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What is the general quaillotynofbthe cars and passengers. I’ve thought about taking it a few times, just to go somewhere random, but for some reason, my mind a
by the_only_law 4y ago
What is the general quaillotynofbthe cars and passengers.
I’ve thought about taking it a few times, just to go somewhere random, but for some reason, my mind always wonders to bad experiences greyhound busses. I’m also in the south, so it’s rare I find an interesting looking route/destination that’s much cheaper than just flying.
- ghaff 4y agoUnless it's a short hop (and often even then), even modestly long Amtrak routes will often cost more than flying--and even more if you book a sleeping compartment. There are only a few long distance routes I'd consider--all out West. And I'd pretty much only take them on the western part of their routes.
- _delirium 4y agoI only really have experience in the eastern half of the U.S., but on some routes I've found Amtrak significantly cheaper (in coach) than flying, so I consider it if I'm not in a hurry and it's a day train under ~8 hours (not sure if that qualifies as "modestly long"!). The price difference is especially large in Amtrak's favor if you're doing a one-way trip, or to/from smaller cities that don't have much airline competition. For example, to pick Richmond, VA as a city I know about. Amtrak's Richmond to NYC service is about 6 hours 15 mins, and as low as $32 each way if you buy in advance. Flying is only around 1.5 hours but typically $150 one-way or $200 round-trip. Going the other way, Richmond to Charleston, SC is typically $68 one-way and 7 hours, 15 mins, versus about 3.5 hours and $200 to fly one-way.
- bombcar 4y agoI have had zero bad passenger interactions on any long-distance train I've ever been on; part of that may be the cost keeps out the riff-raff, but there's a certain group that travels by train and everyone gets along quite well in my experience.