Getting here by train

Amtrak discount offer

Amtrak is offering a 10 percent conference discount off the best available fare to Washington for people attending DC2011. Complete information is in the Amtrak Discount Certificate, which you should print out and keep handy. Here are basic instructions:

– Carefully read the Amtrak Discount Certificate.
– Go to Amtrak's Internet site and search for the best available fare (Senior, AAA, Veteran, or other category) for your travel dates between August 11 and 22, 2011.

Special note: Be sure to read all conditions covering the "best fare" you found. Occasionally Amtrak offers special promotions to which "no other discounts apply." You might get a better deal on one of those special promotions than you could by applying the 10% conference discount to an eligible fare.

– Call the toll-free reservation number shown in the Discount Certificate and cite the Convention Fare Code from the certificate. Your final fare should reflect a 10 percent discount off the amount you found on line.

Important: Do not complete your reservation on line, but call the reservation number to get the discount.

Union Station

A fine example of Beaux Arts-style architecture, D.C.'s Union Station has eight Amtrak services: Acela Express, Capitol Limited, Cardinal/Hoosier State, Carolinian/Piedmont, Crescent, Northeast Regional, Silver Service/Palmetto, and Vermonter. Traveling on Amtrak, guests arrive in Washington from such major cities as Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and Miami.

Union Station is open 24 hours a day. The ticket office is open Monday through Friday from 4:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 5 a.m. to closing.

Union Station is a stop on Washington Metrorail's Red Line. From there you can go just three stops (towards Shady Grove) to Metro Center to the Conference hotel. Exit the Metro Center station toward the rear of the train and up an escalator for 11th Street NW. Just beyond the exit turnstiles, the underground route to the Grand Hyatt is straight ahead. Note: This route is not for wheelchairs; it has escalators, stairs and ramps at various points along the three minute walk.