USA Amtrak Rail Pass

[Edgar Woodhead]

Can anyone please explain to me what exactly this means from the amtrak rail lass web page, about t&c's of the rail pass

Travel is restricted to four one-way trips between two cities, and to all cities in between, over the same route. For example, the following trips would use up the four trips over the Washington, DC to New York route segment:

Trip 1: Washington, DC to New York

Trip 2: New York to Washington, DC

Trip 3: Washington, DC to Philadelphia

Trip 4: Philadelphia to Washington, DC

Also, does anyone have any experience of how quickly reservations for trains fill up if you are on a rail pass. Iam thinking of going in August, so there should be plenty seats available right? Anyone know what seat reservation avaliablity is like for pass holders around 7 months before departure?

Thanks

 

[June the Coach Rider]

I will try to answer your questions, Simply put, you have 8 segments (on and off the same train) for the 15 day pass, 12 for the 30 day and 18 for the 45 day rail pass. You can book any 8 segments as long as you ONLY travel the same train for four trips during the segments. They have this so that people do not use this for commuting or frequent travel.

I took a 15 day trip in July:

WOR-CHI on Lakeshore Limited

CHI-EMY on California Zephyr

EMY-PDX on Coast Starlight

SEA-LAX on Coast Starlight

LAX-FTW on Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle

FTW-LAX on Texas EAgle/Sunset Limited

LAX-CHI on Southwest Chief

CHI-WOR on Lakeshore LImited

I only traveled the same route twice, but could have traveled two more times on the Coast Starlight or the Lakeshore Limited if it worked out for me.

In August, the train fills up pretty fast, they only have a certain number of seats for the rail pass seats. As long as you make your reservations at 7 months before, you should not have too much trouble. As you have to call to make your reservations on the rail pass, if there is an issue with one of the trains you want, ask to speak with Customer Relations and hopefully they can help you with either them doing some key strokes to find a seat or giving you alternative routes.

I travel the majority of my travel with the 15 day rail pass. The only things you need to remember are that you have to start and finish your trip in the 15 day window. Once you start your trip, the other segments must end at or before midnight on the 15th day.

I hope this helped, let me know if there is anything else you need to know. If you are traveling out west, say to San Diego, don't use the segments for the short inexpensive segments, like the Pacific Surfliner from LAX to SAN and save them for the longer trips.

 

[caravanman]

June and I are railpass fans, so we will both compete to confuse you...

As far as I am aware, you can use the pass to obtain a coach seat whenever the coach seat price is at the minimum (low bucket). Amtrak seat prices change rather like airlines, they rise as more are booked up. It is in your interest to reserve the trains early. You can check fares for the exact days you require in advance on Amtrak. com

There is a dedicated email service for booking trains from overseas, once you buy the pass.

Best wishes,

Ed

 

[tomfuller]

I too am a Rail Pass fan. If you are a solo traveller, you may be assigned a seat next to another solo traveller to make seat pairs available for couples.

It is easier to sleep if you have a seat pair to yourself. On an overnight trip if the train car is quite full, you may be awakened and have to share for the rest of the night.

I bring a pillowcase in my carry on and stuff my coat inside for a pillow.

We are happy to answer any other questions you may have about Rail Pass travel.

You may want to join Amtrak Guest Rewards (free) to earn future Amtrak travel.

 

[Edgar Woodhead]

Thank you so much for your help.

So would this itinerary work on an 8 segment pass

New York-Washington on Northeast Regional

Washington-Chicago on Capitol Limited

Chicago-Williams on Southwest Chief

Williams - Los Angeles on Southwest Chief

Los Angeles- San Diego on Pacific Surfliner

San Diego to Los Angeles on Pacific Surfliner

Los Angeles to San Francisco on coast starlight

 

[June the Coach Rider]

Thank you so much for your help.

So would this itinerary work on an 8 segment pass

New York-Washington on Northeast Regional

Washington-Chicago on Capitol Limited

Chicago-Williams on Southwest Chief

Williams - Los Angeles on Southwest Chief

Los Angeles- San Diego on Pacific Surfliner

San Diego to Los Angeles on Pacific Surfliner

Los Angeles to San Francisco on coast starlight

That looks good,the only issue would be that the Coast Starlight gets you to Emeryville and you have to take a bus to San Francisco, but you have a segment left, As long as the buses to San Francisco are not considered thru-way buses, you are fine. This is from the Amtrak website regarding buses. I just checked and the buses from Emeryville to San Francisco are not 7000 buses. You should be fine to use your last segment for that as long as you get to your final destination before midnight.

The USA Rail Pass is valid for travel on all Amtrak trains except:

• Auto Train
• Acela Express
• Thruway bus connections (7000-7999 series)
• The Canadian portion of trains operated jointly by Amtrak and VIA Rail Canada.

 

[Edgar Woodhead]

Ok thanks- now, Iam also going to the Grand Canyon on the Grand Canyon railway, firstly I believe you can use segments on the Grand Canyon railway?

Secondly, if you can use segments on the Grand Canyon railway, would it be cheaper to use the final segment on one of the journeys to/from the Grand Canyon, and get a cab from emeryville to San Francisco.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Ok thanks- now, Iam also going to the Grand Canyon on the Grand Canyon railway, firstly I believe you can use segments on the Grand Canyon railway?

Secondly, if you can use segments on the Grand Canyon railway, would it be cheaper to use the final segment on one of the journeys to/from the Grand Canyon, and get a cab from emeryville to San Francisco.

No, the Grand Canyon Railroad does not take Amtrak Tickets or Passes! You must Pay for your Ride(s) on the GCRR!!

(Its a Nice Ride but it Does Run Slow and they No Longer use Steam for Power, it's Diesel Powered Now!)

 

[Edgar Woodhead]

I've just checked and it seems that you can only book a return Grand Canyon trip on the website, and seeing as I will only have one segment left... I don't think I will be able to do that

 

[Bob Dylan]

Ok thanks- now, Iam also going to the Grand Canyon on the Grand Canyon railway, firstly I believe you can use segments on the Grand Canyon railway?

Secondly, if you can use segments on the Grand Canyon railway, would it be cheaper to use the final segment on one of the journeys to/from the Grand Canyon, and get a cab from emeryville to San Francisco.

No, the Grand Canyon Railroad does not take Amtrak Tickets or Passes! You must Pay for your Ride(s) on the GCRR!!

(Its a Nice Ride but it Does Slow and they No Longer use Steam for Power, it's Diesel Powered Now!)

Taxis are Very Pricey if you cross the Bay Bridge from Emereyville to San Francisco,(Traffic and Tolls) I'd stick with the AMBus which is Included on your Pass! (you must Reserve it as a Segment) As I said, the GCCR is Pay as You Go, it's Not Amtrak!

 

[Edgar Woodhead]

So looks like I will use the final segment on emeryville to San Fran bus and pay for gcrr separately

 

[Bob Dylan]

So looks like I will use the final segment on emeryville to San Fran bus and pay for gcrr separately

Yep!!!

 

[Edgar Woodhead]

So the final plan looks like

Day 1 of rail pass NYP to WAS - 1 segment

Day 2 stay in Washington

Day 3 WAS to CHI 1 segment

Day 4 arrive in CHI

Day 5 Stay in Chicago

Day 6 CHI TO WMJ 1 segment

Day 7 arrive in WMJ

Day 8 stay at Grand Canyon (book gcrr return trip separately)

Day 9 WMJ to LAX 1 segment

Day 10 arrive in LAX

Day 11 & 12 in LAX

Day 13 LAX to SAN 1 segment

Day 14 stay in San Diego

Day 15 SAN to LAX 1 segment

Day 15 To get from LAX to San Francisco (emeryville) 1 segment

Emeryville - San Francisco centre using amtrak thruway - 1 segment (arriving before midnight)

=15 days, eight segments!!

 

[caravanman]

Hope you have an enjoyable coast to coast experience, please let us know how it works out for you on our trip reports page.

Ed

 

[June the Coach Rider]

That looks great, the GCRR has an agreement that you can book it thru Amtrak if you are purchasing a regular ticket, but where you are using a rail pass, you will have to purchase both ways seperately.

There are several posts on what to bring when you travel by coach, but the most important thing is to bring a pillow and blanket so you are comfortable.

 

[chakk]

June and I are railpass fans, so we will both compete to confuse you...

As far as I am aware, you can use the pass to obtain a coach seat whenever the coach seat price is at the minimum (low bucket). Amtrak seat prices change rather like airlines, they rise as more are booked up. It is in your interest to reserve the trains early. You can check fares for the exact days you require in advance on Amtrak. com

There is a dedicated email service for booking trains from overseas, once you buy the pass.

Best wishes,

Ed

And you can then use the Amsnag website to identify if the minimum (low bucket) coach seat prices are still available for any/all of your proposed travel dates/routes.

 

[June the Coach Rider]

June and I are railpass fans, so we will both compete to confuse you...

As far as I am aware, you can use the pass to obtain a coach seat whenever the coach seat price is at the minimum (low bucket). Amtrak seat prices change rather like airlines, they rise as more are booked up. It is in your interest to reserve the trains early. You can check fares for the exact days you require in advance on Amtrak. com

There is a dedicated email service for booking trains from overseas, once you buy the pass.

Best wishes,

Ed

And you can then use the Amsnag website to identify if the minimum (low bucket) coach seat prices are still available for any/all of your proposed travel dates/route

As long as Amsnag has a way of telling you if it is low bucket or a level up when all you see is one price. How do you know it is low bucket for that train?

 

[caravanman]

So, just to prove even more that I DO need to "get a life"... I looked into the cost of the above trip just using regular coach tickets in August, and came up with a total of $495. Slightly more than the railpass cost, but a lot easier to book online, esp from abroad, and no restrictions on 15 days, etc. Some of the trains were "saver" fares, and one fare, the SW Chief to Williams was $165, but almost double that a day later, so one needs to be flexible, or be lucky!

Because Edgar is looking to take several more shorter rides than most, this makes the rail pass a much less attractive proposition to save $ in his case.

Check out all the options before you buy!

Ed

 

[Edgar Woodhead]

I will have to look to see if it is cheaper not using a rail pass

 

[Edgar woodhead]

Does anyone know how much it is to upgrade from a coach seat to roomette if your on a rail pass, the difference between a rail pass cost and individual tickets is a matter of pounds!

 

[June the Coach Rider]

I can't help with this as I am coach all the way. I would rather save the money for the roomette on a nicer room when I get where I am going. The tiny cube that is the roomette makes it less comfortable in my opinion and there is not enough food that I can eat to justify the upgrade price. I would rather have than money for the final destination to enjoy.

The Amtrak website says the upgrade is at the appropriate surcharge, so I am assuming that means the going bucket at the time you purchase it.

 

[Edgar Woodhead]

So the price of upgrading to a roomette is the same price as buying a roomette on an independent ticket?

 

[SarahZ]

So the price of upgrading to a roomette is the same price as buying a roomette on an independent ticket?

Yes, the roomette cost would be the same. If you upgrade on the train, they'll charge you the current bucket price (which is usually quite high, if there are even roomettes available), so I recommend booking it in advance.

Also, as someone who travels in roomettes, I do not find the roomettes to be a "tiny cube". I have just as much room as I have in Coach, and you can still recline the seat. For me, it's worth the additional cost to have hot, delicious meals, a real bed, a shower, privacy, and quiet. I recommend spending at least one night in a roomette so you can check it out. Some people prefer Coach, and that's fine, but I wouldn't bag on a roomette without at least trying it first.

 

[Guest]

Thanks - if buying a rail pass and then upgrading to a roomette in advance ( buy and upgrade now- travelling in August) is the same price as booking a roomette ticket independently, then is there any reasons why you would choose one over the other (rail pass vs multi city tickets)

 

[Edgar Woodhead]

P.s here are the train routes, if it helps with specific pros and cons

Day 1 of rail pass NYP to WAS

Day 2 stay in Washington

Day 3 WAS to CHI

Day 4 arrive in CHI

Day 5 Stay in Chicago

Day 6 CHI TO WMJ

Day 7 arrive in WMJ

Day 8 day at Grand Canyon

Day 8 WMJ to LAX

Day 10 arrive in LAX

Day 11 & 12 in LAX

Day 13 LAX to SAN

Day 14 stay in San Diego

Day 15 SAN to LAX

Day 15 Lax to emeryville then emeryville to San Francisco using amtrak thruway

(It WOULD fit in a rail pass, but it's the same price for booking each individual train route (if you stand correct that the cost of upgrading to a roomette is the same cost as paying for a roomette on an individual ride))