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  • Amtrak Fare and Availability Discussion Thread

  • Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.
Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman

 #921522  by krapplem
 
It is not an error in the website. This pricing has been going on for over a year now on the Michigan services. It has now spread to the Illinois services as well.

Also, you cannot purchase a business class upgrade onboard the Wolverine or Blue Water trains as business class is almost always sold out in advance of the travel day. Michigan services use the split cafe car/business class Amfleet which allows for only about 15 biz seats. NEC uses the full business class car and, outside of peak travel such as Friday afternoons, rarely sell out.

Ken
 #921795  by tomfuller
 
I'm wondering about the different fares for the Texas Eagle vs. the Sunset Limited west of San Antonio. Same train but fare on one is more than 20% different from the other. If you are ticketed on the Texas Eagle from Chicago to California, do they let the sleeper car passengers stay on the train for the 7.5 hours the train sits in San Antonio?
 #921861  by electricron
 
tomfuller wrote:I'm wondering about the different fares for the Texas Eagle vs. the Sunset Limited west of San Antonio. Same train but fare on one is more than 20% different from the other. If you are ticketed on the Texas Eagle from Chicago to California, do they let the sleeper car passengers stay on the train for the 7.5 hours the train sits in San Antonio?
Yes, they do for both the sleeper and coach cars making the switch. Most riders take advantage of no movement to sleep, although it's easier for me to sleep when the train is moving.
I wish the UP would accept Amtrak's plan for daily Eagle operations west of San Antonio.
 #1003773  by gprimr1
 
Effective today; RR.net Amtrak forum rules now allow the posting of fares quoted and/or paid for travel. Forum users must remember that Amtrak fares, like other modes of transportation, vary greatly. Prices are affected by many factors; and fares posted here should be considered for informational purposes only. RR.net is not affiliated with Amtrak, and thus offers no guarantees or promises related to fares posted here. Fares posted here are for informational purposes only.

Further; RR.net asks that users not "spam" post fares with no other meaningful details. Fares should be quoted only in the context of a discussion.

Please contact your moderator team of gprimr1, tadman and Jeff Smith if you have any questions.
 #1004405  by Jeff Smith
 
I'll open it up with some fare (fair? LOL) news:

"Amtrak reduces fares in Illinois, Michigan, Missouri"
Amtrak announced Monday it has cut fares by up to 20 percent on most Illinois and Michigan trains through April 29 and Missouri trains through April 28.

Downstate Illinois routes include the Lincoln Service between St. Louis and Chicago, including Springfield, the Illinois Zephyr/Carl Sandburg between Quincy and Chicago, and the Illini/Saluki between Carbondale and Chicago.

One-way fares between Springfield and Chicago have been cut to as low as $14.40, according to the carrier. Some blackout dates and restrictions apply, Amtrak officials said. Additional information is available at www.Amtrak.com.
 #1004406  by Jeff Smith
 
and more: http://www.mmdnewswire.com/amtrak-80631.html
CHICAGO (MMD Newswire) January 2, 2012 - - Amtrak travel is always a good deal, but for wallets and pocketbooks emptied by holiday spending, Amtrak is offering an even greater deal with discounts of 20 percent for trips in Illinois, Michigan and Missouri through this winter and early spring.

Discounts are available on Amtrak routes between Chicago and downstate Illinois, including on Lincoln Service, Illinois Zephyr/Carl Sandburg and Illini/Saluki. In addition, savings are available on Wolverine Service, Blue Water and Pere Marquette routes between Chicago and Michigan and on the Missouri River Runner between Kansas City and St. Louis.

Terms and conditions vary, but big savings are possible by visiting Amtrak.com and using information under the "Deals" tab to buy the travel using the "Book Now" feature through April 29 in Illinois and Michigan, April 28 in Missouri.

Some blackout dates apply and other applicable restrictions, including advance reservation and purchase requirements, are shown on Amtrak.com.

About Amtrak®:

Celebrating 40 years of dedicated service as America's Railroad® Amtrak is the nation's intercity passenger rail provider and its only high-speed rail operator. A record 30.2 million passengers traveled on Amtrak in FY 2011 on more than 300 daily trains - at speeds up to 150 mph (241 kph) - that connect 46 states, the District of Columbia and three Canadian Provinces. Amtrak operates trains in partnership with 15 states and four commuter rail agencies. Enjoy the journeysm at Amtrak.com or call 800-USA-RAIL for schedules, fares and more information. Join us on facebook.com/Amtrak and follow us at twitter.com/Amtrak.
Note: I did quote the entire passage, however, this is a newswire news release.

Additional Note: We discussed changing this policy for a while. The change in no way reflects any opinion of past moderation policies, which made sense (cents? LOL) at the time. I understand the reasoning for the policy. We'll try this out for a while; if it gets out of control or abused, we'll put a stop to it.
 #1004667  by Greg Moore
 
High Five! Thank you. I think this is a great change. I'm glad you're giving this a fair chance. I think at least a quarter of people will support it. Let's not buck change. But everyone should C-note what Jeff said.

I do understand the risks inherent in it, but I think it'll open up some more discussion that in the past was hard to have without having to work around the policy.
 #1004688  by Jeff Smith
 
From an Amtrak e-mail blast:

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentSe ... T.mc_r=365
The Winter Sale is back again, with 20% off all Amtrak long distance routes when you book your travel by January 23, 2012 for travel January 17 through March 29, 2012. So where will you go?
Too bad it's not extended into April; love to take the Palmetto up for opening day at Yankee Stadium.
 #1005143  by markhb
 
I like this change, if for no other reason than it will eliminate some of the contortions we've had in some threads where, in an effort to discuss pricing policies without examples, things became nearly incomprehensible (perhaps like this sentence ;-) ).
 #1005802  by Jeff Smith
 
http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/ ... up-winter/

[quote]...Amtrak is offering an even greater deal with discounts of 20 percent for trips in Illinois, Michigan and Missouri through this winter and early spring.

Discounts are available on Amtrak routes between Chicago and downstate Illinois, including on Lincoln Service, Illinois Zephyr/Carl Sandburg and Illini/Saluki. In addition, savings are available on Wolverine Service, Blue Water and Pere Marquette routes between Chicago and Michigan and on the Missouri River Runner between Kansas City and St. Louis. [quote]
 #1006505  by Ken W2KB
 
About two hours ago I booked a round trip NWK - TPA roomette both ways on the Star, depart NWK January 30th and return departure from TPA February 2nd. Total is $803.60. This is a business trip for my employer and I will not be reimbursed in excess of the airfare EWR - TPA which today is $238.18 non-stop round trip on Continenatal for the trip (depart EWR late afternoon on 31st, return early morning Feb 2nd) so I will have to pay the difference out of my own pocket. Been a couple of years since my last Amtrak overnight and some 10 years or so on this route so worth it to me. Plus I will need to use a 2-1/2 vacation days since I will be out of the office much longer versus flying.

I just checked and the return roomette accomodation charge just increased by about $80, so guess the car is starting to fill. I have Room 4 assigned, so the car was not that full two hours ago. Interesting to see how this works.
 #1008785  by E Runs
 
Ken W2KB wrote: I just checked and the return roomette accomodation charge just increased by about $80, so guess the car is starting to fill. I have Room 4 assigned, so the car was not that full two hours ago. Interesting to see how this works.
It more than likely went up as soon as you booked yours.
 #1010255  by 25Hz
 
I guess this is the place to share my discovery of a $68 one way (or per way round trip) on a trip TRE-NFS. That's ... Trenton nj to niagara falls Ontario for sixty eight dollars. The fare from NYP seems to be $86, perhaps in light of the mirror services the (maple leaf) train provides nyp-buf. It costs more than this to drive an average vehicle, and only takes 2 hours longer, mainly due to the geographical routing.

You can bet your arse I'll be taking full advantage of this ultra low fare while it lasts.

A note: it's seemingly on random days, and to go to the very next station is like $103 per way.
 #1013670  by Jeff Smith
 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dr- ... _blog.html
Amtrak has a sale on fares between Washington and Baltimore to New York City for travel from March 13 to April 4.

One-way coach fares are $40 from Washington and $36 from Baltimore. The special fare is only available through Thursday.
 #1015929  by consist
 
Hello. I am new to the Amtrak forum but not to rr.net. If this post is not appropriate, please tell me where I can get some help on this kind of thing, other than the Amtrak site.
I am a newbie to traveling by Amtrak, other than a quick Boston-Philly jaunt 20 years ago. I cannot decipher the Amtrak site. I'm trying to plan a Boston-San Francisco round trip sometime in March or April. I have way more time than money, so I'd like to find the best fare and pick the dates around that. Apparently this is a nonstandard way to plan a vacation, as I am forced to enter travel dates before I can see a fare on their site.
What I'm looking for here, from anyone savvy about Amtrak travel, is my best bet for finding the best fare (coach and roomette, for comparison) for anytime in March or April without having to manually enter and examine sixty different imaginary itineraries. Also if people know a ballpark figure for that trip - the best I can guess from the Amtrak site is that one-way is around $266 and round trip is twice that, no savings.
Last question: is cross-country in coach a nightmare? I'm used to roughing it a bit, but I have my limits.
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