What's the shortest length you'll regularly ride Amtrak?

[OlympianHiawatha]

If I ever needed "emergency AGR" Points I could always stage a car in Purcell, which is 15 train minutes south of me and for $5 ($4.50 AAA) ride the Heartland Flyer there in the morning, drive back home, get my regular day in and then drive back to Purcell that evening to catch the northbound. That would be most beneficial during a Triple Points Promo or if I really need a quick train fix

 

[amamba]

I regularly take the NE regional from PVD to BBY or BOS. It is $10 each way (low bucket). Considering that the MBTA train that runs the same route takes almost twice as long and is crowded and uncomfortable, plus costs either $7 or $7.50 each way, I consider the amtrak fare to be quite reasonable. It is a 45 minute ride on the regional (35 minutes on acela, and I have taken that, also!) and it would take 45 minutes to 2 hours to drive depending on the traffic.

 

[AlanB]

If you had money to burn, you could do 12 one-way trips on a day, each with a separate ticket, for $93.60 and rack up 1694 points!

Well you could take that many trips in one day if you liked, but you would never earn that many points. There is a limit of 2 round trips or 4 one way trips per day allowed by AGR. Anything over that is ignored by the computers and produces no points. So the max you could ever earn would be 400 points, assuming no bonus points or status points.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Then just submit the credit request form or send in the stubs for credit. I'm guessing Amtrak doesn't have enough checks to keep you from getting the points if you pushed it.

 

[alanh]

Actually, the limit is for 4 100 point trips. After that, they still earn points, but only the actual 2 per dollar, with no minimum.

 

[AlanB]

Then just submit the credit request form or send in the stubs for credit. I'm guessing Amtrak doesn't have enough checks to keep you from getting the points if you pushed it.

Actually they do have enough checks to keep it from happening. In fact when the rule was first implimented, there were many unhappy people who got caught by the rule, since AGR didn't give any warning on the change.

However, as AlanH pointed out, one does still earn the 2 points per ticket for trips beyond the first 4. I had forgotten that AGR had revised the rule after the initial howls of protest, where it was only 4 trips period.

 

[PaulM]

A couple of times a year I bike from QCY to MAC, the closest stop from QCY on the Illinois Zehpyr, and take the train back. The $5.52 old phogey fare for the 56 mile trip is a bargain. But I always joke with the conductor that I'm worth only a little more than half my bike at $10.

Incidentally, the scheduled time is 59 minutes; but the train is almost always 15 minutes early. Google's trip time is 72 minutes. For that matter the IZ and Carl Sandberg from QCY to CHI is 4 hr 28 min, compared to Google's driving time of 5 hr 1 minute.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Incidentally, the scheduled time is 59 minutes; but the train is almost always 15 minutes early. Google's trip time is 72 minutes. For that matter the IZ and Carl Sandberg from QCY to CHI is 4 hr 28 min, compared to Google's driving time of 5 hr 1 minute.

I routinely beat the default drive time that Google Maps spits out, typically by a substantial margin. They seem to assume you won't be driving anywhere near the speed limit for some reason, even on a well maintained interstate highway through desolate countryside. But the part that I'm most curious about is when Amtrak is going to update their timetables so that they no longer have hours and hours of padding in them anymore. Seems like it's time to raise the bar to a new standard, and to include more than just the last stop in ontime percentages.

 

[Dovecote]

In any case, what is the shortest length you are willing to travel on Amtrak? When does Amtrak become too expensive for the ride? I regularly take the Surfliner *from* Los Angeles (I never take it *to* Los Angeles because you don't get free transfers to Metro Rail), but only when I'm traveling solo.

Living 60 miles outside of WAS, I have the choice in HFY of using either Amtrak's Capitol Limited (CL) or MARC service (when traveling during the week). Whenever possible it is a no brainer to use the CL. The low bucket fare with an AAA discount is $9.90 versus the MARC fare of $11. In addition to the savings on the fare you have a guaranteed seat with leg rests that is more comfortable than the MARC offering, user friendly luggage racks, lounge car, cleaner bathrooms, etc. It is a much more pleasant experience.

 

[Trogdor]

But the part that I'm most curious about is when Amtrak is going to update their timetables so that they no longer have hours and hours of padding in them anymore.

That's not up to Amtrak. That's up to the host railroads (mainly, freight railroads) over which Amtrak operates. Schedules have to be negotiated with and approved by the hosts. It's rare that a host is willing to reduce the time they get for a train to reach its endpoint.

Requests for this are made frequently. The response is usually a two-letter word ending with an O.

Seems like it's time to raise the bar to a new standard, and to include more than just the last stop in ontime percentages.

http://www.fra.dot.gov/downloads/Section_207_Metrics_and_Standards_2010-05-05_Final.pdf

 

[rtabern]

If I worked in downtown Milwaukee, and live on the south side of town (like I do now), I would consider riding the train between Milwaukee-Airport and Milwaukee-Downtown and use Amtrak for commuting. Of course the times would have to work out too, but it's not a bad deal since the Airport Amtrak parking is only $5 and the ticket is just $7. You get 200 AGR points for $14 for that!! But since I dont work in downtown Milwaukee, the point is moot -- but I do that route a lot for 2x and 3x point runs when they are offered.

 

[JayPea]

From Spokane, my "home" station, the shortest in terms of mileage is from Spokane to Sandpoint, about 70 miles. But at the hours it runs between the two, I'd never take Amtrak. Shortest runs I've had are roundtrips between Bloomington and Chicago and Champaign and Chicago, both a couple of hours one way.

 

[Spokker]

I forgot to mention that the 10-trip tickets are a pretty good deal, at least on the Surfliner. I used them when I was going to LA a lot.

 

[transit54]

I fairly regularly ride WAB-ESX and MPR-ESX (that is Waterbury or Montpelier, VT to Essex Jct, VT).

The fare is $8.50 and $10, respectively, and if I plan far enough in advance I can take my NARP discount off that. Waterbury is about 30 minutes and Montpelier is about 45, I think.

What I end up doing is taking a commuter bus down after work and riding Amtrak back (then taking a bus home from the station). There's a fantastic brewpub in Waterbury, so occasionally I and a few friends will take the bus down, have dinner and a few beers, then hop on the train back to Burlington. It's a lot of fun to do and a great excuse for a train ride.

I'll travel to Montpelier occasionally for various events, or occasionally to do some work for some people down there and use the bus/train combination also.

Riding within the state is becoming increasingly popular, as this is the second year in a row that there's a $12 for anywhere in VT deal.

 

[Monon81]

NYP to Stamford, CT. But that's because I came into NYP on a NJT train from Princeton Jct. Metro North could have taken me to Stamford or stations even closer to my destination, but I would have had to haul myself to GCT. I'd do that if I were traveling alone, but not with my then eight year old daughter.

 

[MJL]

IDP-KCY is $6.00 each way, I've done this as part of a fun family excursion to KC Union Station. Not sure I would do it on a regular basis, but it is fun once in a while.

 

[PeterKsfo]

I used to regularly ride MDN-HFD, and also MDN-NHV - each was about 20 minutes. But the shortest I have done was MDN-WFD, which is about 8 minutes

 

[amamba]

I ride PVD - BOS fairly often. It's like 45 minutes.

 

[Tennessee Traveler]

As a tourist from Tennessee, I've ridden Los Angeles to Fullerton and back. Fullerton is first stop after departing Los Angeles.

 

[Ind Ben]

I usually take the cresent to NOL at least once a year.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I live in Austin where the Texas Eagle is the only game in town (one train daily in each direction) so my Point runs are limited to Taylor (20 miles

North) and San Marcos (25 miles South)

In the past I've done point runs between Ft Worth and Dallas when in the Metro Plex. Also St.Louis to Kirkwood and Alton and Chicago to Joliet, Glennview, Milwauke to Milwaukee Airport, Baltimore to BWI. PHL to Paoli

And Portland Oregon to Vancouver,WA.

My favorite was from LAX to Van Nuts and return with CHECKED LUGGUAGE while waiting to catch the Starlight @ LAX!

The wild and kooky things that we train lovers do! LOL

 

[TinCan782]

My favorite was from LAX to Van Nuts and return with CHECKED LUGGUAGE while waiting to catch the Starlight @ LAX!

The wild and kooky things that we train lovers do! LOL

Ha, ha...good one. Time to kill? Did you check your luggage through Van Nuys and back to LAX as a "round trip"? Maybe next time try the same thing - LA to Fullerton and return with checked luggage.

 

[TinCan782]

Boy, this thread came back up from the past! On National Train Day, I do a double points run from Chatsworth to LAX (30 mles) and in October, another double points run from Chatsworth to Ventura during the Fall Promotion (50 miles). The Ventura trip is for the annual Seaside Highland Games at the fairgrounds across the street from the Amtrak platform. I commute on Southern California's Metrolink from Chatsworth to LA every day.

 

[ronkstevens]

Paoli to PHL frequently. 19 miles. Amtrak: 22 minutes with an occasional stop in Ardmore. SEPTA: 45 minutes, around 15 stops. Even when the Amtrak fare is $8.00 instead of the normal $6.50 it's worth it.

 

[pennyk]

I just made a reservation for a round trip from Winter Park, FL to Orlando, FL and back. 5 Amtrak miles each way.