First Time Travelers
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Erie is served by the Lake Shore Limited. It goes West to Chicago for connections to points West and South, to New York City for connections South towards Florida and New Orleans, and has a Boston section that splits off at Albany. Not a great train for "deals",
Ngotwalt
Train Attendant
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When it comes to Sleeper and Amtrak, the word deal doesn't usually enter into the equation, especially on the single level trains like the Lake Shore Limited. If you want to go for less, book early, and travel in down times. in winter Via Rail Canada does offer large discounts off their high season rates, still pricey, but much more affordable than summer, and if you want to experience train travel as it was sixty years or so ago, the Toronto Vancouver Canadian is the way to do it.
Cheers,
Nick
Cheers,
Nick
You'll want to join Amtrak Guest Rewards. If you are credit card people, you can apply for the Amtrak Guest Rewards Mastercards. There are two versions of the card - "platinum" and "world" - and if you and your wife each apply for both, the sign-up bonuses would total 64,000 points, which can be redeemed for nearly $2000 worth of Amtrak travel. (The World card does have an annual fee, but it's small compared to the size of the bonus.)
Sleeper prices can vary a lot from day to day. You can use AmSnag - http://biketrain.net/amsnag/amSnag.php- to search prices for many days at once to find the best deals. Usually you get the lowest prices by booking up to 11 months in advance, but occasionally there may be good deals on trains in the near future if their sleepers remain unsold.
I personally would recommend starting with a short trip (meaning 1-2 nights on the train) and working your way up from there. That will help you get a feel for things like how well you can sleep on the train and whether you can tolerate the close quarters of a roomette or whether you want to pay a premium for a full bedroom.
Sleeper prices can vary a lot from day to day. You can use AmSnag - http://biketrain.net/amsnag/amSnag.php- to search prices for many days at once to find the best deals. Usually you get the lowest prices by booking up to 11 months in advance, but occasionally there may be good deals on trains in the near future if their sleepers remain unsold.
I personally would recommend starting with a short trip (meaning 1-2 nights on the train) and working your way up from there. That will help you get a feel for things like how well you can sleep on the train and whether you can tolerate the close quarters of a roomette or whether you want to pay a premium for a full bedroom.
- Joined
- May 17, 2015
- Messages
- 2,807
Going west to Chicago gives you multiple opportunities to see the USA. One could be the Empire Builder across the north through Glacier NP to either Seattle or Portland. Then there is the Coast Starlight from Seattle through Portland, Oakland, to LA. From LA you can return on the SW Chief or Texas Eagle to Chicago, or Sunset limited to NOL then Crescent to NYC and the LSL back to Erie. You could do the reverse from Chicago also. Now there is the California Zephyr which is a beautiful trip through the Rockies and Sierras. Then you could see San Francisco go either north to Portland or Seattle (Portland connects to the EB to Chicago) or south to LA (Connects with the TE/SL). Actually there are many scenarios both east and west coast.
Deals?? Just plan to purchase early. I suggest monitoring AnSnag for fares since they go up and down, but the closer you get in months ahead the more likely the fares will go up. If going on a long trip I suggest signing up for AMtrak awards.
Deals?? Just plan to purchase early. I suggest monitoring AnSnag for fares since they go up and down, but the closer you get in months ahead the more likely the fares will go up. If going on a long trip I suggest signing up for AMtrak awards.
KmH
Engineer
Amtrak gives 15% off the lowest available rail fare to those 62 and older.
Note that the charge for a sleeper berth includes a rail fare for each person that the 15% discount is applied to, but not to the cost of the sleeper berth itself.
There is just 1 charge for the sleeper berth.
For instance. I travel by myself so I pay for the sleeper and 1 rail fare.
Two people share the cost of a Roomette or Bedroom and pay 2 rail fares.
It might also be worth noting that 3 people can occupy a Bedroom - 1 sleeper charge and 3 rail fares..
Also meals are included with the sleeper charge for however many rail fares there are in the reservation.
One of the east coast long distance trains does not include meals with a sleeper (Silver Star).
Rail fare and sleeper pricing is yield managed.
Prices go up as the the train gets booked with reservations.
However many people's plans change and they cancel their reservation(s). That makes day to day pricing fluctuates according to demand.
As a general rule, the closer to the date you want to travel you make reservations the higher the pricing will be.
I try to book my train trips at least 6 months in advance and schedule my train trips during Amtrak Guest Rewards Spring/Fall Double Days promotions so I get double AGR points.
Time joining AGR so you get some bonus points - usually 500 points if you travel within 90 days of joining.
You can book your reservation well in advance and join AGR within the 90 days of your travel date.
Note that the charge for a sleeper berth includes a rail fare for each person that the 15% discount is applied to, but not to the cost of the sleeper berth itself.
There is just 1 charge for the sleeper berth.
For instance. I travel by myself so I pay for the sleeper and 1 rail fare.
Two people share the cost of a Roomette or Bedroom and pay 2 rail fares.
It might also be worth noting that 3 people can occupy a Bedroom - 1 sleeper charge and 3 rail fares..
Also meals are included with the sleeper charge for however many rail fares there are in the reservation.
One of the east coast long distance trains does not include meals with a sleeper (Silver Star).
Rail fare and sleeper pricing is yield managed.
Prices go up as the the train gets booked with reservations.
However many people's plans change and they cancel their reservation(s). That makes day to day pricing fluctuates according to demand.
As a general rule, the closer to the date you want to travel you make reservations the higher the pricing will be.
I try to book my train trips at least 6 months in advance and schedule my train trips during Amtrak Guest Rewards Spring/Fall Double Days promotions so I get double AGR points.
Time joining AGR so you get some bonus points - usually 500 points if you travel within 90 days of joining.
You can book your reservation well in advance and join AGR within the 90 days of your travel date.
Last edited by a moderator:
Ronbo
Lead Service Attendant
First time on a train? As suggested, start out with a shorter trip to see if it agrees with you!
So you would like to see what part of the country? Check out the Amtrak System map to see where you can go, and start planning from there.
Super Deals on Amtrak? They come and go!
I find planning the trip is half the fun, even if I don't actually make the journey! If you do, have a good time!
One thing that might be handy to know is what the prices can be for all the different accommodations. This chart contains all of them for the long distance trains over their entire route:
Please note that whenever a Sleeper is booked, the Coach fare that's added on is always the low bucket fare - the ones just above those circled. And in spite of what others have said here, there really are no rules of thumb about when the cheapest fares are offered. I've been trying to find one for years.
If your travel date is flexible, use AmSnag to find the cheapest time to go. But if your travel date is set in concrete, book as early as possible (just to insure you have it) then set up a Fare Watch on AmSnag and call Amtrak to have your fare modified to the lower rate when you get an email notice from AmSnag concerning a fare reduction.
The best tool for trip planning/daydreaming is the Amtrak System Timetable: https://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/887/420/System-Timetable-020117.pdf If you go to your nearest station, they may have a printed version for you - they are no longer published. Especially useful is the System Map which shows where the trains go: https://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/631/638/SystemMapMar2015.pdf There's a printed version of this in the printed System Timetable. And I've no idea why this site won't let you insert more than one link in a post.
IMHO, Amtrak is the only civilized mode of travel available, but I always have some sort of Sleeper. Never had a bad trip or meal yet.
Please note that whenever a Sleeper is booked, the Coach fare that's added on is always the low bucket fare - the ones just above those circled. And in spite of what others have said here, there really are no rules of thumb about when the cheapest fares are offered. I've been trying to find one for years.
If your travel date is flexible, use AmSnag to find the cheapest time to go. But if your travel date is set in concrete, book as early as possible (just to insure you have it) then set up a Fare Watch on AmSnag and call Amtrak to have your fare modified to the lower rate when you get an email notice from AmSnag concerning a fare reduction.
The best tool for trip planning/daydreaming is the Amtrak System Timetable: https://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/887/420/System-Timetable-020117.pdf If you go to your nearest station, they may have a printed version for you - they are no longer published. Especially useful is the System Map which shows where the trains go: https://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/631/638/SystemMapMar2015.pdf There's a printed version of this in the printed System Timetable. And I've no idea why this site won't let you insert more than one link in a post.
IMHO, Amtrak is the only civilized mode of travel available, but I always have some sort of Sleeper. Never had a bad trip or meal yet.
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- Joined
- May 17, 2015
- Messages
- 2,807
Thanks for the chart, appreciate the work to gather the data.
You're welcome. :hi: Maybe I can cheat and put the link to the System Map in a separate post: https://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/631/638/SystemMapMar2015.pdf (Hey, it worked!)
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ParanoidAndroid
OBS Chief
Are these endpoint to endpoint (I assume)?
How do you find this data? Thanks!
How do you find this data? Thanks!
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Yes, they're endpoint to endpoint. Data is found by making repetitive AmSnag searches.
ParanoidAndroid
OBS Chief
*wow* I appreciate the work put in.
Thanks for the kind word. :hi:
To re-check everything on that chart (such as mid-January when someone mentioned the rates went up 1%) and make a new chart for posting takes me about 6 hours - partly due to the breaks needed to rest my eyes. After dong this for a few years, one general pattern emerged for most of the LD routes:
• Buckets increase in steps quite close to 25%, but...
• there are occasional deviations from this scattered about.
Anyway, I think it's worth the effort because it helps explain the bucket system to those who are new to the Amtrak fare game.
To re-check everything on that chart (such as mid-January when someone mentioned the rates went up 1%) and make a new chart for posting takes me about 6 hours - partly due to the breaks needed to rest my eyes. After dong this for a few years, one general pattern emerged for most of the LD routes:
• Buckets increase in steps quite close to 25%, but...
• there are occasional deviations from this scattered about.
Anyway, I think it's worth the effort because it helps explain the bucket system to those who are new to the Amtrak fare game.
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