Always looking for my next trip,I tried every day in October and November for the SW Chief and Texas Eagle from LA to Chicago one person senior fare and the lowest fares I could find were $737 for the Chief and $960 for The Texas Eagle. Until recently $899(used to be $600) fares came up for the Eagle and $621 for the Chief. I’ve been riding Amtrak for years,but if this is the new norm my cross country trips will be history. I won’t go Coach.@
Fare Buckets discussion 2023 Q4 - 2024
- Thread starter pennyk
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trimetbusfan
OBS Chief
It’s pretty early to be finding low bucket fares for those routes in October and November…
It’$767, not $737 on the Chief. I checked July and August, as well. Seems $767 on the Chief and $960 on the Eagle are the lowest fares now from LA to Chicago. Of course, people will pay it, but as a long time Amtrak rider, personally Amtrak’s fares on a route I have been taking for decades is just too pricey.
I believe its fair to compare First Class Air to Bedroom/Roomette travel. Air fares (not to use a pun) they have also gone off the rails. I don't believe $3800 R/T bucket fares Chicago to Flagstaff are still selling out even in peak season so it appears that Amtrak puts the price out there watches who bites, and then sits back and sees what they can get on the "bid up".
The fares you show reflect the $1 across the board increase for Coach and all Sleepers fares of a month or so ago and will not be shown on the chart until the next substantial fare increase and chart revision.
Because of this all the fares now shown on the chart are $1 less than actual.
Been away a few weeks and have just discovered substantial fare increases on the SWC, TE, SL, CONO and AT. All others are $1 above what's shown on the chart in this thread: https://www.amtraktrains.com/threads/long-distance-train-coach-sleeper-fares-buckets.77062/page-7
While the RailForLess website . . .https://railforless.us/ . . . should ease the task of finding new fares, don't expect an updated bucket chart tomorrow.
While the RailForLess website . . .https://railforless.us/ . . . should ease the task of finding new fares, don't expect an updated bucket chart tomorrow.
Sigh... just tried to use your page, and it returned a white screen, and it's caching the info, so I cannot change the choices and see if it's better.
trimetbusfan
OBS Chief
Yeah the white screen thing affected me too. Only way to rest that was to clear my cache.
trimetbusfan
OBS Chief
Looks like there have also been recent fare bucket price increases on the Silver Star/Meteor and Lakeshore Limited (and possibly other routes as well, but I haven't checked). Might want to update those before you publish the next chart.Been away a few weeks and have just discovered substantial fare increases on the SWC, TE, SL, CONO and AT. All others are $1 above what's shown on the chart in this thread: https://www.amtraktrains.com/threads/long-distance-train-coach-sleeper-fares-buckets.77062/page-7
While the RailForLess website . . .https://railforless.us/ . . . should ease the task of finding new fares, don't expect an updated bucket chart tomorrow.
While checking a booking in June between San Francisco and Newark NJ for Coach senior fare I found that one senior was 231.50 but two seniors was 582. Why??
caravanman
Engineer
It could be a "glitch" in the computer, or maybe only one coach seat on one of the trains was still available in the "lower bucket".
Maybe run the booking test again on a slightly different day to see what that throws up?
Maybe run the booking test again on a slightly different day to see what that throws up?
When I do a search for new fares for a train I usually do about 30 searches on different days at one sitting, then wait until Arrow allows more searches. Prompted by your post, I just completed the search for both Silvers and both Lake Shores and only needed to make estimates for two fares not found.
So there's no glitch - just a simple fare increase. Increases in mid-bucket Roomette fares are 46% for the LSL to BOS, 21% for the LSL to NYP and a paltry 8% for the Silvers. Increases in the accommodation charge for the LSL are 14 & 15 % and 22% for the Silvers.
BTW, the only coach fare I bother with nowadays is the one charged for an additional adult in a Roomette (the one followed by the > symbol on the bucket chart). This "accommodation" fare is usually around middle bucket for a Roomette. Accommodation charges for Bedrooms and Family Rooms are higher.
And just in case nobody's noticed, Crescent fares have also risen.
So there's no glitch - just a simple fare increase. Increases in mid-bucket Roomette fares are 46% for the LSL to BOS, 21% for the LSL to NYP and a paltry 8% for the Silvers. Increases in the accommodation charge for the LSL are 14 & 15 % and 22% for the Silvers.
BTW, the only coach fare I bother with nowadays is the one charged for an additional adult in a Roomette (the one followed by the > symbol on the bucket chart). This "accommodation" fare is usually around middle bucket for a Roomette. Accommodation charges for Bedrooms and Family Rooms are higher.
And just in case nobody's noticed, Crescent fares have also risen.
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TheVig
Lead Service Attendant
Yeah, I started to notice it about a month or so ago. I'm done with roomettes and bedrooms on the Crescent. At least until traditional dining returns. Going north, I'll stick with business class on the Carolinian.
