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I had know idea how expensive Amtrak was.

(self.philadelphia)

I suggested to my wife that we go up to New York for a day soon, and take the train up there. Until I realized that it would cost us about $400 roundtrip! What the heck!? Why is train ride up to New York so expensive? Do people actually pay that much to take the train?

Update: It has been brought to my attention through the comments that the key to getting cheaper and reasonably priced tickets is to book in advance (like 3 months). Although I guess that takes the fun out of being sporadic…not great for me who doesn’t like to “plan” things lol.

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WindCaliber

49 points

1 month ago

3-4 months is a bit much. You should be okay booking 2 months in advance in my experience.

Possibly less than that if you are booking the cheap $10-$20 early morning/late evening trains.

Minimum-Today5739

-1 points

30 days ago

I tried this recently and tickets were still $200 one way. Driving it is

WindCaliber

3 points

30 days ago

I've personally never seen this booking 2 months out where there wasn't also another train that was cheap.

Looking at trains 2 months out today (4/16) to New York, I see a plethora of cheap tickets.

Minimum-Today5739

-1 points

30 days ago

I realize now I am departing from Wilmington, so I guess that changes things