Help needed with Amtrak's Routes

Hi everyone - greetings from New Zealand!

My husband and I are planning a trip to the States later this year. The intention is to land at LA and Amtrak over to Orlando. (Have a son in New Port Richie).

I'm having difficulty making head or tail of the routes. There is so much info on the Amtrak site, I'm getting really confused.

I thought there was a route that takes us across the mid-west and via Niagara Falls (which we want to visit), to Orlando, but all I can find is the route to New Orleans on the Sunset Limited. Problem is, I've read some posts saying that route finishes at New Orleans now and doesn't go all the way to Miami since Katrina.

As far as I can see we need a USA Rail Pass, which will enable us to break the trip and see some of the country. Can someone confirm this is the way to do it please and which train we need to book. I can't see any schedules leaving LA - they all seem to be coming back the other way.

The route via New Orleans on the Sunset Limited would be great, but how do you now get from New Orleans to Orlando?

Is the Sunset Limited the only high speed train operating?

Any help gratefully received.

Cheers

There is no train to Florida from New Orleans any longer. Your best bet would be take the Southwest Chief #4 to Chicago, the Capitol Limited #30 from Chicago to DC, then the Silver Meteor #97 from DC to Orlando. All connections should be guarenteed. It will take 4 nights, but you'll get some amazing scenery. However, if you're heart is set on the Sunset Limited #2, then you could change there with an overnight stay to the Crescent #20 then change in DC for either the Silver Star #91 or the Silver Meteor #97 for Orlando.

dords said:

Hi everyone - greetings from New Zealand!
My husband and I are planning a trip to the States later this year. The intention is to land at LA and Amtrak over to Orlando. (Have a son in New Port Richie).

I'm having difficulty making head or tail of the routes. There is so much info on the Amtrak site, I'm getting really confused.

I thought there was a route that takes us across the mid-west and via Niagara Falls (which we want to visit), to Orlando, but all I can find is the route to New Orleans on the Sunset Limited. Problem is, I've read some posts saying that route finishes at New Orleans now and doesn't go all the way to Miami since Katrina.

As far as I can see we need a USA Rail Pass, which will enable us to break the trip and see some of the country. Can someone confirm this is the way to do it please and which train we need to book. I can't see any schedules leaving LA - they all seem to be coming back the other way.

The route via New Orleans on the Sunset Limited would be great, but how do you now get from New Orleans to Orlando?

Is the Sunset Limited the only high speed train operating?

Any help gratefully received.

Cheers

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Michael061282 said:

There is no train to Florida from New Orleans any longer. Your best bet would be take the Southwest Chief #4 to Chicago, the Capitol Limited #30 from Chicago to DC, then the Silver Meteor #97 from DC to Orlando. All connections should be guarenteed. It will take 4 nights, but you'll get some amazing scenery. However, if you're heart is set on the Sunset Limited #2, then you could change there with an overnight stay to the Crescent #20 then change in DC for either the Silver Star #91 or the Silver Meteor #97 for Orlando.

dords said:

Hi everyone - greetings from New Zealand!
My husband and I are planning a trip to the States later this year. The intention is to land at LA and Amtrak over to Orlando. (Have a son in New Port Richie).

I thought there was a route that takes us across the mid-west and via Niagara Falls (which we want to visit), to Orlando, but all I can find is the route to New Orleans on the Sunset Limited. Problem is, I've read some posts saying that route finishes at New Orleans now and doesn't go all the way to Miami since Katrina.

As far as I can see we need a USA Rail Pass, which will enable us to break the trip and see some of the country. Can someone confirm this is the way to do it please and which train we need to book. I can't see any schedules leaving LA - they all seem to be coming back the other way.

The route via New Orleans on the Sunset Limited would be great, but how do you now get from New Orleans to Orlando?

Is the Sunset Limited the only high speed train operating?

Any help gratefully received.

Cheers

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Welcome! If you really want to go to Niagara Falls you will have to go via Chicago which from LA you can reach by riding the Southwest Chief or taking the Sunset Ltd. to New Orleans. The Sunset will involve an over night in New orleans (which isnt a bad idea!),then an overnight on the City of New Orleans and another night on the Lake Shore Limited to Buffalo. The Chief will be two nights on the train

from LAX to Chicago, then catching the Lake Shore Limited from Chicago to Buffalo, either catching the train from there (it's only about 45 minutes North

of Buffalo) or a bus to the border. (Niagara Falls is 1/2 US/1/2 Canada with the Canadian side being much better! From there you can catch the train to New York City (which is worth a stay for sure), then catch either of the Silver Trains to Florida.

The closest thing to High Speed Rail in this country is the Acela Express trains that run between Boston-New York and Washington! The Northeast Corridor trains run pretty fast in spots (over 100 miles an hour) but most Long Distance trains range between 15 and 80 mph, the typical Long Distance train is 16-48 hours depending on the trip. The previous poster mentioned that if you go to New Orleans you spend the night, catch the Crescent in Washington and then a Silver train to Florida! Thats the quickest route from LA to Florida!

If you want scenery take the train (the Coast Starlight) from LA to the San francisco bay Area, spend the night and catch the California Zephyer that runs from Emeryville,CA (a suburb of San francisco)to CHI,3 days/2 nights of beautiful mountains,rivers,praries and American towns.

Whatever you do dont fly across the country, you didnt mention how you were going to return but perhaps take one of these routes mentioned above, return another way!This forum has tons of info and world travelers on it that will be glad to help/suggest etc. We will be happy to help!

Michael061282 said:

There is no train to Florida from New Orleans any longer. Your best bet would be take the Southwest Chief #4 to Chicago, the Capitol Limited #30 from Chicago to DC, then the Silver Meteor #97 from DC to Orlando. All connections should be guarenteed. It will take 4 nights, but you'll get some amazing scenery. However, if you're heart is set on the Sunset Limited #2, then you could change there with an overnight stay to the Crescent #20 then change in DC for either the Silver Star #91 or the Silver Meteor #97 for Orlando.

dords said:

Hi everyone - greetings from New Zealand!
My husband and I are planning a trip to the States later this year. The intention is to land at LA and Amtrak over to Orlando. (Have a son in New Port Richie).

I thought there was a route that takes us across the mid-west and via Niagara Falls (which we want to visit), to Orlando, Cheers

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That's what I though Michael but he wants to visit Niagra Falls. Wouldn't it be better for them to take the Lake Shore Limited out of Chicago to Buffalo, visit the Falls, then continue on to New York where they could transfer to the Florida trains? To get the Amtrak computer site to give you the options you must select the multi-city option first. Then enter the first leg, LAX to NFL(Niagra Falls) and the second leg, NFL to ORL and the systems gives you the trains and the options. The Lake Shore Limited stops in Buffalo/Depew which is some ways out of Buffalo. I would not wait there all day for a train to Niagra Falls which is just an hour away as there is absolutely nothing there. Just take a taxi. Even if you want to go to the Canadian side don't wait until 3:30PM for the Maple Leaf, take a taxi or bus. Look up Buffalo and Niagra Falls as I am sure there are tours and transportation that are more convenient than that train. If you do that then just book LAX to BUF and forget the transfer to the connecting train. On the continuation still use NFL as the train leaves from there around 3:50am in order to connect in New York with the Florida train. If you don't want to get up that early then catch the LSL out at Buffalo/Depew at 8:40 and plan to spend a night in New York. Hope this helps.

Incidently, I visited New Zealand last August and had a great time. I rode all three long distance passenger trains, the Tranz Alpine, the Tranz Coastal and the Overlander. Scenery was fantastic. I made all my reservations on line before I left Houston.

Other than saying you want to end your journey at STP when coming to see your son, I'll let others advise you on the routes. However, your son lives about 10 miles from me! I'm in Palm Harbor.

RF

Wow - thanks for that great info! Sounds magic! we actually want to stay a few nights each at selected cities (one being New Orleans) if possible. We're not in a hurry, so would rather amble across your very interesting country and get to see some of the local attractions.

Can anyone also clarify - are the meals included in the price for a Rail Pass ($389 p.p. for a 15 day pass) or do we need to allow extra for them?

Also, if you take a sleeper do you spend most of the trip in them? Can you see the scenery just as well from a sleeper?

For some reason I thought the Sunset was something special in trains - and was the high speed train in the States. It really pays to talk to others...is the service the same on the other trains i.e. dining car, bar etc?

dords said:

Wow - thanks for that great info! Sounds magic! we actually want to stay a few nights each at selected cities (one being New Orleans) if possible. We're not in a hurry, so would rather amble across your very interesting country and get to see some of the local attractions.
Can anyone also clarify - are the meals included in the price for a Rail Pass ($389 p.p. for a 15 day pass) or do we need to allow extra for them?

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Welcome to the forum, dords.

Your meals are NOT included in the price of your Rail Pass.

Also, if you take a sleeper do you spend most of the trip in them? Can you see the scenery just as well from a sleeper?

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I guess how much time you spend in your sleeper is a personal preference. As I'm sure you know, you are free to walk to the lounge or cafe whenever the mood strikes you. You can spend as much or as little time in your room as you want.

Now, if you upgrade to a sleeper, all your meals on that train WILL be included in your fare.

Just a heads-up that I've seen mentioned here on the forum a few times: just because you've paid for your rail pass doesn't necessarily mean you won't be hit with additional charges when you go to make your specific train reservations. This apparently will happen if the fare for your specific train has gone from "low bucket" (the lowest fare Amtrak charges for a ticket, mostly available for early planners) to a "higher bucket" (as the train fills up, Amtrak starts charging more). Just something to be aware of and prepared for.

To those more experienced members of the forum: if my explanation in the last paragraph is wrong, please correct me.

dords said:

Wow - thanks for that great info! Sounds magic! we actually want to stay a few nights each at selected cities (one being New Orleans) if possible. We're not in a hurry, so would rather amble across your very interesting country and get to see some of the local attractions.
Can anyone also clarify - are the meals included in the price for a Rail Pass ($389 p.p. for a 15 day pass) or do we need to allow extra for them?

Also, if you take a sleeper do you spend most of the trip in them? Can you see the scenery just as well from a sleeper?

For some reason I thought the Sunset was something special in trains - and was the high speed train in the States. It really pays to talk to others...is the service the same on the other trains i.e. dining car, bar etc?

Click to expand...

The Sunset Ltd. is the oldest continously operated "Name Train" in the US. It is a Superliner (2 level train), takes 2 1/2 days/2 nights from LA-New Orleanspassing through the deserts of Arizona,New Mexico, West Texas. You ride along the Mexico-USA border in El Paso,Texas, cross the highest railroad bridge in the Western US east of El Paso (the Pecos High Bridge), stop in San Antonio (it will be dark) for a couple of hours, arrive in Houston, Texas as it gets light, roll through the swamps of Louisiana across the Hughie Long Bridge across the Mississippi River into the Big Easy (New Orleans). Great plan to spend the night or two in New Orleans. Orbitz.com has great deals on hotels, we also have lots of opinions here, also in other cities!The Sunset usually has 2 sleepers(1 is part crew/part paid passenger), a diner, a sightseer-lounge/cafe car and three coaches. If you take a roomette youll sleep in it, probably use the shower and bathrooms, rest of the time probably youll be in the sight seer lounge looking @ the scenery, talking with folks and eating in the diner or cafe car. For 2 people remember the meals are included and you only have to pay for the two rail passes, not 2 sleeper fares!All Long Distance trains have a diner or cafe car, @ least one sleeper and coaches. The trains in the east are one level, the Western trains are Superliners, two levels. Most folks like riding on the top level in Superliners, you can see better, there s lots of info on this forum about this also!

Ive used rail passes all over North America (used to include VIA rail in Canada, alas not anymore), when you buy your rail passes be ready to make your reservations for ALL of your segments on the train, depending on the time of year (summer and holidays are very busy, weekends too!) you should get your desired trains for the $389 plus sleeper fare! (Aroomette is pretty snug for 2 but usually quite a bit cheaper than a bedroom), this sounds like a great trip! I think you probably could spend like one night in coach, one in a sleeper, the trip from New Orleans to Chicago is not that long (16 Hours), also the overnite from Chicago to Buffalo if you want Niagara Falls is only 9PM-9am, the day trip to New York City from Niagara Falls can also be in coach or business class, then a sleeper overnight to Florida! Id sugget for the 2 nights from LA to new Orleans you book a sleeper!

To the OP, have you ridden the passenger trains in Australia or New Zealand? The Sunset Limited is definitely not a high-speed train (low-speed is more like it, though I believe it has gotten faster, at least in parts of the journey, recently).

The Sunset was originally a Los Angeles-New Orleans service, later extended to Florida (for a while, it went all the way to Miami). It is now, post-Katrina, an L.A.-N.O. service again, and almost certainly will be for the foreseeable future.

The Sunset runs three days a week, and splits at San Antonio, with a section running to Chicago as The Texas Eagle. On days The Sunset doesn't run, The Eagle runs only between San Antonio and Chicago. If you're going to New Orleans, however, you will stay on The Sunset at San Antonio. Daily trains running from New Orleans are The City of New Orleans (yes, the one the song was written about) to Chicago (at one time, many trains ran to or from Chicago with the name "The City of . . ." followed by the train's other endpoint) and The Crescent to Washington, D.C. and New York, via Atlanta.

As far as making reservations, choosing rooms (if you get a roomette or bedroom), etc., is concerned, I'll leave that to others who post here to give their opinions, advice and answers your other questions.

jimhudson said:

The Sunset Ltd. is the oldest continously operated "Name Train" in the US.

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I thought that award went to the LIRR "Cannonball" - although not sure if that qualifies in the same category...

It should be noted that the Sunset Limited has the slowest average speed of any of the Long Distance Amtrak Trains, part of this is due to the lengthy dwell time in San Antonio. If your like me... slow running and long service stops can get a bit annoying, others enjoy the opportunity to relax and slow down a bit... personal preferences.

Since you will most likely be passing through Chicago and New York City.. I highly recomend at least one overnight stop in each of those towns... you may have already been though.

dords said:

Also, if you take a sleeper do you spend most of the trip in them? Can you see the scenery just as well from a sleeper?
For some reason I thought the Sunset was something special in trains - and was the high speed train in the States. It really pays to talk to others...is the service the same on the other trains i.e. dining car, bar etc?

Click to expand...

The sleeping car rooms have reasonably large windows, so you can certainly see the scenery as well in a sleeper as you could in coach. But the best viewing spot would be the lounge car, where you can easily see out both sides of the train. All of the western long distance trains feature Sightseer lounge cars that have extra-large windows.

The Sunset Limited is definitely not a special train, it's actually one of the least popular long distance trains. The Coast Starlight (Los Angeles to Seattle), Empire Builder (Portland/Seattle to Chicago) and California Zephyr (San Francisco to Chicago) are generally considered the best Amtrak long distance lines. Nearly all of Amtrak's overnight trains have full-service dining cars and a separate lounge/cafe car.

Thank you sooo much everyone for your much need help. We've never been to the States so it is a bit daunting given the sheer size of the country. New Zealand would fit in one tiny corner!

With your help we've narrowed it down to two options....

1 San Francisco, Denver, Nebraska, Chicago etc to the Falls, then on to NY and Florida from there.

2 LA to New Orleans, then up the country to the Falls, on to NY and back down again to Florida (hope I've got that right!)

The second one is the more attractive option, but much longer of course.

Jim - there are a couple of things you said in your last post that I didn't understand..

"Sunset usually has 2 sleepers(1 is part crew/part paid passenger" ???

"For 2 people remember the meals are included and you only have to pay for the two rail passes, not 2 sleeper fares!"

I thought you had to upgrade to a roomette or bedroom on top of the rail pass?

Can't wait to do this trip now and meet a lot of you very friendly Americans!

dords said:

Thank you sooo much everyone for your much need help. We've never been to the States so it is a bit daunting given the sheer size of the country. New Zealand would fit in one tiny corner!
With your help we've narrowed it down to two options....

1 San Francisco, Denver, Nebraska, Chicago etc to the Falls, then on to NY and Florida from there.

2 LA to New Orleans, then up the country to the Falls, on to NY and back down again to Florida (hope I've got that right!)

The second one is the more attractive option, but much longer of course.

Jim - there are a couple of things you said in your last post that I didn't understand..

"Sunset usually has 2 sleepers(1 is part crew/part paid passenger" ???

"For 2 people remember the meals are included and you only have to pay for the two rail passes, not 2 sleeper fares!"

I thought you had to upgrade to a roomette or bedroom on top of the rail pass?

Can't wait to do this trip now and meet a lot of you very friendly Americans!

Click to expand...

Sorry I wasnt more clear: The 2 sleepers are; a transition dorm for the train crew where they sleep/keep their stuff/shower etc. when off duty/the conductor also has an office here downstairs-a few roomettes are sold to paying passengers in this car when the other sleeper(s) fill up! The other sleeper(s) are all paying passengers with bedrooms/roomettes and the family room and H (Handicap) bedroom.

You do have to pay for 2 rail passes (the rail fare), but the sleeper price that includes meals is good for one or two-same price!(for example 2 railpasses@ $389 each= Rail Fare 1 roomette(includes meals)@$200=1 or 2 passengers Total =$589

As much as I love New Orleans Id choose Option 1, one of the best train routes in the world IMHO! (and I live in texas and have a fondness for the Sunset Ltd. but the California Zephyer cant be beat as well as Niagara Falls and New York City should be on everyones Bucket List! Great trip! Keep in touch! Jim

dords said:

With your help we've narrowed it down to two options....
1 San Francisco, Denver, Nebraska, Chicago etc to the Falls, then on to NY and Florida from there.

2 LA to New Orleans, then up the country to the Falls, on to NY and back down again to Florida (hope I've got that right!)

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I would highly recommend option # 1.... the Scenery you will see will be fantastic, San Francisco is a great city to visit (in my opinion San Francisco wins over New Orleans any day).

The Sunset Limited is not an extra scenic route from what I hear, although it does go through some unique areas like the bayous of LA, the desserts, and along the US/Mexican border. The California Zephyr however (the train that goes from San Francisco area to Chicago) is argued to be the best in scenery as it goes right through the mountains.

Glad you want to see so much of the USA, going across the country by train (whichever way you choose) will really give you a fantastic view into the diversity of us crazy Americans!

Thank you Jim for the clarification. Definitely worth doing it that way.

I hope you all have a great day (it's 12.00 noon here) and I'll look forward to more interaction in the future. Still have a few questions. So glad I found this forum.

Regards to all

Dords

Just to clarify:

The RailPass covers only the "Rail Fare" for coach, not meals or the Sleeping Car.

If you choose to book a Roomette, Bedroom, H Room, Family Bedroom, your meals & non alcoholic drinks are included.

Each Sleeper car includes a shower & bathrooms. The Bedrooms include a complete bathroom.

It will cost more, but I usually figure it's less hassle, because your meals are covered, you have a comfy, private place to sleep, & clean up if you want.

If you book a Sleeper, you do not have to stay in it all the time, you can still explore the train.

Welcome to the board! Have a great trip! I hope you enjoy visiting our country!

Dords, sounds like either way you decide to go you'll have a great trip. Once you decide you might want to post it in the "Member Amtrak Trips" section of the forum. You never know there might be other members traveling the same trains you are at the same time. After your trip is over and your back home you can post a report of your experiences here in the "Travelogues/Trip Reports section of the forum as I'm sure a lot of us will be interested in how you fared and what your impressions were. Wishing you a great adventure!

rail_rider said:

Dords, sounds like either way you decide to go you'll have a great trip. Once you decide you might want to post it in the "Member Amtrak Trips" section of the forum. You never know there might be other members traveling the same trains you are at the same time. After your trip is over and your back home you can post a report of your experiences here in the "Travelogues/Trip Reports section of the forum as I'm sure a lot of us will be interested in how you fared and what your impressions were. Wishing you a great adventure!

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DITTO!!!

RF

That's a great idea guys - will certainly do that. I intend stay a member of this excellent forum - lots to learn.

dords said:

Thank you sooo much everyone for your much need help. We've never been to the States so it is a bit daunting given the sheer size of the country. New Zealand would fit in one tiny corner!
With your help we've narrowed it down to two options....

1 San Francisco, Denver, Nebraska, Chicago etc to the Falls, then on to NY and Florida from there.

2 LA to New Orleans, then up the country to the Falls, on to NY and back down again to Florida (hope I've got that right!)

The second one is the more attractive option, but much longer of course.

Jim - there are a couple of things you said in your last post that I didn't understand..

"Sunset usually has 2 sleepers(1 is part crew/part paid passenger" ???

"For 2 people remember the meals are included and you only have to pay for the two rail passes, not 2 sleeper fares!"

I thought you had to upgrade to a roomette or bedroom on top of the rail pass?

Can't wait to do this trip now and meet a lot of you very friendly Americans!

Click to expand...

Just for fun I priced option 1. It is by far the most scenic option you can pick unless you just have to see New Orleans. By using the USA rail pass you save something like $116 on the coach fare. You don't need anything extra between LAX and San Francisco. Spend a day there at least. From SFC to BUF(Buffalo/Niagra Falls) a roomette is $448 for the Chicago leg and an additional $207 between Chicago and Buffalo. You don't need an upgrade between Buffalo and New York as it's a day trip. The Roomette charge between New York and Orlando is $344. So the total cost of your trip for two would be around $1,800. On the segments where you book a room all meals are included. I also looked at option 2. The room fare turned out to be $200 less. Fares can vary greatly depending on your route and days traveled. One caution, I noticed that the day I picked in June the bedrooms were already sold out on the California Zephyr out of San Francisco. I know it's rather early, but don't wait too long to make reservations as these western trains sell out quickly. Others on here are much better at this than I. Enjoy your trip.

jimhudson said:

You do have to pay for 2 rail passes (the rail fare), but the sleeper price that includes meals is good for one or two-same price!(for example 2 railpasses@ $389 each= Rail Fare 1 roomette(includes meals)@$200=1 or 2 passengers Total =$589

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I, too, am totally confused by Amtrak's fare structure and rail pass policies. If I get a rail pass, does that *really* cover the "rail fare" or only the lowest bucket fare?

What I wanted to do was go on an ad-hoc trip with a rail pass. That is, go somewhere and then stop off for a few days and maybe more and then hop the train for another ride to somewhere else.

If the rail pass covers the "rail fare" (coach) then that is a doable thing, but if it only covers the lowest bucket, then it's not really workable. I find it hard to believe that they would let a train leave the station with empty space and not take a rail pass as payment.

I also find it very frustrating that leaving from Miami I have to travel through Washington and (possibly) Chicago to get to New Orleans.

Sorry to hijack this thread, but I certainly understand the Original Poster's frustration with Amtrak's schedule and fare policies.

--

Bud

KWBud said:

jimhudson said:

You do have to pay for 2 rail passes (the rail fare), but the sleeper price that includes meals is good for one or two-same price!(for example 2 railpasses@ $389 each= Rail Fare 1 roomette(includes meals)@$200=1 or 2 passengers Total =$589

Click to expand...

I, too, am totally confused by Amtrak's fare structure and rail pass policies. If I get a rail pass, does that *really* cover the "rail fare" or only the lowest bucket fare?

What I wanted to do was go on an ad-hoc trip with a rail pass. That is, go somewhere and then stop off for a few days and maybe more and then hop the train for another ride to somewhere else.

If the rail pass covers the "rail fare" (coach) then that is a doable thing, but if it only covers the lowest bucket, then it's not really workable. I find it hard to believe that they would let a train leave the station with empty space and not take a rail pass as payment.

I also find it very frustrating that leaving from Miami I have to travel through Washington and (possibly) Chicago to get to New Orleans.

Sorry to hijack this thread, but I certainly understand the Original Poster's frustration with Amtrak's schedule and fare policies.

--

Bud

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Yes, it covers the whole rail fare, bucket prices do not apply. Go here for details on the Rail Pass, and here for the pricing. You still have to make reservations.

KWBud said:

jimhudson said:

You do have to pay for 2 rail passes (the rail fare), but the sleeper price that includes meals is good for one or two-same price!(for example 2 railpasses@ $389 each= Rail Fare 1 roomette(includes meals)@$200=1 or 2 passengers Total =$589

Click to expand...

I, too, am totally confused by Amtrak's fare structure and rail pass policies. If I get a rail pass, does that *really* cover the "rail fare" or only the lowest bucket fare?

What I wanted to do was go on an ad-hoc trip with a rail pass. That is, go somewhere and then stop off for a few days and maybe more and then hop the train for another ride to somewhere else.

If the rail pass covers the "rail fare" (coach) then that is a doable thing, but if it only covers the lowest bucket, then it's not really workable. I find it hard to believe that they would let a train leave the station with empty space and not take a rail pass as payment.

I also find it very frustrating that leaving from Miami I have to travel through Washington and (possibly) Chicago to get to New Orleans.

Sorry to hijack this thread, but I certainly understand the Original Poster's frustration with Amtrak's schedule and fare policies.

--

Bud

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I can't tell you how many times I've told people that I rode the train and they respond with "We wanted to ride the train but when we called/went online it was just SOOOO expensive."

The pricing structure is a bit odd to say the least. Sleepers are the really weird one... I don't know who out there is really paying $616 for one night in a bedroom on the LSL but that is just crazy!

But the airlines don't seem to make sense to me either... so Amtrak is in good company.

sunchaser said:

Yes, it covers the whole rail fare, bucket prices do not apply. Go here for details on the Rail Pass, and here for the pricing. You still have to make reservations.

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The wording on the first page that you linked to is very ambiguous and certainly raises a lot of doubt in my mind as to the potential cost of travel on a Rail Pass.

The "Do I Need Tickets and Reservations?" section reads as follows: "Reservations for train travel should be made as far in advance as possible; seats available for USA Rail Pass passengers are limited on each train. We do not recommend waiting until the day of departure to make your reservations since there is a greater chance that seats allocated for the USA Rail Pass may not be available on your desired train. If your plans are not flexible, non-USA Rail Pass seats may be available at an additional cost."

So clearly, Rail Pass seats are capacity controlled. This may or may not be the same capacity control algorithm used in the "Bucket System" that determines when regular fares go up. Regardless, if all the seats allocated for Rail Pass tickets are gone when you call to make your reservation, you'll pay extra. How much extra is not clear from the above quote. To me, this would be a deal-killer for using the Rail Pass.

Unless I knew exactly what my travel plans were when I bought the Rail Pass, and the cost of the Rail Pass was less than booking those trains the "regular" way, I don't think I'd go with the Rail Pass. Unless I'm missing something about how the Rail Pass works.

Whoa Henry - now I'm really confused. We thought the Rail Pass got us anywhere we wanted to go within the limitations of the segment rules and routes).

You are saying (I think) that you have to pay extra fares for different segments on top of the Rail Pass?

i.e in your post..."From SFC to BUF(Buffalo/Niagra Falls) a roomette is $448 for the Chicago leg and an additional $207 between Chicago and Buffalo". and "The Roomette charge between New York and Orlando is $344. So the total cost of your trip for two would be around $1,800.

That's a lot more than we expected - 2 x $389 (Rail Pass), plus upgrade to a bedroom or roomette, whatever that costs.

Can someone please clarify.

We have decided on the California Zephyr in mid-August BTW, though maybe not if those prices are correct!