I’ve had a few Greyhound rides. Not a fan. Greyhound is truly my last resort to get from A → B (I’ve walked off of some before they left because the passengers were so weird). Kidjanot.
So it’s the same price no matter how long you travel? That seems odd, too. I would expect the prices to be different for different parts, based on the demand for that part of the journey. Sure, someone who wanted the whole thing would pay the same price, but they’d pay more for the parts that made sense and less for the parts that don’t.
It doesn’t seem like it serves any purpose if bed isn’t filled for a particular part of the journey. They could make more money filling it.
Amtrak prices are like airline prices; they can vary wildly on the same route. If you’re flexible about your travel dates, play with the reservation system and you may find a cheaper price – cheaper but still not cheap.
The base fare is going to change based on where you get on, but if you’re paying extra for a sleeper, it’s gonna be a flat rate since they’re probably not going to be able to sell another partial trip that matches up with yours and gives them time to turn over the cabin. (And if they can manage that, then they just made twice as much.)
As I said, the majority of people who are riding long-distance trains and paying for a sleeper are going to be riding from end-to-end rather than getting on halfway, because this is the kind of trip where the journey is more important than the destination.
If the train has an empty berth halfway into the trip why would they want to charge a fortune?
Can they really sell those spots for $600+ ?
I guess if there are people who will pay $600-1300 for one night on Amtrak then sure. I don’t get it though.
Well, looking at this morning’s California Zephyr departing out of SF, the basic sleepers are sold out and all that’s left are two wheelchair-accessible bedrooms, and the Tuesday and Thursday trains are down to 1 and 2 unsold sleepers respectively, so the answer would appear to be “yes”.
You’re looking at it backwards. If they sell Person X a berth halfway into the trip, that means they can’t sell that berth to Person Y for the entire trip.
What’s even more fun is that the likelihood of that train actually leaving at 7:30p is low.
My experience with passenger trains is limited to Murder on the Orient Express. Only the privileged like Countess Helena Andrenyi or Colonel John Arbuthnot had berths in the sleeping car.
I have always wanted to take a cross country by train. The price is pretty extravagant compared to planes.
Um… no. Greyhound, in my experience is much worse than the train. As @Smapti said, compared to Greyhound the train actually is the Orient Express.
I’ve ridden trains since the mid-1980’s. I’ve yet to get a sleeper car, although on one trip out east my late spouse and another person did get a sleeper car. Me, I sleep in coach but then I don’t have back problems and I can sleep in a recliner with no problem. YMMV.
You are focusing on price, price, price and a bit on speed of travel. Not everyone else has that focus. For me, traveling to and from the hub airports on both ends of one my usual trips take longer than an hour even in good traffic. I’ve looked at the door-to-door time and the train route is usually the same and sometimes faster. For that particular trip. Again YMMV. I also, personally, find traveling Amtrak less stressful than commercial airlines. I find the seats on trains more comfortable. Also, I have never, ever, ever been able to sleep on an airplane. Given that I’m a pilot myself that’s probably a good thing overall but it can make for uncomfortable travel as a passenger. I can actually sleep on a train. And finally, trains are the very last mode of travel to be stopped by bad weather. Given that my trips are between places like Chicago, Detroit, and Buffalo, NY, places known for unpleasant wintry weather that slops into fall and spring, that is also a factor in my choice of transportation. I have spent entirely too many trips trying to sleep on the chairs/benches at Chicago or Midway or Detroit Metro airports due to delays/cancellations. Not at all fun.
As far as what to do on the trips - I’m the sort of person comfortable with striking up a conversation with strangers and I’ve spent some good hours socializing in the meal car. Alternatively, I can also entertain myself for hours and find reading or knitting quite relaxing. I can even enjoy watching the boring scenery in the country’s middle, although in my experience the amber waves of grain are periodically interrupted by the backsides of city buildings and the occasional junkyard. Not everyone is at ease with those alternatives.
So, for me, for some of the trips I take, the train works out as the best option. For other trips it’s a car or airplane. (I hope to never have to take a bus between cities again. {{{shudder}}} although clearly some folks do that and may even prefer it for their own reasons)
But, for reasons given already by others, getting a sleeper cabin on a train is always going to be a significant cost above riding coach. If I was going coast-to-coast I would get one. For Chicago to Detroit? Nope. But that’s me.
Yep. Amtrak’s prices are super-sensitive to consumer demand, so it helps to be flexible about dates and book well ahead. If the only dates you searched were Memorial Day weekend, try something before or after that might be lower demand. (Also, sleeper cars are THE most socially-distanced form of long-distance transportation available, short of driving yourself in your own car, so there’s currently much-higher-than-usual demand among older people with means who aren’t comfortable flying. Eventually they will likely settle back to “high” rather than “stratospheric.”)
I am all for train travel.
But the issue here is the cost.
$1,340/person for a tiny room and bathroom. 20 hours of travel (door-to-door) and you will sleep eight of it (probably) and twelve hours or so will be at night so nothing to see (even if there was something to see).
Or you can fly. Five hours door-to-door.
Airplane:
- $250 Denver to Chicago including travel to/from airport
- $400 for dinner at Alinea in Chicago (most expensive meal in the city)
- $690 left for a hotel room for one night
OR
- $1,340 for an Amtrak bedroom and food in the same 24-hour window.
See the problem?
No, because they are not in direct competition.
I got your back OP – every time I look into Amtrak I’m absolutely gobsmacked by the ridiculous price they quote and wonder what kind of lunatic is willing to pay that for the “experience.” I sorta understand why Amtrak sucks, and why it’s not competitive, but it’s still frustrating that there’s a 3rd (or 4th) long-distance travel option that seems so tantalizingly close to pleasant, but then never ends up seeming pleasant when you sit down to actually plan and price a trip…
I guess if you really like long conversations with strangers over substandard food, but then I figure, I wouldn’t really have much in common with anyone who chooses Amtrak over more sensible options, so it’s probably a self-selecting group.
Why don’t things work like I think they should?!?!?!?
Most people see the problem, which is why long-distance rail travel fizzled around the world as soon as the jet age arrived.
Fizzled, sure, but it’s still a viable option in Europe. The high price and crazy travel times make it not even viable here, IMO.
Not at the scale Amtrak’s long-haul trains operate at. The trip the OP is looking to take would be the equivalent of going from Amsterdam to Madrid on a train that originated in Minsk.
Exactly this. I so much want to do the train trip and then find it is completely ridiculous.
If I am spending that kind of money I want the Orient Express. Not Greyhound on rails for Orient Express money. (I know the Orient Express is outrageously expensive…well beyond anything we are talking about here)
Betcha Minsk to Madrid is faster and cheaper than whatever OP was quoted.
No. Just like I wouldn’t see a problem if apples cost more than oranges.