Cost of a roomette - are they kidding?

Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.
Geeze, (Comments Removed) it wouldn't do any good and it just ain't worth it! :huh:
Don't feel bad, while you were typing this I also deleted my thoughts, since its apparent they are somewhat scoffed at here.
Thanks Larry! I hear what you're saying about ticket pricing. :eek: (The rest of this message has been deleted. Again it's for the same reason as previously stated and because it will only serve to stimulate the scoffers for yet another time. Those that don't get it never will anyway! I'll send you the deleted text by PM)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I (and all of us on this forum) may be at fault here with the rise of the cost of Amtrak sleepers. Why? Cuz the Gospel of Amtrak according to Al! :lol: I just had a close friend ask for "info" on taking Amtrak to LA and SAN. I just laughed and said, "Chris, I was just there 6 days ago, what do you need to know?" His son just moved there and he and his wife usually take a nice vacation somewhere every year. So they inquired about Amtrak. I just turned on 42 people onto Amtrak a month ago. I have spread "the Gospel of Amtrak" to my girlfriends family making 3 more Amheads! :) So as I (and y'all) spread the word of the Gospel of Amtrak, the world might be listening!!!! :)
 
One quick comment on my personal pre-Amtrak experience. Long distance travel in the 1950's and 60's was a luxury. Normal people did not jet to the coast for the weekend or take an overnight train ride just to "gather" somewhere. It was just too expensive in relation to available income. My neighbor in the 1960's was a downtown ticket agent for TWA. I vividly remember her excitement when coast-to-coast airfares dropped to $200. That was in 1965. That is like a $1400 fare today. My family took a cross-country train trip in 1963, in coach. The round trip adult fare was $128. That equals $915 today. That 1963 trip was a very, very big deal financially for my family. Sleeper was out of the question.

I think we are spoiled by how inexpensive it is to travel today. Even first class travel or Amtrak Sleeper travel is, by historical standards, a steal. The ability to hop a train or a plane and head here or there at a moment's notice without committing a huge portion of disposable income is a freedom that did not exist 40 or 50 years ago. Long distance travel in the 1950's and 60's was for the rich. Today it is open to virtually everyone.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ok I get it, I have been looking at this all wrong.. If you take the 60 dollar range rail fare NY to Chicago in the 60's coach then today it should cost around 660.. Last time we went a few weeks ago the coach fare was at 80.00 base price.. Now that leads one to think that in fact the government subsidy is going to the very people that think someone else is getting the Great deal in the Sleepers.. In fact they should have their coach fares raised dramatically, maybe then we could come to a bit more agreement here!
 
I have long argued that Amtrak should be offering Slumbercoach, Section, or both as a "second class" accommodation, offering a bed, but not a meal. There should be a less luxurious option between coach and private-room sleeper. Amtrak did offer Slumbercoaches for a while there. If the Amfleet Is get replaced, I bet they could be converted into some form of section sleeper. 18 sections, 36 individuals, although you could sell the sections as double-beds if you are a CLOSE party traveling together, I guess.

Viewliners hold a theoretical (2 per roomette, 3 per bedroom) maximum of 33, but its only sold to one party, so they probably on average hold more like 25 "sold out". This could offer 36-54, depending on whether you can get people to double up in lower beds. But figure that they'd hold about, oh, 40 people "sold out" verses 25.

Superliners? Lessee, you'd need an Accessible room. And then you get 6 sections on the lower floor, 20 on the upper floor. 26 sections, a maximum theoretical capacity of 80, but a realistic capacity (figuring about a quarter of the lower berths get two people) of 61 people. Versus a theoretical of 49 and realistic of 36 for the Superliner Sleeper, and 75 for coach.

As for how much that would cost, I dunno. $50/night above railfare? More like Businessclass in price.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top