Some questions about the NE Regional train

[Bill631]

Greetings everyone,

I have a few questions about the NE Regional trains. I will be travelling to Washington, DC from New York City early next year. I have taken one of these trains several times in the past in order to catch the Capitol Ltd. to Chicago. However, on those trips, I had to be in DC by a certain time and didn't have too much choice as to which regional train to take.

This time, however, I will have all day in order to get to Washington, DC. and am not connecting to the Capital, Ltd. Which brings me to my first question. I searched the trip on Amtrak.com, and was amazed at the different fares on the same day. I am talking about the regular regional trains, not the Acela.

The first train was #133, leaving NYC at 1:03 PM, with a fare of $49.00.

The second train, #137, leaves NYC at 6:25 PM, with a fare of $136.00.

Why would there be such a huge difference in price on the same day?

Lastly, do the fares on the regional trains go up as you get closer to your departure date, like they do on the LD trains?

Thanks in advance.

Bill631

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Some fares are the 14-days in advance discounted fares but they are limited to how many are sold on each train, I believe. Then, of course, there's the supply & demand aspect. I suspect the later train is expensive because it's more likely to have end of day business travelers.

 

[the_traveler]

AmtrakBlue is correct on both counts. Just like a plane, seats on Amtrak cost more as more seats are sold. It is possible that the later train is mostly full, while the earlier train is mostly empty.

 

[jis]

Except that unlike in Amtrak on planes excess empty seats are released for very low fare 24 hours before departure to be taken either on a reserved or waitlisted basis. I wonder why Amtrak does not do that at all.

 

[MARC Rider]

Except that unlike in Amtrak on planes excess empty seats are released for very low fare 24 hours before departure to be taken either on a reserved or waitlisted basis. I wonder why Amtrak does not do that at all.

I would suppose that at busy times, they are still filling the trains with passengers, even at the higher walk-up fares. Remember, the NEC regionals didn't become all-reserved until around 2004 or so. Rail travelers in the corridor have a long history of paying a flat fare for a ride and buying tickets on a walk-up basis, and enough of them are willing to pay for the convenience that they can keep the trains full. But when you start comparing a $140 one-way ticket with a $30 ticket on the Bolt Bus, I wonder whether there might be some passenger drop-off. (I already know some families who now take the bus because of the cost). Perhaps if they start having trouble filling trains, they might start discounting walk-up fares.

 

[Shortline]

1349735717[/url]' post='398356']Except that unlike in Amtrak on planes excess empty seats are released for very low fare 24 hours before departure to be taken either on a reserved or waitlisted basis. I wonder why Amtrak does not do that at all.

Which airline still does that? I'm a very frequent traveller, and often buy last minute (sometimes same day) tickets......they've not been at a "very low fare" for a long time.....remember when I lived in Savannah the local paper would advertise some last minute fares, but I haven't seen that anywhere else in the US. When I lived in Germany, there was a kiosk in the FRA terminal that you could do walk up trips. Used to show up with 200 Deutsche Marks and a suitcase. We're we going to Greece? Paris? London? Tallinn? Who knew, until 90 min prior to takeoff. That was fun!

 

[the_traveler]

Even with higher fares, I'll take Amtrak any day over Bolt or Mega Buses!

 

[jis]

1349735717[/url]' post='398356']Except that unlike in Amtrak on planes excess empty seats are released for very low fare 24 hours before departure to be taken either on a reserved or waitlisted basis. I wonder why Amtrak does not do that at all.

Which airline still does that? I'm a very frequent traveller, and often buy last minute (sometimes same day) tickets......they've not been at a "very low fare" for a long time.....remember when I lived in Savannah the local paper would advertise some last minute fares, but I haven't seen that anywhere else in the US. When I lived in Germany, there was a kiosk in the FRA terminal that you could do walk up trips. Used to show up with 200 Deutsche Marks and a suitcase. We're we going to Greece? Paris? London? Tallinn? Who knew, until 90 min prior to takeoff. That was fun!

I was not clear. I was not talking of releasing seats for sale in Economy. I don't think they do that. What they do is release upper class seats for upgrade. My experience is mostly with United, but I believe all legacies are similar. On domestic flights they release unsold First Class seats for free status based upgrades 72hrs and 24hrs before departure depending on Elite Status. On internationals flights they offer cheap upgrades if available at the time of check-in within 24 hours before departure. In addition they offer miles and cash cheap waitlisted or confirmed upgrade that you can opt for when you buy the original ticket or at any time between then and the actual flight. For example on my recent trips to India, which happened during a low load season in that sector, I bought upgrades to BF for a net fare that was about a fifth of the actual BF fare that was offered when I bought the original ticket. I bought the original ticket in S fare and then bought an upgrade at checkin.

Incidentally Amtrak has just decided to change its policy from low bucket upgrade on board to current bucket upgrade on board. BTW, given Amtrak's extreme shortage of inventory I doubt that there would be too much available for upgrades anyway, but it sure would be nice to have those options as there are in airlines.

BTW, at least on the NEC Megabus is a non-issue for Amtrak at present because for each passenger that they lose to Megabus they gain another to fill the seat at the going fare bucket.

 

[amamba]

jis, I recently flew us airways between PVD - DCA (two weeks ago). 72 hours before departure I got an email asking if I wanted to pay $99 to upgrade (if available) to domestic first class (or is it business? I'm not an expert). One could sign up, and oyur card would only be charged if the upgrade went through. Then, when I checked in, about 22 hours before departure, I was given the choice of selecting a first class seat for only $60. I mean, its a super short flight and it was on a regional jet with the 1 x 2 seating up front and the 2 x 2 seating in the back, but I thought it was nice that they were offering the seats at a discount. I almost did the $60 upgrade when I was checking in. It was a sunday afternoon flight so I bet there weren't a lot of status/business travelers on board.

ETA: I paid $99 each way for my PVD - DCA flight. I decided to fly because acela was too expensive that weekend - more like $199 each way.

 

[MARC Rider]

Even with higher fares, I'll take Amtrak any day over Bolt or Mega Buses!

Well, sure, but if I want to go to New York from Baltimore with my wife and daughter, I'd really have to think twice about paying $816 for us all vs. $180 for the bus. (Assuming a $30 fare, Bolt can have them for less). Driving is even cheaper, at least out of pocket, even including tolls, expensive gasoline and parking in Manhattan, Yes, the train is the superior experience, but the price differential is really excessive. But I guess Amtrak is filling the trains with rich people and expense account businessfolk, so why should they offer a product at a lower price point?

(On the other hand, I just looked up a Jet Blue flight for this Saturday from BWI to JFK, it's $484 for a refundable one way fare.Goes up tp $701 if you fly out on Sunday. Non refundable fares are $248, except one flight with 3 seats left, which is $328. Flying on Sunday is $446. And you have to go to Boston first. Southwest BWI to EWR is $230 "Anytime" fare (no cheap fares). (And the flight takes an hour. Back in the 80's when they were fixing up the NEC, I used to fly PeopleExpress for $19, and it took 45 minutes! And it was cheaper than Amtrak at the time.) Flying on Southwest to JFK is $5 cheaper. This, too is for a "last-minute flight" this Saturday.)

So I can see why the Regionals, and even the Acela Express, are full.