Practically, if you're looking for a trip at a particular time and day, you'll find that seat prices will vary as bundles are sold through. To find a cheaper seat I:
- Buy either a several weeks OR a few days before my trip.
- Tend to travel Tues-Thursday.
- Check repeatedly for a few days if I don't see the price I want.
I travel a lot on the Northeast corridor and found that I can usually get a ticket for $25-30 that can be as high as $60-$120.
Amtrak is 1000x better than driving for me because:
- Free wifi and power at every seat.
- Roomy seats and tons of legroom.
- Zero security.
- Quiet car.
- Huge free baggage allowances.
- No traffic.
I love Amtrak. Definitely better than flying for these trips.
The one tiny route you have is effectively the only place Amtrak works well in.
For the vast majority of other cases it’s awful.
>I wish the train was more economical then I could take the train more but it is not economical (on the west coast of the US). I live approx half way between Seattle WA and Portland OR and there is a train station within walking distance of my home. Every time I have checked the price of a Amtrak ticket to either city it was significantly cheaper to drive and pay for parking then to buy a single train ticket.