Led by the League of American Bicyclists, the Amtrak Bike Task Force advocates to make bike travel by train easier and more convenient. Since its inception in January 2014, the task force has made progress on bike parking on trains and bike accessibility at stations. While there are still many valid critiques of bike service on Amtrak, a lot of it related to inconsistencies across the system, real improvements have been made. Bikepacking Roots joined the task force in 2024, to ensure that Bikepacking Roots is part of this work alongside key national and local partner orgs.
After a year of collaborative effort from the Task Force, today The League has published a new report, Bicycle-Friendly Trains: Where Amtrak Stands on Bicycle Access—and What Comes Next.
See some of the key takeaways below or dive into the full report if this is an area of interest to you. There is also a link below to a recent webinar that Bikepacking Roots Executive Director participated in to preview some of the report results.
The new report scores all 46 Amtrak lines on how welcoming they are to people who bike—the first systematic benchmark of its kind. The idea for the report stemmed from the European Cyclists’ Federation’s Cyclists Love Trains framework.
Key results of the analysis:
- Top scorers: the Cascades (87) and Gold Runner (86) are the only two lines to earn an “Excellent” rating.
- Most lines are stuck in the middle: two-thirds of lines with bike service score in the “Moderate” band, averaging just 52 out of 100.
- Seven Amtrak lines offer no bike service at all — Acela, Adirondack, Auto Train, Berkshire Flyer, Borealis, Heartland Flyer, and Mardi Gras.
- A reason for optimism: Amtrak’s new Airo trainsets double bike capacity on many routes. The Vermonter alone is projected to jump from 51 to 71 once it gets new equipment.
Improvements to Bike Service Achieved from Task Force Advocacy in 2024 (subject to new equipment rollout):
- More Bikes Per Car: New Airo trains (rolling out in the Pacific Northwest and East Coast) will include a baggage/bicycle tower in each coach car accommodating two bicycles when used for bike transport. Towers on new Venture trains (Midwest and California) will accommodate three bikes.
- Wheel Removal: The new Venture and Airo trainsets will have sufficient space to store bikes without front wheel removal.
- Bike Hook Width: Amtrak increased Airo bike hooks from two inches to three inches—the largest size that fits within the tower configuration. This accommodates most mountain bikes but not fat bikes, falling short of the Task Force’s four-inch recommendation.
2026 Task Force Recommendations shared with Amtrak:
- Website clarity: Provide a clear, at-a-glance list of stations offering bike service, along with whether that service is carry-on or checked baggage.
- Reservation system fixes: Correct inconsistencies that allow bike tickets to be purchased for routes or return trips where bike service is unavailable. Additionally, establish a notification system to alert passengers with booked bicycle tickets when rail replacement buses are in service, as some buses cannot accommodate bicycles, giving travelers enough advance notice to make alternate arrangements.
- Station expansion: Prioritize adding bike service at high-potential, currently unstaffed stations, with three specific examples:
- Anniston, AL (ATN): gateway to the ~100-mile Chief Ladiga/Silver Comet Trail corridor (Crescent line).
- White Sulphur Springs, WV (WSS): access to the 78-mile Greenbrier River Trail and the Mon Forest Gravel Route Network (Cardinal line.)
- Greenville, SC (GRV): less than half a mile from the Swamp Rabbit Trail, a regional tourism anchor already promoted by Amtrak on its Crescent page.
- Bundled USA Rail + Bike Pass: Offer a “USA Rail + Bike” pass—a premium tier of the existing USA Rail Pass that bundles bicycle carriage into the pass itself rather than billing it segment by segment
The report also includes additional recommendations for train station and platform owners (in most cases, Amtrak is not the owner), for communities with Amtrak stations, and for individual advocates.
Interactive Map
We also helped the report’s primary author, Will Simpson to create an interactive map that layers Amtrak lines and stations with Bikepacking Roots’ route network, as well as other partner orgs including Adventure Cycling Association and the East Coast Greenway.
Task Force Webinar
Noelle Battle presented at a webinar hosted by the League of American Bicyclists earlier this summer on the task force’s latest recommendations to Amtrak to continue to improve the bike travel experience.
