Why are fares for NE Regional sometimes cheaper for longer trips

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Tianyi

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Hi!

I do not take Amtrak trains frequently but occasionally take them between New York and Providence. Recently I planned to purchase a ticket from NY Penn Station to Providence, RI, but found a rather odd phenomenon. When I searched on Amtrak website for trains on April 18th, for example, the cheapest price of many Northeast Regional trains is displayed as 51 dollars, such as this #172 train shown below.

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But when I searched for New York Penn Station to Boston, MA, which is further than Providence, RI, the same #172 train becomes 49 dollars.

02.png


I know it's only a very insignificant two-dollar difference, but it still seems odd that a trip several stops further costs less than a shorter trip. My question is, if I buy the $49 ticket all the way to Boston, will I be able to get off at Providence? Does this situation happen very often and has there been any more significant price difference than $2? (i.e. is it generally advisable to check the price to a slightly further destination of the same train and see if it will be a lower price?)
 
Tianyi said:
Hi!

I do not take Amtrak trains frequently but occasionally take them between New York and Providence. Recently I planned to purchase a ticket from NY Penn Station to Providence, RI, but found a rather odd phenomenon. When I searched on Amtrak website for trains on April 18th, for example, the cheapest price of many Northeast Regional trains is displayed as 51 dollars, such as this #172 train shown below.

01.png
But when I searched for New York Penn Station to Boston, MA, which is further than Providence, RI, the same #172 train becomes 49 dollars.

02.png


I know it's only a very insignificant two-dollar difference, but it still seems odd that a trip several stops further costs less than a shorter trip. My question is, if I buy the $49 ticket all the way to Boston, will I be able to get off at Providence? Does this situation happen very often and has there been any more significant price difference than $2? (i.e. is it generally advisable to check the price to a slightly further destination of the same train and see if it will be a lower price?)
Click to expand...
Yes, there will be no issue for you to buy a ticket to Boston and simply get off in Providence.

I have seen situations with shorter trips being more expensive than longer trips on the same train, but it usually has some logic to prevent longer distance seats from being taken by short distance reservations. This one is puzzling.
 
There are lots of weird, counterintuitive phenomenon such as this in the travel pricing world. One airline example are the so called 'hidden city' flights, where it is cheaper to book connecting flights that go through your destination, than to just book the same direct flight to that destination. Those examples generally come down primarily to the desirability and demand for a given segment. Maybe if a certain route is known to attract a lot business passengers (who pay a lot to travel), it will be more expensive than a longer segment to a poorer, less desirable city.
 
And anyone travelling by train in the UK (my experience was in Scotland late last year) should suss out the permutations.

One journey from Mallaig to Dundee via Glasgow was half the price if booked as Mallaig to Glasgow and Glasgow to Dundee than if booked direct, on exactly the same trains!

And I've also heard of a ticket costing more from A to B, than from A to C, when C is a few more stations down the line.
 
NE Regional 14-day Saver fares for DC-NYC and NYC-Boston have been fixed at $49 since these fares were first introduced. Saver fares for other city pairs have risen proportionally, but that magic $49 price point remains. I suspect the reason is marketing. Amtrak can continue to advertise these major city pairs for under $50.

The $49 fare is also available from nearby stations. For DC, you can book from WAS, NCR, BWI, or BAL. For New York, just NYP and NWK. For Boston, the usual BOS, BBY and RTE.
 
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