers go up in flames and then collapse, I was unsure if I would ever get on a plane again.
As I watched the plane crash* in the PA field not too far from where I stood, I knew that life — for all of us — would never be the same again.
Even later, when the 1^st planes were granted permission to fly back to their home base, I knew that hopping a plane for a weekend jaunt to visit friends & family — if ever I had courage to do so again — would become a major security nightmare.
Even as I learned that one of my cousins, a commercial pilot at the time, was the 1^st pilot allowed out of La Guardia, I knew that my world had totally changed.
It had been many years since I’d been on a train, but I had loved traveling by train in the past.
So I called Amtrak.
Booked a two-​day train trip to Albuquerque.. . and back.
Bought two new books.
Packed a bag of snacks.
I’d heard that they no longer had a dining car.
It was a two-​day & night trip to ABQ by train.
I was prepared.
Wow! I loved the trip!
It was slow I grant you that.
Not the couple hours that the plane would have taken.
Stop and start.
Stop and start.
Stop and start.
But I got up from my seat,
walked the train,
had a drink in the bar,
watched the moonlight from the observation car,
ate breakfast at sunrise in the dining car,
slept to the murmur of the train tracks,
talked to some really nice folks,
read both my books,
watched a movie,
bought snacks,
took naps,
watched the incredible North American landscape pass by,
and shared «where we were» stories with other passengers.
It was a great time. Yes, I lost a couple of days of visiting (on both ends), but I arrived relaxed and rested. I had read two books and watched the sunrise and sunset — twice.
Riding the Amtrak train put life back in perspective for me. I knew that we would never be the same. It was a wake-​up call that none of us could ignore. But I also knew that I had learned that I needed to slow down, enjoy the scenery of life and living each day. Take the rush out of my life.
Yes, I am back to flying again, but I still take the train every now and then to remind me to slow my life down.
* I love the big sleeper seats, rather than squeezing into tiny plane seats.
* I love walking as the train rumbles down a mountain pass.
* I love eating a full meal with china, silver and a glass of wine.
* I love watching the sun rise. .. . and set from a moving train.
Take a deep breath, relax. .. ride the train.
See America from a train window!
* live, on local tv
UPDATE: Celebrate National Train Day on May 10^th!

En route on many Southwest Amtrak routes, an extended stop will be made here in Albuquerque. There is a man who sells burritos from his converted bus, they are delicious– especially after you have been eating Amtrak’s snack bar food for nearly a day! There are other vendors around selling tribal jewelry, etc…