Amtrak Northeast Regional questions

Parent Cafe
1

I’m looking into purchasing tickets for March 2017 to travel from Northern Virginia to NYC. I have done this trip once before but the only thing I can remember is that we booked business class seats.

Does anyone have any experience with any of these trains- 174, 84 94 Northeast regionals or the Carolina Regional? The plan is to travel north in the am to arrive around noon and head south mid morning to arrive around 3pm ish.

Also any ideas on when is the best time to purchase tickets? is the train like the airlines, the earlier the better?

2

Yes, Amtrack does offer discounted fares for tickets purchased in advance. There are also discounts for students. The fares are posted on their website.

Still, Amtrak is pretty darn expensive. It might to cheaper to fly that route.

3

thanks. I’ll look into it, but we’re looking at March and I don’t want to worry about snow and travel delays… figured the train would be worth it.

4

I’ve taken that train many times over the years. I book ahead of time. Check each train and see how many stops it makes along the way, some make more than others.

5

D travel these trains on a regular basis from southern VA. definitely purchase in advance for discount, and AAA discount apply ,but not on some Friday and Sunday trains. Some fare types are refundable, all have no change fees, can get credit or pay difference if itinerary changes. Be advised, this train do have delays …some time minutes, sometimes hours , not weather related.

6

It is better to book in advance. Prices climb regularly as date nears. There are AAA discounts, and some others. Click on that tab to see what you might qualify for.
Generally there is anything different between lines, and there is no benefit to business class. The Acela is a bit quicker, but generally not worth the expense. I have D’s in school in Boston and DC and have booked Amtrak tickets frequently over the years.

7

Always buy Amtrak tickets in advance. The price goes up remarkably as you get closer to the time of travel.

A couple of years ago, I had a ticket to ride from NYC to Washington, DC on a Northwest Regional train late in the day, but because of a change of plans, I wanted to switch to a morning train. I found out that the cost of doing this would be triple the cost I originally paid for my ticket.