Cheapest possible ticket on Amtrak

[ParanoidAndroid]

I'm interested in a trivial thing, the absolute cheapest ticket that one can buy on the Amtrak system.

I've found two:

1. Thurmond WV to Prince WV on the Cardinal. Costs $5.50 for a 19 minute ride.

2. Pomona CA to Ontario CA on the Sunset Limited. Costs $5.50 for a 13 minute ride.

I've tried Emeryville CA to Berkeley CA, a trip of 4 minutes ($7.50), and surprisingly, Essex to East Glacier Park, a trip of 56 minutes, also takes $7.50.

New Buffalo MI to Michigan City IN, a trip of -50 minutes (as a computer without UTC would think) or 10 minutes in real life, costs $6.50.

 

[daybeers]

Between Windsor, CT (WND) and Windsor Locks, CT (WNL), or vice versa, it's $5.00 for a five minute ride.

 

[A Voice]

I can't beat the $5; Best I could find was $6 from Raleigh to Cary, North Carolina (8 miles).

 

[penguinflies]

STL-ALN is $3.00. 45 minutes.

CHI-SMT is $3.00. 23 minutes.

 

[sicariis]

Freeport, Maine (FRE)- Brunswick, Maine (BRK) $4 Saver. 15mins.

Wells, Maine (WEM) - Saco, Maine (SAO) $4 Saver. 17 mins.

 

[BCL]

I think on Capitol Corridor, the cheapest ride is GAC(Great America)-SCC(Santa Clara) [7 minutes] for $6. SCC-SJC is 14 minutes, but costs the same.

If you're talking segment prices, I've seen some buses priced at just $1, but they can't be booked separately.

 

[Bob Dylan]

In a twist to this, you can ride the Texas Eagle between Austin and Taylor for $7 Senior and the trip is carded for 52 Minutes.

Is there a cheaper Fare that gives you more Train time?

 

[Seaboard92]

If your lucky you can get 1 dollar fares on the IP Hoosier State from IND to CHI five hours and five minutes. But there are only two fares at that price and it's a special promotion.

 

[Train2104]

If your lucky you can get 1 dollar fares on the IP Hoosier State from IND to CHI five hours and five minutes. But there are only two fares at that price and it's a special promotion.

Yep. Through some inspection of the website, for IND-CHI, these are the buckets:

D: $1

B: $31

A: $38

Y: $48

J: $39 (BC supplement)

It's not a special promotion, the $1 fare is a "standard" fare and carries all associated perks except BC upgradeability, such as being able to book with points, senior/AAA/student discounts, etc. There's just two of them. A senior pays 85 cents, a child 50 cents (!!!)

 

[SP&S]

PDX - ORC $4

 

[Albo5000]

In a twist to this, you can ride the Texas Eagle between Austin and Taylor for $7 Senior and the trip is carded for 52 Minutes.

Is there a cheaper Fare that gives you more Train time?

This one comes with plenty of terms and conditions, but if two people book the Downeaster from BON to BRK (3 h, 20m) and use the buy one get one promotion, per person cost is $14.50... while more expensive it is still more than 3x the time on the train and 110 more track miles.

 

[Texan Eagle]

It's not a special promotion, the $1 fare is a "standard" fare and carries all associated perks except BC upgradeability, such as being able to book with points, senior/AAA/student discounts, etc. There's just two of them. A senior pays 85 cents, a child 50 cents (!!!)

Why does this exist? What is so special between IND-CHI that Amtrak offers $1 fares like Megabus? If that is what they are competing against, why not more $1 across the network?

 

[Anderson]

At least last year, there was a special on the Hoosier State as a "bus buster": $1 CHI-IND, which would reduce to $0.90 or $0.85 on the relevant discounts. Not sure if that's still running.

Edit: It's because Ed Ellis saw it as a viable marketing move. Remember, though it's part of the system, the Hoosier State is not an Amtrak operation the way other trains are. With that said, in theory any of the state-run trains could sport such a fare if the state decided to back it.

 

[ParanoidAndroid]

CHI-SMT is $3.00. 23 minutes.

The $3 fare is funny because on Metra (Heritage Corridor) it's $5! Totally unexpected that Amtrak is cheaper than Metra. This still holds true from Chicago to Joliet, with Amtrak at $6.50 and Metra at $7.75.

 

[A Voice]

In a twist to this, you can ride the Texas Eagle between Austin and Taylor for $7 Senior and the trip is carded for 52 Minutes.

Is there a cheaper Fare that gives you more Train time?

Not cheaper, but more widely available than the Hoosier State dollar fare, you can get the Silver Star from Winter Haven to Kissimmee, Florida - $12 for three hours on the train.

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

Reading thru this, are we looking for (1) the lowest fare regardless? (2) the lowest per minute fare? or (3) the lowest per mile fare?

Personally, I like the $3.00 for a 45 minute ride mentioned above.

 

[HP_Lovecraft]

Freeport, Maine (FRE)- Brunswick, Maine (BRK) $4 Saver. 15mins.

Wells, Maine (WEM) - Saco, Maine (SAO) $4 Saver. 17 mins.

I commuted from SAO to WEM for 16 months or so when the price of gas was around $4 a gallon. It was actually cheaper then driving!

 

[penguinflies]

Reading thru this, are we looking for (1) the lowest fare regardless? (2) the lowest per minute fare? or (3) the lowest per mile fare?

Personally, I like the $3.00 for a 45 minute ride mentioned above.

I think the poster is looking for lowest, And if the Hoosier State is still bookable (Indiana changed their pricing, got ride of biz class/wifi) that would be the winner. I can't seem to book a $1 on Hoosier state picking random dates.

edit: I put in the latest date bookable and got the $1 fare! hahahaha.

 

[A Voice]

Reading thru this, are we looking for (1) the lowest fare regardless? (2) the lowest per minute fare? or (3) the lowest per mile fare?

Personally, I like the $3.00 for a 45 minute ride mentioned above.

I think the poster is looking for lowest, And if the Hoosier State is still bookable (Indiana changed their pricing, got ride of biz class/wifi) that would be the winner. I can't seem to book a $1 on Hoosier state picking random dates.

edit: I put in the latest date bookable and got the $1 fare! hahahaha.

What do you mean by "got ride of biz class/wifi"? Both amenities still show as available and bookable for the Hoosier State, through next November.

 

[penguinflies]

Sorry typo, got "rid of". But, in rereading the thread, I just realized the link was posted in 2015. It was reposted in the thread for running superliner equip on illinois services.

To be clear, hoosier state does have biz class and wifi.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

The 17 minute run from Norman to Purcell on the Heartland Flyer is a big $5.50 Value Fair ($4.67 Senior).

 

[Deni]

Naperville to Plano on the IL Zephyr or Carl Sandburg is $3.50 value fare (no saver ever offered no matter how far out I did the dates) for a 23 minute ride.

 

[igor]

What's the cheapest trip you can do and get a meal onboard (provided the train is on time), if we assume that ordering and eating will require 90 minutes?

 

[railiner]

What's the cheapest trip you can do and get a meal onboard (provided the train is on time), if we assume that ordering and eating will require 90 minutes?

Not quite 90 minutes (78), but how about Chicago to Kankakee on the CONO, for $7.?

 

[BCL]

What's the cheapest trip you can do and get a meal onboard (provided the train is on time), if we assume that ordering and eating will require 90 minutes?

I've done it on the Coast Starlight from Emeryville to San Jose, which is about 2 hours. They take a more scenic route than Capitol Corridor, slow down a lot, and it takes a long resupply stop in Oakland. I used a AAA discount, but at the time I think I paid maybe less than $14. It was cheaper than Capitol Corridor, but I think the fare has since been adjusted so it doesn't undercut the Capitol Corridor fare. If on time, breakfast is still being served. I've booked it before when it was over an hour late and the dining car was closed.