Adjacent Station Pricing on NEC in Metropolitan Areas
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 401
Adjacent Station Pricing on NEC in Metropolitan Areas
Does anyone know how Amtrak comes up with pricing for stations that are near each other on the NEC? I can't find any reason to it. Examples:
BOS, BBY, and RTE all have the same fare, to and from. South Station and Back Bay are very close together, Route 128 is way out in the suburbs. (11 miles line distance BOS-RTE).
Newark and New York City have the same fare (at least from the south), even though they are quite a distance apart and in different states.
WAS and NCR (New Carrollton, MD) have the same fare to/from points north, but slightly more for points south.
WAS and ALX are roughly the same distance (7 miles line) as WAS-NCR (8 miles line), but ALX has higher prices for service to the north and lower prices for service to the south. These stations are closer together than BOS and RTE yet priced differently.
So how does Amtrak come up with their pricing schemes? Why are some stations in the same metro area priced differently, and other metro areas have higher prices? State lines or colocation with local rail/subway service doesn't seem to be a factor.
And if you get on a train at RTE with a ticket that says originating at BBY or BOS, what happens? There is no difference in fare, but would they get upset? Or would you even be allowed past the control point at BOS with a RTE originating ticket?
What about WAS instead of ALX--would they just ask for the few dollars of fare difference or would they freak out and cancel your trip?
BOS, BBY, and RTE all have the same fare, to and from. South Station and Back Bay are very close together, Route 128 is way out in the suburbs. (11 miles line distance BOS-RTE).
Newark and New York City have the same fare (at least from the south), even though they are quite a distance apart and in different states.
WAS and NCR (New Carrollton, MD) have the same fare to/from points north, but slightly more for points south.
WAS and ALX are roughly the same distance (7 miles line) as WAS-NCR (8 miles line), but ALX has higher prices for service to the north and lower prices for service to the south. These stations are closer together than BOS and RTE yet priced differently.
So how does Amtrak come up with their pricing schemes? Why are some stations in the same metro area priced differently, and other metro areas have higher prices? State lines or colocation with local rail/subway service doesn't seem to be a factor.
And if you get on a train at RTE with a ticket that says originating at BBY or BOS, what happens? There is no difference in fare, but would they get upset? Or would you even be allowed past the control point at BOS with a RTE originating ticket?
What about WAS instead of ALX--would they just ask for the few dollars of fare difference or would they freak out and cancel your trip?
Last edited by emvchip; Mar 24, 2014 at 10:20 pm
#2
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: United States
Programs: UA, AA, DL, Amtrak
Posts: 4,647
It's not just on the NEC where's there's interesting pricing patterns.
On the Empire Builder, for instance, a low-bucket fare from SEA to CHI costs just $2 more than a low-bucket fare from SEA to MKE. So it only "costs" $2 to travel from Milwaukee to Chicago on the Builder [though you can't actually book it] whereas it costs $24 for an unreserved seat on the Hiawathas for the same segment. [Granted, the Hiawathas probably won't be 8 hours late, but I digress]
Bottom line is that it's revenue-management strategies. Prices are not strictly based on distance.
On the Empire Builder, for instance, a low-bucket fare from SEA to CHI costs just $2 more than a low-bucket fare from SEA to MKE. So it only "costs" $2 to travel from Milwaukee to Chicago on the Builder [though you can't actually book it] whereas it costs $24 for an unreserved seat on the Hiawathas for the same segment. [Granted, the Hiawathas probably won't be 8 hours late, but I digress]
Bottom line is that it's revenue-management strategies. Prices are not strictly based on distance.
#3
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In the case of WAS-ALX and points south, there might be some component of the Commonwealth of Virginia having a say in things. Not sure what Amtrak's arrangement with Virginia is as far as revenue, costs, funding, and all that, but Amtrak may split those out differently than they do north of DC. I dunno; just speculation.
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 401
In the case of WAS-ALX and points south, there might be some component of the Commonwealth of Virginia having a say in things. Not sure what Amtrak's arrangement with Virginia is as far as revenue, costs, funding, and all that, but Amtrak may split those out differently than they do north of DC. I dunno; just speculation.
But on the other hand, service from ALX to points north of DC is a higher price than service to DC....
#5
Join Date: Feb 2011
Programs: Amtrak Select
Posts: 333
You might have trouble in BOS with the gate agent if you have an RTE originating ticket, but I would just board in BBY because there are no gate agents there.
They never take tickets between BBY and BOS, so if you think you might be boarding at BBY but might be boarding at BOS, always buy the ticket to/from BOS.
They never take tickets between BBY and BOS, so if you think you might be boarding at BBY but might be boarding at BOS, always buy the ticket to/from BOS.
#6
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: BOS
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Posts: 743
I learned something last year. I bought a BWI-BOS fare at ~$230, which turned out to be the same as WAS-BOS fare. However, since it's not the special city pair, I only earned 460 points, not the 500 minimum. On top of that, I used an upgrade coupon to F. If I had chosen WAS-BOS for the same price, I could have earned 750 points...
Obviously, it is different this year.
Obviously, it is different this year.
#7
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: New England
Programs: American Gold, Marriott Gold, Hilton Silver
Posts: 5,636
Honestly, I think it's to simplify things where people can't find hidden discounts by taking a commuter train between close stops to take advantage of a lower fare.