A question for train travelers

[ksmith]

Do ticket prices bounce around like they do for airline tickets? I want to travel to NYC in the spring, and just checked the cost of a round trip ticket from Chicago to Penn Station. It's almost half the cost that it was ten years ago, and I'm wondering if that's because I'm checking months in advance?

Comments

[affreca.livejournal.com]

Yes, there is some variation in price with how far in advance you buy tickets.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Do you know if you get the price swings you see with airlines? +/- $100 or more?

[affreca.livejournal.com]

Slightly less. I only noticed the difference when I tried to buy tickets within two weeks of travel. Also, I've only traveled coach, so I don't know how that effects roomette prices.

Out of curiosity, I played around with dates for a one way between me (Kansas) to a friend (Syracuse), and saw a bit of difference between weekend and weekday, within two weeks and outside, and holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas).

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Well, I did find that the reason the first price I calculated was so low was because I had only calculated the one-way price. I might be able to get a few bucks off with a AAA discount. But if I want a roomette, I am going to pay for the privilege.

[e-moon60.livejournal.com]

Yes, there's some variation--there are also last-minute specials on some routes, limited to coach (and thus shorter trips unless you like sleeping sitting up. Sitting up in the train is more comfortable that in a bus (where the seat interval is as short or shorter than in planes) but still not a favorite for overnight trips.)

E.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I would get a spaceship cabin, like I had during my trip in 2000. I would pack smarter/lighter, so that my luggage didn't take up all the floor space.

The other thing that caught my eye? Transatlantic ocean voyages.

[barbarienne.livejournal.com]

It depends on the route. The BosNYWash corridor has generally fixed prices; the variations over time seem to be seasonal, rather than a function of how soon are the travel dates.

Also, in that corridor it depends on what train you catch. The Pennsylvanian, which turns at Philly and heads west rather than going on to DC, is nearly half the price of a regular coach train such as the Crescent, that continues on to DC. I don't imagine there's so much train traffic between Chicago and NYC (though with the ever-increasing idiocy of Security Theater on the planes, I suspect more and more people are going to try Amtrak.)

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

(though with the ever-increasing idiocy of Security Theater on the planes, I suspect more and more people are going to try Amtrak.)

That's the main reason why I'm considering taking the train to NYC. I like flying, but I just don't want to deal with all the bullshit. It will chew up a few extra vacation days, but oh well.

The last time I trained it, I took the Lakeshore Limited, which wound through upstate NY and down the Hudson. That was nice. Lovely scenery, despite rain and low clouds. I would love to see it sometime in late spring/early summer, with everything green and flowering.

[barbarienne.livejournal.com]

When I was younger, my family took two train trips from NY to Canada, one to Niagara Falls/Toronto. Going around Lake Ontario on a train was awesome. It was the first time I'd seen any of the Great Lakes. Seeing it extend over the horizon like an ocean was mind-blowing.