Train in USA - how to book!?

[mummybearsurrey]

Is there an equivalent of trainiline to buy train tix for trains in USA?

The only passenger rail operator in the USA is Amtrak.
I put Amtrak into my google search.
Up popped Amtrak’s booking system.
But it was very difficult so I’m not surprised you had problems finding this out.
Good luck.

It's a good idea to enter your point A and point B into your search.

Example - "Amtrak Boston to Chicago".
Your search results will come up, and you click the menu icon (beside the search icon) to get the page where you can book.

www.amtrak.com/lake-shore-limited-train

For most US destinations it'll be faster to drive or fly. Their train network is quite limited.

If it's a long distance train Amtrak is it, but there's some tricks to booking it as the system is quite stupid if you require multiple trains.

If you're travelling in the Boston to DC corridor or a few other routes it's very good. The longer distance trains are slow.

Commuter rail is run separately by local authorities and you don't book anything. Some of the commuter trains go a decent distance.

Where are you going?

There is a subreddit on Amtrak (but like all of Reddit it's very patronising, be warned).

It's definitely faster to fly between most cities. That trip from Boston to Chicago takes about 22 hours. Probably at least 24 if you factor in delays.

The advantage of a train trip is seeing the countryside - lovely especially in the west, but interesting everywhere. You also get a very generous baggage allowance for the most part.

Are you looking for east coast or west coast? There’s Amtrak but there’s regional trains too. You can buy all online in my experience. If doing Amtrak buy as far out as possible. It gets expensive.

I used Omio to tell me what trains were available and then went direct to the Amtrak site to buy them.

We got the train from Boston to NYC this Spring.

Pluses - it was quite cheap, the seats were massive and the journey was beautiful.

Minuses - it took 4.5 hours to go 200 miles (their trains are soooo slow), the train was an hour late leaving Boston and information and customer service was - indifferent.

I'd do it as it is an experience but don't expect to get anywhere quickly!

I use Amtrak a lot as I don't like to fly. The website is a bit clunky, but that's the place to book trains for Amtrak. Where are you going?

As previous posters have said, there are other train lines for shorter commuter distances, but Amtrak is the only long distance service.

Thanks.

Travelling Boston to NYC.
Door to door a approx the same time as flying but clearly train is slow!!!

It's also way cheaper than flying.

Thanks for the tips. Will now go and book!! There were so many different. Companies coming up I couldn't workn out which one was legit!!

www.amtrak.com/acela-train

You could try an Amtrak express train from Boston to NYC. Ticket prices are reasonable.

Boston to NYC? Get the Acela, the faster train. It will be much easier than dealing with the airports. (It's not European fast, because they need to rebuild track, but it is faster.) 3.5hrs ish. I would much rather take the train on that route unless maybe I were headed to somewhere in the suburbs.

Oh, definitely train for that journey. From pretty much the centre of Boston to the centre of NY - faster than dealing with airports and scenic for long stretches. Even the non-Acela Amtrak is ok for that route, although a little slower.

it’s usually best to make sure you’re right before you stick the boot in with a dollop of supercilious passive aggressiveness.

Take the train. I doubt it's a lot longer if you factor in the journey to the airport and waiting times. Plus you don't have to sort out luggage.

We drove that route last year, DH has a work acquaintance who lives in NY but is from Boston and she was firm that we don't even think about taking a plane.

We did Amtrak from Washington DC to New York in 2019 - not the Acela express, but it did only stop at the major cities.

It's a nice relaxing journey and a good way to 'tick off" some states, if you're into that.

The only downside for us is that although we could book a specific train, we couldn't reserve seats, of find a way to do so from the UK

We got to the station in DC nice and early to queue - however, once the train was anounced, and all the different priority groups (elderly, disabilities, those with young kids, veterans etc etc) had boarded, we couldn't get 3 seats together

You'll love the train journey - it is so pretty. All the cute clapboard seafront towns like the town from Murder She Wrote!

A warning if you go from Boston Back Bay station (the one in the centre of Boston) don't expect a European style city train station with facilities. It was basically a couple of underground platforms, a vending machine, toilets and three ticket windows and a grumpy station assistant. Like a tiny version of Birmingham New St from the 1980s - and it smelt of piss.

You also get in to Penn Station in NYC which is a very nice statation and very well located for the centre of New York - we were staying on the upper East Side and our hotel was only 3 subway stops away.

Definitely the Acela train. Have done it a few times and you aren’t messing around with airports. Agree with a PP - trains are rather old fashioned and not in an Orient Express way! Train station at Boston Back Bay are yuck.

Seat selection is available on Acela and some of the other trains that serve the Northeast Corridor.

https://www.amtrak.com/reserved-seating

@RitaIncognita

Seat selection is available on Acela and in Business Class on Northeast Regional, Carolinian, Palmetto and Vermonter

As I said in my post, we weren't on the Acela express - we also weren't travelling Business Class either

We did Boston - NY this time last year.

It was a pretty good journey. Book as early as you can - prices go up alot. We paid around $145 for 3 of us one way. It was more like $300+ nearer the time.

Yeah we booked in early March for mid April and got tickets for 45 dollars each one way.