USA Rail Passes: Worthwhile?

[zoltan]

I have found these rail passes are available for Amtrak travel in the States, and I'm wondering if it might be a sensible way of traveling in the States.

The 30 day variety, probably what I will need, cost $579, and allow 12 legs, therefore requiring a $48 cost per leg to recover the cost.

One issue is that these do not offer the normal 15% ISIC (international student ID card) discounts, lessening the benefit for me personally.

This would appear good value (prices here are given with that discount) for, say, Washington to Miami (normally around $130, depending when booked), Chicago to Los Angeles (normally around $140), or Los Angeles to Seattle (normally around $90). However, it seems of little use for journeys like Portland to Boston ($20.50) or Buffalo to new York (normally around $47).

It does come with the big advantage of making travel on Northeast Regionals affordable; I have never been on a Northeast Regional so far due to the overwhelming cost difference compared to megabus/bolt bus, even if it is quicker and more comfortable.

I also have the following worries about it proving to be of value:

- The supposed limited availability of seats - I intend to book a few months in advance; can it nevertheless prove to be a problem?

- Supposing I need to make a booking at the minute that I can't make in advance, is the pass likely to be completely useless due to all the passholder places being taken?

As in the cases of either of these mattering, I'd have to buy a whole new ticket.

Also, I have been thinking over the way that the pass penalises breaks of journey by giving you an absolute number of journeys regardless of length, however perhaps the regular fares system does exactly the same, as fares tend to be significantly higher when broken compared to a through ticket, e.g. East Coast - Chicago + Chicago - West Coast, compared to the cost of East Coast - West Coast through booked.

This is very roughly the sort of sequence of journeys I hope to make, Each place being a location I intend to stop, alight a train, and board a train hours or days later.

Washington DC - Miami - Savannah - Raleigh - Washington DC - Indianapolis - Chicago - Los Angeles - San Fransisco - Seattle - Bellingham - Seattle - West Glacier Park - (change Chicago) Cleveland - Utica - (Making my own way to...) - Westport, New York - Boston - Portland.

With such a plan in mind, do you think that a USA rail pass would be a sensible purchase, and if so, what are the ways to ensure it pays off and provides the maximum benefit?

 

[the_traveler]

As I understand the pass - it covers the rail fare at the lowest bucket. You can upgrade or travel on any train by paying the difference between the lowest bucket fare and the current price. But I could be wrong about that.

The good thing is that the pass allows stopovers. But the bad thing is the restriction on the number of segments. (Just FYI - going from Westport to Portland would be 3 segments, because you would take 3 trains! And the LA-SF or SF-SEA portions will be 2 segments each, including the required bus ride across the Bay! So just counting these 3 trips, it is 7 segments! Each new train or bus is another segment! )

 

[Crescent ATN & TCL]

If anyone has used this please explain how it works once you buy the pass, It appears you buy the pass, then book tickets as normal?

 

[zoltan]

And the LA-SF or SF-SEA portions will be 2 segments each, including the required bus ride across the Bay! So just counting these 3 trips, it is 7 segments! Each new train or bus is another segment! )

Or, of course, take the BART and pay separately for it! gathered, in any case, that you can't use them on Amtrak buses.