This Is Why Train Tickets Are so Expensive in the U.S.

[GURPS]

As shown in the video below, when a CNBC reporter recently tried to book a next-day ticket from New York City to Washington D.C., he found a business-class seat would be $674 round-trip, with first class being even pricier. A first-class seat on a Delta flight, however, was only $548. When he tried to book a trip that was further out, Amtrak was $457. First class on Delta, meanwhile, was $343.

Unsurprisingly, the reasons behind these price differences are relatively complex, and there’s no single obvious solution to the problem of expensive train travel in the U.S. One of the big ones is simple government investment in infrastructure. Getting government funding for railways that is comparable to air travel and roads is difficult. Amtrak trains are also slower and more expensive to operate than they are in other countries, but without a big investment to fund major upgrades, it’s going to be hard to fix that.

But airlines are also able to run a lot of flights on any given day, while Amtrak has fewer trains. They can also be unreliable, meaning when something breaks, that train is probably going to be out of commission for a while.

This Is Why Train Tickets Are so Expensive in the U.S.

It's often cheaper to fly than it is to take Amtrak.

jalopnik.com

 

[Kinnakeet]

Last year I looked into a train to Fort Campbell in Kentucky when I was in Union Station the lady told me that it would take a week and a half to get there as they no longer have direct trains there.

 

[limblips]

Sadly we need to take a lesson from the liberal utopia to the Horth. One way Montreal to Toronto, $121.00 Canadian (current exchange rate $1.00 US = $1.33 CDN) The trains are clean, safe, on time, and run numerous times a day. The stations are not in the ghettos either.

 

[Kyle]

Last year I looked into a train to Fort Campbell in Kentucky when I was in Union Station the lady told me that it would take a week and a half to get there as they no longer have direct trains there.

WTF. You could hitchhike to there faster than that.

 

[stgislander]

Last year I looked into a train to Fort Campbell in Kentucky when I was in Union Station the lady told me that it would take a week and a half to get there as they no longer have direct trains there.

Very likely you'd spend a lot of time on an Amtrak bus.

 

[spr1975wshs]

Very likely you'd spend a lot of time on an Amtrak bus.

Greyhound is likely more direct.

 

[lucky_bee]

We took an Amtrak - I think it's the northeast regional? from BWI to the Connecticut Shoreline this summer - just to see if it was worth the hassle. Driving what should be 8 hours with a toddler ends up being more like 9.5 as he is not a fan of being contained, even with a few long rest stops. Thankfully Grandma funded this trip (anything to see her grandbaby) as it ended up costing us a very pretty penny.

We ended up using business class as I figured on a 6 hour trip, having a 4-top table would be best for our group (1 adult, 1 teen, 1 toddler, and one small crated puppy). Once you book you get to go back in and pick your seats. As I tried to do that, I realized there's no "seat" for the 2 year old for me to pick even though I entered all his info when purchasing tickets - he had a ticket, but no physical seat! So I had to call customer service. Turns out, if you want your 2 and under kid to ride for free like advertised...they have to sit on your lap. Like yea, that makes sense saying that out loud, but honest to god, you think I can keep a 2 year old in my lap the entire time? Also, if it's a baby...where do you put their car seat? In the aisle? I ended up having to switch his ticket to a child ticket so I could guarantee he would have a seat with us at our little table.

The ride up was great, spacious, not full at all...my kid could move all over our table area without disturbing nearby passengers, and taking him on a walk up and down the aisles every once in awhile really helped entertain him. I got praises for how well behaved he was for his age. Going back home was a totally different experience. First, our reserved table had other people in it - and when I tried to show them my ticket (physically printed it the night before bc our departing area has little service so I was afraid the app wouldn't work) and they showed me theirs - we were double booked in the same seats. WTF. Some poor conductor finally finds us in the aisle (remember I have a toddler, a teen, a puppy and luggage) and is trying to help us. A few hours before our morning departure all our tickets got switched and they had my frikkin toddler sitting BY HIMSELF, very clearly a CHILD TICKET at the front of the train. I almost blew a gasket. And the people in our spots weren't really interested in moving (she had a special needs teen) - which I get it, she also paid extra to sit there - but we both did. Finally some other lady at the table next to us said she'd move so the mom and son could sit together at that table, and my whole circus could sit at the other table together. It was a cluster****. That train, even though it was a Monday mid-morning train, was completely books and stayed mostly full the whole ride. It was mostly fine once we got our seats situated, but not nearly as nice an experience as the ride up.

I would still do it again, but I think we'd be just fine in coach - I saw the seats and they were still quite roomy (just no fun 4-person tables), and only for a quick weekend trip, so no dog or larger luggage piece. My husband's business travel had changed last minute and our usual sitter was away so I was forced to bring the dog when I normally wouldn't need to. I think doing business class for 1 child/1 teen/1 adult round trip from BWI to CT shoreline ended up being close to $500? Maybe 600. plus $50 for the dog. Still cheaper than flying I suppose but we did book it 1.5 months in advance.

 

[HemiHauler]

Train travel is expensive because as a nation, we favored cars which leads to fewer medium-sized cities.

Car travel is much better - I much prefer my own vehicle. Train travel in pretty much the entire rest of the world is nice and efficient. But still the romance factor of travel by train outweighs the realized convenience. If a trip is more than 5 hours by car or train, I just book a flight. Even in compact Europe, air travel much easier and often no more expensive.

The two exceptions are Japan and Switzerland. The former because they know how to build damn cool train systems. The latter because the train goes places you might not otherwise see.

Amtrak isn’t going anywhere, and I doubt a private enterprise would ever take it over. We should just give up. It’s pointless.

 

[Bare-ya-cuda]

Train travel is expensive because as a nation, we favored cars which leads to fewer medium-sized cities.

Car travel is much better - I much prefer my own vehicle. Train travel in pretty much the entire rest of the world is nice and efficient. But still the romance factor of travel by train outweighs the realized convenience. If a trip is more than 5 hours by car or train, I just book a flight. Even in compact Europe, air travel much easier and often no more expensive.

The two exceptions are Japan and Switzerland. The former because they know how to build damn cool train systems. The latter because the train goes places you might not otherwise see.

Amtrak isn’t going anywhere, and I doubt a private enterprise would ever take it over. We should just give up. It’s pointless.

There you go folks, a “matter of fact” straight from the SOMD forums transportation secretary himself. +1 to your growing “I now identify as” list.

 

[limblips]

There you go folks, a “matter of fact” straight from the SOMD forums transportation secretary himself. +1 to your growing “I now identify as” list.

Maybe he gets it directly from Bootyjuice. He might even get some transportation information from him.