Seating Accommodations

Seat selection is available on Acela and in Business Class on Northeast Regional, Carolinian, Palmetto and Vermonter. During booking, passengers will have the option to review and change their pre-selected seats before completing their reservation. Changes can still be made after they've completed their booking by viewing their reservation in the Amtrak app or on Amtrak.com. There is no fee to change seats.

Upgrade your seating from Coach to First Class and Business Class seats on Amtrak.com, through our mobile app, at a staffed station or over the phone at 1-800-USA-RAIL.

On trains with First Class private rooms, you may be able to upgrade to a Roomette or Bedroom.

The conductor can help you with a seat or sleeper upgrade on board your train if unsold space is available.

Many of our routes feature fixed seating in business and coach with approximately half of the seats facing forward in the direction of travel and the other seats facing backward. Please note that preferred seat orientation is not guaranteed.

Child car seats cannot be secured to any seats onboard Amtrak trains or buses. Passengers traveling with an infant/small child in a child car seat may place the seat in a vacant seat only if it is not needed for a paying passenger; children under 2 years of age may be required to ride on the passenger’s lap and the child car seat stored in an appropriate baggage area.

Amtrak will monitor seating of passengers to ensure compliance with the following policies:

• Amtrak reserves to itself full control and discretion as to seating of passengers.
• Amtrak reserves the right, whenever operating conditions require, to transfer passengers from one car or train to another en route.
• Each passenger paying a fare will be entitled to a seat, to the extent coach seats are available.
• Passengers are entitled to one seat per fare, to ensure other paying passengers are not excluded.
• Unless specific seats are assigned, seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Seat availability is not guaranteed until we provide you with a reservation confirmation.
• On unreserved trains there are no guaranteed seats.
• Seating arrangements will be made without regard to race, color, gender, creed or national origin.

Seating is limited. Seats may not be available on all trains at all times