Take your bike on Amtrak trains to Grand Rapids

More good news for people who have been clamoring for taking their bikes on additional Amtrak train routes. As of this week, you can bring your bike aboard Amtrak trains bound for Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

The announcement comes on the heels of last week’s unveiling of the same service on Amtrak’s Hiawatha route, which operates between Chicago and Milwaukee. 

“We have mounted 15 bike racks in the control unit on each of the Pere Marquette trains in Michigan,” said Jim Brzezinski, Amtrak senior regional director, in a news release “This makes bringing your bike along on these trips easy and gets you on your wheels and pedaling away immediately after arrival.”

Similar to the Hiawatha route, train staff on the Pere Marquette will load bicycles onto the train. Passengers are recommended to arrive 30 minutes prior to departure. 

Until now, Amtrak passengers could only bring their bike aboard Pere Marquette trains if it was partially disassembled, boxed up and stowed in the baggage area.

The service is available for passengers boarding and getting off at Grand Rapids, Holland, St. Joseph-Benton Harbor and Chicago. The service is not available for passengers getting on and off the train in Bangor.

Customers reserve space for their bikes by selecting “add bike” when they book their train travel on Amtrak.com, by calling 800-USA-RAIL, using the staffed ticket office in Chicago, or by using Quik-TrakSM kiosks. There is a $10 charge per bicycle. 

Last year, more than 95,000 passengers used the Pere Marquette route, which Amtrak operates under a sponsorship agreement with the Michigan Department of Transportation. Nearly 20 Amtrak routes around the nation now make it easy to bring your bike aboard.