Amtrak Auto Train - way overpriced?

[RobertB]

Amtrak just sent me an email with a one-day deal to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Auto Train, currently only running on one route, and assumably on 25-year-old stock or older. I really like the idea of the Auto Train, and I keep saying it needs to be expanded to be a feature on any long-distance run. Maybe even OKC-FW, with car loading areas at Alliance Airport and somewhere around Norman.

So I figured I'd see what it costs. The deal is only good if you buy your tickets on Oct 25 for midweek trips in February, so I plugged in some midweek February dates (leave Tue Feb 3, return Wed Feb 11) to see what the baseline is for a cheap ticket. This would be for a family of 4, because Disneyworld isn't much fun by yourself.

It's $279 each way just for the humans, and another $383 for the car. That's a total ticket price of $854!

By comparison, it's a bit over 800 miles each way from one Amtrak terminal to the other. 1600 mile round trip. At 25mpg, that's 64 gallons of gas. At $4 a gallon, that's $256 bucks. Round trip.

To be fair, the food price would probably be the same... if you ate at Cracker Barrel every time. Except that on the train, you'll pay $5 for a hot dog.

Is I-95 so crowded that it would be worth paying $600 bucks to avoid it? I can't see how. I'd rather avoid I-95 by taking the side roads, and spending a few extra days camping out to let the kids stretch their legs. Of course, I'd be more likely to plan a trip to see the Okefenokee than to see Mickey, anyway.

[mjblazin]

When I lived in the Baltimore DC area (I believe the northern end of A Train is somewhere in VA), I thought its attraction was roll on near DC, roll out at Disneyworld. It's not the gas or food it eliminates as much as the hassle of a car full of children. It was for that comparable value that Amtrak set the price. I once looked at as an alternative way to Daytona Beach, leave work early and roll on the train enjoying a leisurely trip, and quickly decided only a family could think the prices worthwhile.

[electricron]

800 miles is a long ways to drive in one day.
At 60 mph, that's 13.3 hours. That's the little hand on a clock going more than once around. And that assumes you don't stop for gas, or make restroom stops along the way. With kids, you'll be stopping more often than not. You'll have to stop twice for gas, and at least once to eat. You lost another hour for them, and probably lose another for rest room stops along the way. So, now it's a 15.3 hour drive. You'll be dead tired when you arrive in Florida. You'll only be ready to hit the sack and get some sleep.

The nicest part of taking the auto train, is you get to rest and leave the driving to Amtrak, until you get there. You're well rested, and ready to hit the beaches when you arrive.

[JasonDallas]

I can't see why someone wouldn't rent a car when they got there instead of taking it with them. I rented a Trailblazer the other day from Love field for $13 a day. With depreciation it would have cost far more to drive my own car.

If gas prices keep going where they are head (under $3 at many locations around DFW) the equation leans even further toward the car over train. If we took our Camry there would be just one gas stop at 600miles into the trip there at our typical 32/33mpg highway... at $3/gallon that isn't too bad.

Jason

[Random Traffic Guy]

17 hours for Amtrak, and unlike the rest of the county, the easter routes are better performance, so looks like not much additional from the reports on the Amtrak Delays website. I like that schedule of riding through the night, that is a pretty useful thing. But spendy compared to driving. So just a balance of whether you value your time or money. Amtrak gets the kids out of your hair for a while, but driving allows side trips to interesting spots too.

[saxman66]

To be fair, the food price would probably be the same... if you ate at Cracker Barrel every time. Except that on the train, you'll pay $5 for a hot dog.

Also remember that all your meals are included on the Auto Train for every passenger in the dining car. Amtrak normally charges over $20 for a steak dinner, so thats a big expense to consider that you would get.