14 replies to this topic

[nashscan]

For the Sunday Amtrak trip from CT to NY, amtrak.com is showing the standard fare is $37. Should I treat that as the go ahead and buy price?

[KevinKorell]

For the Sunday Amtrak trip from CT to NY, amtrak.com is showing the standard fare is $37. Should I treat that as the go ahead and buy price?

Yes that is the best you will do at this point. Of course you can get that fare for $33.30 at the NARP or AAA rate if you belong to either.

[BillMagee]

For the Sunday Amtrak trip from CT to NY, amtrak.com is showing the standard fare is $37. Should I treat that as the go ahead and buy price?

Yes that is the best you will do at this point. Of course you can get that fare for $33.30 at the NARP or AAA rate if you belong to either.

That is the 14 day advance purchase fare. Other discounts like AAA cannot be used with that fare.

[KevinKorell]

That is the 14 day advance purchase fare. Other discounts like AAA cannot be used with that fare.

Absolutely right, Bill. Next tier up is $49, which does allow a 10% discount bringing it to $44.10 .

Another thought is that those who don't wish to pay that much can also opt for taking Shore Line East and Metro North back to New York. It will take much longer. But it is the way all of us might be going if our Shore Line East train is more than 11 minutes late into New London. In that case we'd all have plenty of time while riding commuter trains back to New York to think about our E-vouchers for $37 or $44.10 .

[jacorbett70]

Another thought is that those who don't wish to pay that much can also opt for taking Shore Line East and Metro North back to New York. It will take much longer. But it is the way all of us might be going if our Shore Line East train is more than 11 minutes late into New London. In that case we'd all have plenty of time while riding commuter trains back to New York to think about our E-vouchers for $37 or $44.10 .

I was thinking of the possibility of bailing at Old Saybrook if really behind, but there is a risk of our e-tickets already being converted to e-vouchers by the time the train reaches OSB.

[KevinKorell]

Only one Amtrak segment is part of the official Fest, coming at the end of Sunday's activities to get back from New London to wherever people are headed, whether it's New York, New Jersey, or Philadelphia. I decided to split discussion of Amtrak to a new thread. We discussed on the Sunday Chat of December 15th that we have a tight connection between Shore Line East and Amtrak Train #163 at New London, and that the only way to get from one platform to the other is to cross at the grade crossing --- which could be blocked by the very train we're trying to make if we get there late. Bill said he may track performance of this train at New London, so this gives him the canvas to display his art. I don't think we will mind much if 163 ends up running a few minutes late that day, as the initial glance indicates such a pattern. Some of our participants will be using other Amtrak trains to get to and from the area.

[BillMagee]

The good news with Amtrak 163 is that it is a train that runs both Saturday and Sunday. The reason is that today, just one month prior to travel, Amtrak.com is still selling that weekend as a regular weekend. The new system timetable has been released, and the timetable shows the weekend with the usual Monday holiday modification - Saturday on a Saturday schedule, Sunday also on a Saturday schedule, and Monday (MLK Day) on a Sunday schedule (more or less). How Amtrak can produce a timetable with the correct trains shown and not realize the CRS has the wrong trains loaded? Plus, as we know from NERF, this is the second year running that they made this same mistake.

Heads up for anyone with Amtrak trips that weekend on Sunday or Monday. All Sunday trains will be rebooked into the Saturday schedule, and all Monday trains will be rebooked into the Sunday schedule.

[KevinKorell]

Heads up for anyone with Amtrak trips that weekend on Sunday or Monday. All Sunday trains will be rebooked into the Saturday schedule, and all Monday trains will be rebooked into the Sunday schedule.

That is, Amtrak trips on the Northeast Corridor. The long distance trains stay on their respective schedules, as most except the Cardinal, run every day anyhow. And the Cardinal that leaves New York on Sunday still leaves New York on Sunday.

It's simply inexcusable that Amtrak would not have the correct trains loaded in its inventory. One would think they would have learned from last year. For all we know, maybe this has been going on for years.

[BillMagee]

It's simply inexcusable that Amtrak would not have the correct trains loaded in its inventory. One would think they would have learned from last year. For all we know, maybe this has been going on for years.

I tickled someone I know at Amtrak about this, and they said they would pass the tickle along to the correct department. We'll see what happens. My two Sunday trains both operate Saturday and Sunday, so I should be OK no matter which way it goes.

[KevinKorell]

I tickled someone I know at Amtrak about this, and they said they would pass the tickle along to the correct department. We'll see what happens. My two Sunday trains both operate Saturday and Sunday, so I should be OK no matter which way it goes.

Well you let us know if they were ticklish.

It's not just the MLK holiday. Apparently the calendar for the entire year wasn't yet loaded. For kicks I tried a reservation for July 4th, a Friday in 2014, and it shows a regular weekday choice of trains. As long as one has the capability to make reservations 11 months in advance, then the system should "know" which days are designated as holidays as soon as those dates become available for advance booking.