Well, that's me booked!!! Acela First Class. I thought I'd spoil myself.
Genuinely impressed with how easy booking Amtrak Acela is, and thought I'd do a comparison with UK fares. I'm listing the key points that stood out to me - so sorry if I'm stating the obvious.
New York - Boston in Acela First Class is USD154.00. (USD 88.00 plus USD 66.00)
At todays exchange rate, that's approx. GBP 77.00.
- This fare is fully refundable (the caveat that this is before tickets are printed is totally fair and understandable)
- The fare gives me full access to the Club Acela lounge at New York
- The fare includes drink/meal on board.
The equivalent journey in the UK, would be from London to Leeds or Manchester.
From London to Leeds, the cheapest First Class, flexible fare would be GBP £148.50!!
I would still be charged £5 - £10 to cancel, and there's no free meals included, just tea, coffee and biscuits.
- Non refundable, non changeable fares start from £32.50, with no lounge access.
The journey time is approx. 2hrs 25 minutes.
From London to Manchester, the cheapest First Class, flexible fare would be GBP £180.00!!!
I would still be charged £5 - £10 to cancel, although lounge access and a "meal" is included - they're not always great.
- Non refundable, non changeable fares start from £31.00, which still includes lounge access and a "meal".
The only advantage is the journey time - approx. 2 hrs 10 minutes for a 180 mile journey.
In the UK, you can only book up to three months ahead, because the train operators have no idea what engineering works will be carried out beyond that.