Five Star Public Transit

Travelers who want to get away in style, without all those pesky carbon emissions, have a new unlikely option: Luxury Amtrak service. That's right, the government rail service is offering upscale vacation packages. Three routes will be serviced by vintage Pullman cars Washington to Miami, Los Angeles to Chicago and Chicago to San Francisco. Each car is plush, with a live pianist tickling the ivories in a lounge, five-course meals in a luxury dining car and more. The price -- $789 to $2,000 per person for one- to two-night trips -- isn't cheap, and it isn't meant to be. This is, after all, luxury -- even if the federal government is the host. But even at that price, it's cheaper than a trip with Amtrak's partner, Grandluxe Rail Journeys, which charges up to $7,000 per person for similar trips, according to a story in the May 30 Atlanta Journal-Constitution.