Different prices for same seats on train
 

Hi, I am travelling to US next month with my family from Ireland. Plan to get Amtrak from Ney York to Washington. Looking at Amtrak site it shows different prices for reserved coach seats on the same train. Can someone explain why this is. Seems I can book 5 reserved seats for below 3 different prices. Thanks Stuart$245.00$465.00$925.00

Are they saver, value, or flex price options? Click on the link of each and see their differences - e.g. refund availability.

Thanks for the quick reply. When you click on the link it just gives same explanation of what reserved coach seats are.

I don't know how the OP feels about bus travel, but on a random weekday in July, five passengers can travel from Manhattan to D.C. for around $60 ($12/passenger) on BoltBus. Trip will take a little longer than Amtrak (about 4 1/2 hours by bus). Details at https://www.boltbus.com

A similar service is offered by Megabus, but fares seem to be slightly higher. https://us.megabus.com

Without the date and Train to which you are referring, it is impossible to know the answer for certain. But, it is a safe bet that you are seeing prices for Saver, Value, Standard, and/or possibly Premium (F/J).

There is a pull down menu at the top of each column which shows the specific differences. The cheapest, Saver, have limited availability and, after 24 hours, are completely non-refundable. Flex tickets are refundable. F/J (depending on whether you are on an Acela (F) or Regional (J)) are just that.

Yes, the bus can be cheap. But, it is nowhere near as pleasant as the train.

Only you can determine price vs. value for the various options, e.g., train, fly, bus, drive a car.

Is this what you are looking at? The difference is the flexibility. If you click saver, value, flexible, etc. at the top it brings up the below window with detailed information on each fare, primarily the cancellation and change policy.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...71d23ddbd1.png
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...6a16eb81c6.png

Different fare buckets for different levels of ticket flexibility. I always book the cheapest available on Amtrak since I am a semi frequent Amtrak passenger. If I need to change or cancel, I'll simply do that and roll the value from that fare into my account to use as a voucher for another trip.

If you are planning on travelling only once on Amtrak and "saver" fares are available, book that with the caution that you won't be getting $$$ refunded if you have to cancel. Changes are always permitted on Amtrak NEC (northeast corridor) provided seats are available. You may have to pay the fare difference.

In general NY-WAS has decent availability but Amtrak does price discriminate with fares on the more business friendly hours being higher than the off-peak hours. If you are flexible you can currently get from NYP to Washington for as low as $39.00 one way.

Many thanks for the clarifications. it all makes sense. Booked Amtrak tickets.