Amtrak vs flights (cruise, airlines, senior, price)

[delany]

when I search on the internet for travel, than i find it strange that the price for a flight and train between new york and chicago almost identical, on the same day.
Normal nobody till prefer the long train ride takes almost 18hours and that for the same price as i flight, that will takes 2 hours

I wonder what kind of people take the train in the US


Flight
$100

Flight Information – Tue Nov 16 2010
Airline Takeoff Landing Stops $100 LGA > ORD
http://www.kayak.com/v327/images/air/AA.gif (broken link) American Airlines 6:05a
7:30a
0 (2h 25m))

AMTRAK


$86.00

Departs: 3:45 PM
Tue Nov 16 2010
New York, NY - Penn Station (NYP)
Station News
Arrives: 9:45 AM
Wed Nov 17 2010
Chicago, IL - Union Station (CHI) Chicago, IL
Union Station
(CHI)

Station News
PT19H Duration: 19 hr, 0 min

[South Range Family]

There are two answers to your question. The first would be goofballs that are afraid to fly. The second would be somebody with a lot of time on their hands that wants to try out the novelty of riding a train.

[missionhome]

Originally Posted by delany

I wonder what kind of people take the train in the US

Probably 60% of long long distance Amtrak train riders are senior citizens. Its like going on a cruise for them.

[akorosdc]

The passenger train service in the U.S. is pretty bad, and Amtrak still manages to lose money with the high prices and government subsidies. Unless you're talking about 2 close cities in the Northeast Corridor or intra-city travel, just fly.

[bustaduke]

Years ago when I was young and dumb I delivered a truck to my in-laws in Richmond Virginia and they purchased a train ticket for me to get back home to New Orleans.

The train ride should have taken 12 hours but it pulled into the New Orleans station 38 hours later. That was the first and last train ride I will ever take as you couldn't pay me enough to take another one.


busta

[FlyMIA]

1: Seniors who want to take the train.
2. People who have the irrational fear of flying
3. People who think its a lot cheaper
4. People who want to take the train for fun

Thats all I can think of. Unless your traveling between two close cities. Mostly DC-PHL-NYC-BOS flying is worth it even if it is more expensive.

[intelfan11315]

Amtrak is nice for a daytrip to a nearby city, justifying paying MORE to go across country on a train beats me. The novelty wears off quick in any situation

[17th Street]

If given the choice between flying and riding Amtrak (which I usually do between DC and the Midwest), I almost always take the train. The main reason is because Amtrak will allow you to cancel tickets at anytime and give a full refund. This allows me to have a ton of flexibity. If something happens and I need to change my depature, I can do so. I book mutiple tickets during a week and the use one I want and cancel the rest. I've had horrible experiences trying to do that same thing when flying. I also get 10/15% off all Amtrak tickets.

I also really enjoy the train experience over flying. It is more relaxing. Plus the train is not just for old people; I'm 25.

[mdp_az]

Some people use the train when they want their car at their destination but want to avoid the long drive down I-95...there's a car train option where you ride in the passenger section while your car rides along in a special car carrier onboard. This is about the only way I could see a train making sense from the NE to FL.

[FlyMIA]

Originally Posted by mdp_az

Some people use the train when they want their car at their destination but want to avoid the long drive down I-95...there's a car train option where you ride in the passenger section while your car rides along in a special car carrier onboard. This is about the only way I could see a train making sense from the NE to FL.

Yes the auto train I have used it 3 times before when I was young with my family and as a kid it was a lot of fun. However this is only on one route in the US. Sanford FL (Orlando) to Lawton VA (washington dc)