Rail - Capitaine Train

I have my brother Ken to thank for alerting me to a new rail booking website for Europe.

Called "Capitaine Train", it's based in Paris, and is a one-stop shop for buying tickets from some of the biggest passenger rail systems in Europe.  As of now, they sell tickets on Eurostar (the "Chunnel" trains between London, Paris, and Brussels), SNCF (French National Railroads), DB (Deutsche Bahn - German Federal Railroads), three other lesser known systems (Thalys, Lyria, and Thello), and even a few bus lines.

It's easy to use.  You don't have to get accustomed to the idiosyncrasies of each railroad's proprietary website, yet you still have access to all of their lowest rail fares.  What's more, there are no booking fees (they earn commissions from the sale of the tickets), and they have real, live people at the other end of the email pipeline when questions arise.

My brother used it to buy tickets for travel in France and thought it was great.  Testimonials by others echo that.  You can create a unique account for use on Capitaine Train, or you can simply sign in using your Facebook credentials.

Heading to Europe and planning to use the trains?  Click on over to Capitaine Train.  (Select the U.K. flag to get the English version - the default is French.)

By the way, Americans have been conditioned to buy various flavors of rail passes for travel in Europe but unless you intend to do a lot of moving around by train, simply buying point-to-point one-way or round-trip tickets will probably be a better value and simpler.

Travel - 10 hours, 3 buses, 1 train

As a rule I don't go out of my way to ride a bus.  Nothing against them, but they just don't move me in quite the same way that trains do.

With that said, I was intrigued when I read not long ago that Megabus had come back to California.  They dipped their toe in the water here in 2007-2008 and then withdrew, but reentered the market in late 2012.  The British company has been successful on the East Coast and elsewhere in the U.S. so I wanted to see how it worked from a passenger's perspective as well as compare it with Amtrak's Capitol Corridor service which I've used many times.

The closest route to where I live in Chico is the one between Sacramento and San Francisco.  Flipping back and forth between Megabus schedules and Amtrak schedules I put together an itinerary that, if everything worked as planned, would get me from Chico to San Francisco and back, in about 10 hours.  (And qualify me for being institutionalized, some people may think.)

Guess what?  The tight schedule I planned worked well.  I'll summarize the journey below, and if you want more details please continue reading past the summary.

Bus - Amtrak 3714 - Chico to Sacramento
leave 7:50 am - arrive 9:55 am

Bus - Megabus - Sacramento to San Francisco
leave 10:50 am - arrive 12:45 pm

(BART from San Francisco to Richmond)

Rail - Amtrak 532 - Richmond to Sacramento
leave 1:47 pm - arrive 3:28 pm

Bus - Amtrak 3713 - Sacramento to Chico
leave 3:40 pm - arrive 5:35 pm


Now for the details.  Read on if you dare.


Chico to Sacramento: (Amtrak bus 3714)
price: $25
schedule: lv 7:50 am / ar 9:55 am
actual operation: on-time departure / early arrival at 9:36 am

I've taken Amtrak buses so often between Chico and Sacramento that there isn't a lot for me to learn, but one novelty for me was that this was the first time I had ridden since Amtrak introduced its form of e-ticketing which is used now on all of the Amtrak bus routes in California.  It isn't paperless, however.

Interior of an Amtrak bus

You do need to have an itinerary with barcode, either printed on your own printer or printed at a staffed Amtrak station or an unstaffed one with a Quik-Trak machine.  
Chico is neither staffed nor does it have a Quik-Trak machine, but since I bought my ticket at Amtrak.com I printed the itinerary with barcode at home.  The barcode can also be displayed on a smartphone or tablet using the Amtrak app.  The bus driver scanned the barcode quickly and I hopped on the bus for a pleasant and uneventful ride.  (The bus stops in Oroville and Marysville to pick up passengers.)

Sacramento to San Francisco: (Megabus)
price: $6.65
schedule: lv 10:50 am / ar 12:45 pm
actual operation: left at 10:55 am / early arrival at 12:31 pm

Megabus stop on Front Street in Old Sacramento

That is not a misprint.  I paid $6 to get from Sacramento to San Francisco.  If I'd bought it two days in advance it was only $5, and Megabus promises to sell at least a couple of tickets on each bus for a buck!  Megabus competes with Amtrak and other bus operators in California and especially on the east coast, but they also compete with the car.  There is no way one person or even a couple of people can get from Sacramento to San Francisco for $6 per person including gas and bridge tolls.    The reason for the extra 65 cents is that there is a 50 cent booking fee for every transaction, and I opted to pay an additional 15 cents for a text-message notification in case of delays.

All bookings are made online; passengers provide their booking numbers to the bus driver who checks them against a manifest of reservations.  It worked smoothly for me.  The bus driver also stows the one piece of allowed luggage per person after verifying the reservation.

Megabus saves money by not having any terminal that it calls its own.  In some cities it uses bus bays at a transit terminal while in others (including Sacramento and San Francisco) they stop at a curbside location.  In Sacramento Megabus picks up and drops off on Front Street in Old Sacramento (about two blocks south of the railroad museum) and in San Francisco in front of the Caltrain Station at Fourth and Townsend.

Megabus - upper level

The trip from Sacramento to the city went well.  The ride quality of the double-decker bus was smooth, and the driver was excellent.  She drove at a remarkably consistent speed, seldom changing lanes while remaining mostly in one of the middle lanes.  Since this was a midday ride, there was little in the way of traffic slowdowns.  But being on the highway, it would be subject to the same delays that a driver would be with the exception that Megabus can use the carpool lanes between Pinole and the 80/580/880 "Maze", and skip the Bay Bridge toll plaza with the bus-only lanes.

For the better view and airy open feeling, I sat on the upper level, which is reached by a rather steep stairway.  The lower level has less seating than the upper level but is also the location of the restroom.  The toilet is the standard bus toilet (think porta-potty) without a flush system or running water for hand washing.  However it was clean, and offered hand sanitizer.

Megabus - lower level

Megabus advertises free wifi and power plugs.  My laptop detected the strong signal and connected, though I never was actually able to get to the internet.  I seldom have trouble connecting to wifi, so I wonder if it was just a one-time problem on that bus.  It was not a big deal, as I was more interested in enjoying the ride.

In San Francisco the bus drops and picks up passengers in front of the Caltrain station on Fourth Street.  Depending on your ultimate destination, this would either be ideal or so-so.

Megabus stop at Caltrain station in San Francisco

It would be ideal if you were headed down the Peninsula to places such as San Mateo, Redwood City, Palo Alto, Mountain View, San Jose, etc.  You can walk about 100 feet and get on one of the frequent trains that Caltrain operates.

On the other hand if you need to get to downtown San Francisco you need to either get a taxi, or take Muni.  The N or T light-rai lines from the Caltrain station will get you to Market Street stops starting with Embarcadero, and several bus lines can get you quickly to Market at Third Street, and beyond.

All in all, I'd say my Megabus experience was quite positive and a flat-out bargain.  I think they have a product that could catch on especially for short and medium length distances.  In a little bit I'll compare it with Amtrak Capitol Corridor service.

South Park neighborhood - San Francisco

My schedule calculations for making this work (without getting back at a late hour in Chico) required that I get myself to the Montgomery Street BART station to make a train that would get me to Richmond in time to connect with a Capitol Corridor train at 1:47 pm.  (BART and Amtrak in essence operate out of the same station in Richmond.  Get off BART, go downstairs, pass through the fare-gates, then go up to the Amtrak platform.)

Because Megabus was early I thought I'd walk instead of taking Muni to Market Street.  I didn't know how close I was cutting it!

Montgomery Street BART

It's not that short a distance, and I took a little bit of the scenic route detouring via the picturesque South Park neighborhood and snapping a picture of a brewpub (21st Amendment) for friends who like that joint.  I got to Montgomery Street BART at 1:00 pm, got the slightly late (thank goodness) Richmond train at 1:05 pm (scheduled for 1:01 pm) and got to Richmond five minutes before Amtrak 532.  Train 532 was on-the-dot at 1:47 pm.  If I'd missed that train, my ultimate arrival in Chico would have been 3 hours later than it was.


Richmond to Sacramento: (Amtrak 532)
price: $26.00
schedule: lv 1:47 pm / ar 3:28 pm
actual operation: on-time departure / early arrival at 3:12 pm

Interior of an Amtrak Capitol train

I've been on these trains often and know the drill well, but as with the Amtrak bus out of Chico it was the first time I'd used Amtrak's e-ticketing system.  The friendly female conductor scanned the barcode and it was done.  Being as the system is still fairly new, I'm sure that problems arise, but from my limited and rather elementary experience it seemed to work well.  As a travel agent, I know it will be useful when Amtrak expands e-ticketing to travel agents.  Amtrak reservations made and ticketed by travel agents through their GDS (global distribution systems) continue to be paper tickets.  Some Amtrak issued tickets with special circumstances remain paper for the time being.

New platforms in Sacramento

The train made the usual stops in Martinez, Suisun-Fairfield, and Davis, before pulling into Sacramento about 15 minutes early.  It was a pleasant, unremarkable trip, which they usually are.  Anytime you can get between the Bay Area and Sacramento and not be in a car it's pleasant.

As part of the massive (and not yet completely planned out) railyards project in Sacramento, brand new platforms and below-ground walkways have been built for Amtrak.  They are so much better than the old ones, however there is a considerably longer walk to the station than before.  Still the new platforms are bright and clean, and the underground walkways spacious and user-friendly.

Sacramento to Chico: (Amtrak bus 3713)
price: $25.00
schedule: lv 3:40 pm / ar 5:35 pm
actual operation: left at 4:03 pm / late arrival at 5:50 pm

Back in Chico ten hours after I left

This was the only leg of the trip that ran slightly late.  In its defense, the bus in fact operates from Stockton to Sacramento (and then on to Chico), and it serves to connect passengers from the northbound San Joaquin train 713.  That train was 22 minutes late into Stockton so the bus was delayed in its departure for Sacramento.  As with the morning's southbound ride, the bus was clean, comfortable, and the driver very competent.

As a final note, it's clear from this ride and the many others that I've taken that Chico is by far the most important stop on the Sacramento-Redding bus.  Except for a few that got off in Oroville, and one staying on for Red Bluff or Redding, all other passengers disembarked in Chico.


Comparing Amtrak's Capitol Corridor with Megabus

Price: Hands down it's Megabus.  Amtrak's not even close.
Frequency: Right now Amtrak's the winner with 15 trains weekdays between Sacramento and Emeryville (bus connections to SF) and Oakland.  (7 of these trains continue to/from San Jose.)  Megabus operates 4 buses each way between Sacramento and San Francisco.
Comfort: Amtrak seats are considerably bigger and there is more legroom, though Megabus is good.
Ride quality: Amtrak has a slight edge in smoothness. 
Speed: Megabus schedules are 1:55 to 2 hours.  Amtrak (with the bus connection from Emeryville) is 2:05 to 2:20.
Amenities: Amtrak is the clear winner here, since you can walk around the train, there is a well-stocked snack bar, and the bathrooms are far superior.  (The accessible bathroom is huge, and the toilets are flush toilets and there is running water.)  In my one experience with wifi on Megabus, it didn't work (and Amtrak's worked surprisingly well) but I'd have to give Megabus another chance on that.  Amtrak will likely remain more attractive to the many business people who commute on the train because of the higher level of amenities.
Other factors: A nice feature of Megabus is that there are no stops between Sacramento and San Francisco.  If you use Amtrak to Richmond (and then BART to the city), you will make 3 intermediate stops.  If you take Amtrak to Emeryville you'll have 5 intermediate stops, plus the Amtrak bus over the Bay Bridge.  On the other hand, Megabus is subject to the same traffic jams that drivers are (except for being able to use carpool lanes), while trains obviously don't have to deal with that.
Conclusion: I'm a train guy and I'm inclined to use the train, but I really thought Megabus has a good product and I'd love to see them expand their system.  I would definitely ride them again.  Isolated Chico where I live, would be a great market to add, particularly with its large population of college students.  Megabus already serves Reno and Sparks from Sacramento.  How about adding some one-stop buses that operate Chico-Sacramento-San Francisco?  I think Amtrak will remain the non-automobile mode of choice for the many business people that commute by train between the Bay Area and Sacramento, but Megabus may become the preferred choice for students and others on a tight budget, and even more so if they add additional destinations.

Useful links and info:
- Megabus
- Amtrak's Capitol Corridor

As of the writing of this post (March 2013) Megabus operates in the following markets in California and Nevada:
- San Francisco-Sacramento-Reno-Sparks
- San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose-Los Angeles
- Los Angeles/Riverside-Las Vegas
 

Rail - The Man in Seat 61 (my go-to website)

For most of the people I know, I am the guy to ask when it comes to questions about Amtrak, having worked there as an employee and as a consultant, as well as being celebrated/notorious/ridiculed (pick your adjective of choice) for being fond of trains.

Though my knowledge of Amtrak does not translate to in-depth knowledge about other railroads in the world, I still get questions from friends and clients about trains outside of the U.S. (especially in Europe), which, except for some general knowledge, I seldom can answer.

So where do I recommend that people go to do their research?

Always to The Man in Seat 61!

The Man in Seat 61 (henceforth simply called Seat 61 - the URL is seat61.com) is simply the most comprehensive compendium of rail travel information I've ever seen.  What makes it valuable is that it is aimed at ordinary travelers, not folks that are already train-crazy.  It's been years since I first ran across it.  For anyone who is train-crazy, or has tendencies that way, it is a dangerous place to drop in - kind of like quicksand that you don't really want to get out of.

For example, as I began writing this post and was looking at Seat 61, I got trapped looking at information there about riding trains in Cuba and North Korea.  Yes, it gets that esoteric.

Recently a friend asked me for information about buying tickets for travel from Budapest to Prague.  I checked Seat 61, and as I hoped and expected, there was detailed information about that very subject.

Seat 61 began in 2001 as a personal project by Mark Smith, a train-loving Brit.  But Seat 61 grew and grew, and eventually he left his day job in the U.K. Department of Transport to devote himself full-time to Seat 61.  (Seat 61's origin reminds me a little of imdb.com.  imdb.com was created in the late 1990s by Col Needham a British movie fan.)  Seat 61 does not charge for access, but makes money selling advertising, so click on a few links while you're there.  Over the years, Seat 61 has garnered many "best travel website" accolades, and most deservedly so.

Many Americans (and American travel agents) use Rail Europe to book train travel in Europe.  (Rail Europe is jointly owned by SCNF [the French railroad] and SBB [the Swiss railroad].)  Nothing wrong with that as they make it easy to buy both passes and point-to-point tickets from the U.S. and Canada.  But they do not offer access to most of the bargain rail fares that you can buy in many instances on the websites of the individual national rail operators in Europe, and the price differences can be astounding!

For example, on a trip to Germany in 2008, I booked point-to-point tickets from Munich to Leipzig, and then on to Berlin on the German railroad website for far less than it would have cost via Rail Europe.  (Keep in mind that Seat 61 is not a travel booking site.  Rather it supplies the information and provides links to websites where you can buy rail tickets.)

But it's not just about getting deals on rail tickets.  Because Seat 61 was created by a rail travel enthusiast, you get the deep drill-down into many useful subjects that you won't necessary find even by looking at the individual railroad websites.  For example, take a look at this information about how to get from one station to another in Paris using the Metro.  Or how about this page with details on using trains and ferries to get from the U.K. to the channel islands of Jersey and Guernsey?

An interesting feature of Seat 61 is providing ways to get from Point A (usually in the U.K.) to Point B (on the continent of Europe or beyond) by means that do not involve flying.  That might include combinations of train, ferries, ships, buses, etc.  Check out this page with detailed plans to get you from the U.K. to Malta, the island in the Mediterranean between Sicily and Libya.

While the sharpest focus of Seat 61 is on rail travel in Europe, it includes trains worldwide.  Mark Smith covers what I know best - Amtrak - in excellent detail, and I would highly recommend his chapter about Amtrak to anyone.

Rather than go on and on about Seat 61, I invite you to look for yourself.  But I caution that you, too, might get pleasantly trapped on the site daydreaming about the train rides you could take.

Rail - A ride up the coast and back in time

The South Coast Railroad Museum (in Goleta, adjacent to Santa Barbara) is sponsoring an excursion on Saturday, 19 January 2013, from Santa Barbara to San Luis Obispo and back.

They are chartering two restored classic passenger club lounge cars which will be attached to regular Amtrak runs between Santa Barbara (SBA) and San Luis Obispo (SLO).  The train leaves SBA at 10:22 a.m., arrives in SLO at 1:00 p.m., and then leaves less than an hour later to return to SBA at 4:32 p.m.  (Passengers may also board and detrain in Goleta.)

The two cars are the Overland Trail (from Southern Pacific's Overland) and the Acoma (from the Santa Fe's Super Chief).  As I write this it appears that seats on the Acoma are sold out, but space remains on the Overland Trail, though it no doubt will sell out soon, too.

The cost of the excursion is noteworthy for its reasonable price: $79-86 roundtrip depending on which of the cars you book.  (The regular round-trip fare on Amtrak is only slightly less.)

Amtrak photo of Coast Starlight along the coast

The South Coast Railroad Museum operates this type of excursion often under the Central Coast Flyer name; two more are on tap for 16 February ("Sweetheart Special") and 23 March.  Check out their website for future trips if you would like to coordinate a trip to the area in conjunction with one of these excursions.  They also operate the Santa Barbara Vino Train, a round-trip day excursion from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara using the Overland Trail.

In case you are not aware, it is this portion of the route between Los Angeles and Seattle that puts the "Coast" in Amtrak's Coast Starlight.  From Santa Barbara to Grover Beach, most of the trackage is in sight of the ocean and includes beautiful vistas you'll never see otherwise, because U.S. 101 runs inland.  It's considered one of most scenic train rides in the world.

Useful links:
- Trains Magazine post about the excursion

Amtrak Service and Fares - # 16 - Fares, sleeping accommodations

How Amtrak prices sleeping accommodations is similar in one respect to how it prices business class and first class: it involves a supplemental charge above the coach fare, also called the rail fare.  But beyond that, it is substantially different.  Not particularly complicated - in fact, in some ways simpler - but different.

What you learned about pricing for premium seats (business class, first class) is that that the price and inventory of the premium seat is directly tied to the availability of the corresponding inventory (or "bucket") of coach seat.  For example, for the lowest priced business class seat (JD) between Seattle and Portland to be available on a given train, a YD seat would also need to be available.  If there were only full fare (Y) coach seats available (or no coach seats available whatsoever), any available business class seats would have to be sold at the highest level: JY.

For sleeping accommodations it is simpler.  When a passenger occupies a sleeping accommodation, the underlying rail (coach) fare is always charged at the lowest possible level regardless of whether the lowest priced coach inventory is available or not.

Getting more detailed, the lowest rail fare is normally booked in the YD inventory with a fare basis usually of DOF1.  But it doesn't matter whether YD seats are available or not when any kind of sleeping accommodation is booked; Amtrak's Arrow system automatically applies the lowest rail fare and then adds on the additional accommodation charge for the room.  (If these references to YD and DOF1 don't make sense, then you did not read or don't remember chapter 12 about fares for reserved coach.)

To draw the starkest example, a train could be completely sold out of all coach seats, yet if a sleeping accommodation were booked on the same train, then the coach rail fare applied to the reservation would be at the lowest DOF1 level.

Lest you think this is too easy, what Amtrak does do with sleeping accommodations is similar to what they do with reserved coach fare inventory: they have five different levels that are yield-managed based on historic and forecasted demand.  That means that the cost of the add-on accommodation charge for the room could be at any one of five prices, depending on availability.

Let's take a look at a fare display from Santa Barbara (SBA) to Seattle (SEA) for 3 May to see the five different levels of accommodation charges for each of the four different types of rooms, as well as the coach rail fares.  Note that sleeping car accommodations charges are not seasonal.  The same rates that apply in May would apply in September, December, and so on, however the availability of the lower prices may be scarce or nonexistent in high demand periods.

Starting from the top of the display, on each horizontal line is the range of accommodation charges for each type of room.

The first line shows ES/EA/EB/EC/ED.  These are the five levels - highest to lowest - for the roomette accommodation.

The second line shows DS/DA/DB/DC/DD.  These are for the bedroom acccommodation.

The third line shows HS/HA/HB/HC/HD. These are for the accessible bedroom.

The fourth line shows FS/FA/FB/FC/FD.  These are for the family bedroom.

Here's a long side note about the codes and the names for the rooms.  Up until a few years ago, the roomette was called an economy room (E), the bedroom was called a deluxe room (D) and the accessible room was called a handicapped room (H).  The nomenclature changed, but the codes for the rooms remained the same.  The family room name remained the same, so the code starting with an "F" still makes sense.

Roomette and bedroom are terms that long predate Amtrak as names for Pullman accommodations roughly of the same type as these on Amtrak. When Amtrak introduced Superliner sleepers in the late 1970s, it used "economy bedroom" and "deluxe bedroom" to differentiate them from the roomettes and bedrooms that were still in use on the hand-me-down sleeping cars that Amtrak received at its creation from the railroads. This equipment has all been retired, so Amtrak can go back to using the original terms of roomette and bedroom since confusion is no longer possible.

OK, lets look at the hierarchy of five price levels for the roomette starting with the lowest priced level of "ED".  The application is the same for all of the four different room types.

ED - $227
EC - $295
EB - $362
EA - $430
ES - $497

Remember that the lowest available inventory for the room - in this case a roomette - is added on to the lowest rail (coach) fare, regardless if the lowest coach fare is available.

Look back at the fare display and you'll see the lowest rail (coach) fare is the DOF1 at $106.  If you booked a sleeper from Santa Barbara to Seattle, you would never pay more than $106 for the rail fare.  However the additional amount you would pay for the room, is subject to the lowest available inventory for the sleeping accommodation you desire.

Just for example then, if you wanted to travel in a roomette accommodation you would pay anywhere from $227 (ED) up to $497 (ES) on top of the lowest coach rail fare of $106.  The latter amount does not change; you would always pay the lowest coach rail fare regardless of whether the applicable coach seats are available.  (If that is confusing then just think of it this way: customers pay a handsome supplement to occupy a sleeping accommodation, so Amtrak gives them a break by always giving them the lowest coach rail fare.)

OK, let's turn our attention to the availability, because that will determine what you will actually pay.

Here's an availability display for 3 May from Santa Barbara to Seattle just for sleeping accommodations.  (Note: that the accessible bedroom accommodations HS/HA/HB/HC/HD are not visible - these can only be booked over the phone with an Amtrak call center agent or in person at an Amtrak ticket counter.)

Because you want a roomette we're looking at the availability of the E-type of inventory codes.  Remember that the hierarchy, high to low, is ES-EA-EB-EC-ED.

ED, the lowest cost accommodation add-on for the roomette at $227 shows "ED0", meaning that it's sold out.  However the next lowest inventory, the EC at $295, reads as "EC2", meaning that there are 2 available.  Higher priced inventories - EB, EA, and ES - all show even more rooms available.

We go ahead and sell one EC.  For the heck of it, since Mitt Romney (and most other Republican politicians) professes hatred toward Amtrak, we're going to put Mitt's name on the reservation.  Seems like a nice train ride couldn't make his sour disposition any worse than it already is.

Here's what the reservation looks like in Sabre, which is almost identical to how it looks in Amtrak's Arrow system:

See how it prices? It automatically applied the DOF1 rail fare of $106, plus the EC add-on for the roomette of $295 for a total of $401.

If you're with me this far, then you may also find this aside interesting.

Amtrak instantly assigns the room and car when the room is sold.  After the arrival time and date ("845P04MAY") you see "EC014 1431".  That means Mitt is in room 14 in car 1431.  Sleeping cars are always numbered starting with 30.  The train number, in this case 14, plus the car number, so he's in car 1431.  Car 1430 is closest to the diner (or in the case of the Coast Starlight, the Pacific Parlour Lounge), car 1431 would be two cars away, and 1432 would be three cars away.

Arrow automatically assigns sleepers at the time of sale, based on a goodness factor similar to how cruise lines automatically assign cabins.  Customers using Amtrak.com and travel agents using their own industry systems do not have a way to book a specific room or car.  Amtrak call center agents and ticket agents also normally just sell the room and let Arrow assign it, but they have the ability to request a specific room in the unusual instances where a customer asks.

All rooms on Amtrak will accommodate at least two people, and one of the best things about how Amtrak prices sleeping accommodations is that a second person traveling only has to pay an additional coach rail fare.  The sleeping accommodation charge remains the same, so in essence two people traveling split the cost of the sleeper add-on.  That means that two people have their meals included in the cost of the ticket even though the add-on cost for the accommodation does not change if two people are in the room.

Since Mitt Romney has clearly become great pals with Rick Santorum over the course of the entertaining Republican primary, let's look at this same example with two people, Mitt and Rick sharing.  (Just imagine how much fun they would have spending 28 hours together in a small room.)  Notice how the rail fare doubled to $212 ($106 x 2), but the accommodation charge remained the same at $295.

One more modification of this example is called for to illustrate another point.  In Chapter 12, I touched on passenger type discounts for coach rail fares.  These also apply to the underlying rail fare when passengers are occuping sleeping accommodations.

Passenger type discounts almost never apply to the actual add-ons for sleepers.  (Once in the bluest of blue moons, there will be some kind of short-term promotion that does offer a passenger type discount on sleepers, but it is very rare.)  But passenger type discounts always apply to the coach rail fare that sleeping car passengers also pay.

As of the writing of this post, Romney is 65 and Santorum is 53.  That means that Romney is entitled to Amtrak's 15% senior discount and Santorum does not - one has to be 62 to get the discount.

Here's what the same reservation looks like priced as one senior and one regular adult.

The DOF1 rail fare of $106 less 15% for Romney is $90.10, plus the full $106 for Santorum equals $196.10, plus the one-time accommodations charge of $295 for the roomette (not discounted by passenger type) produces a grand total of $491.10.

Let's look at one last example that consists of a family of four - 2 adults and 2 children (ages 2-15) - occupying the family bedroom.

Below you see a reservation from Portland, Ore. to Chicago on 13 August.  The FS (family bedroom, full undiscounted inventory level, $1255) is occupied by the Obama family.  Barack and Michelle are each paying the full adult DOF1 fare ($159 each), plus Malia and Sacha are paying the child's half fare ($79.50 each).  The total rail fare comes to $477, plus the accommodation charge of $1255, for a grand total of $1732.

A final note about pricing sleeping accommodations.

At one time Amtrak followed the policies  originally set by the railroads requiring a minimum number of railfares in order to occupy a sleeping accommodation.  Amtrak no longer does that.  In theory one person could occupy the family bedroom and pay only one coach rail fare plus the accommodation charge, but it wouldn't make a lot of sense since a roomette would be less expensive and a bedroom would offer more amenities.

Amtrak Service and Fares - navigational links
Backward to # 15 - Fares, first class (Acela Express)
Forward to # 17 - Fares, passenger type discounts
Introduction

Amtrak Service and Fares - # 15 - Fares, first class (Acela Express)

Amtrak offers a true daytime first class service only on its Acela Express service in the Northeast Corridor.  Larger seats, a 2-and-1 seating configuration, complimentary beverages, and access to private lounges in major stations, are among the amenities provided when purchasing a first class seat.

The pricing system works exactly the same as it does for business class seats on non-Acela Express trains: a fixed accommodation charge for the service is added to the cost of the standard level of service on Acela Express (the standard or base level of service on Acela Express is business class) and linked directly to the availability of discounted inventories in business class.

Let's take a look using the example of a one way from Boston to New York on 30 December.  First, here's the fare display.

At the top beneath "one way accommodation charge" you see P at $76.00.  P represents first class, so the accommodation charge is $76 above the rail fare, or in this case, above the business class fare available

Below that appear the five different levels for business class on Acela Express, starting with $101 (DOAE) booked in KD inventory,  all of the way up to $168 booked in K inventory.  The $76 accommodation charge will be added to one of these fares, depending on the inventory available to sell.  Available inventory of the five first class inventory codes matches their corresponding inventory codes in business class.

Now lets look at Acela Express availability on the 30th.

First class availability

Business class availability

The five first class inventory codes mimic the hierarchy of business class.  PD (KD), PC (KC), PB (KB), PA (KA), and finally P (K) for the full fare.

Let's determine the price for a couple of these.

The first train, # 2155 at 7:15 a.m., has PD seats available (because KD is available) so a first class seat on this train would cost a total of $177: the DOAE fare of $101 plus the $76 accommodation charge for first class.

The third train, # 2163 at 11:15 a.m., has 5 PD seats available (because there are 5 KD seats available) and would also cost $177.

The fourth train, # 2167 at 1:15 p.m., only has P seats available (because all of the lower cost inventories for business class are sold out) so a first class seat on this train would cost a total of $244: the KOAE fare of $168 plus the $76 accommodation charge for first class.

The fifth train, # 2171 at 3:15 p.m., has 2 PA seats available (because there are 2 KA seats available).  The price for a first class ticket would be $227 (the AOAE fare of $151, plus the $76 accommodation charge for first class).

The traveler, Anita Test, chooses the 11:15 a.m. departure and this is what her reservation would look like:

And the same thing via Amtrak.com:

In the next chapter you'll see how Amtrak prices sleeping accommodations.  It is similar in some respects to the pricing for business class and first class, but with some very important differences.

Amtrak Service and Fares - navigational links
Backward to # 14 - Fares, business class (Acela Express)
Forward to # 16 - Fares, sleeping accommodations
Introduction

Rail - Another Coast Starlight detour over the Tehachapis

Union Pacific trackwork will result in another opportunity to make the rare trip over the Tehachapis. 

Starting on 1 February 2012 and running through 8 February, Amtrak's northbound Coast Starlight only, train 14, will operate from Los Angeles (LAX) to Oakland (OKJ) over the Tehachapis route.  Departure time is 10:25 am and arrival is 9:32 pm.  (Southbound train 11 will not detour from its normal route.)

Though it will go through Bakersfield, it will not make any passenger stops anywhere between Los Angeles and Oakland.  While I don't know this for certain, I would expect as in other recent detours, that it will operate over the ex-Southern Pacific line that largely parallels U.S. 99 and goes through the downtowns of all of the major valley towns.  (Amtrak's San Joaquin service operates over the BNSF ex-Santa Fe line instead.)

Additionally I would expect that this detour would use the Altamont Pass route to get access to Oakland since I can't imagine how else it could!  Too bad it will probably be dark by the time it reaches the area, as the line over the pass and then through Niles Canyon is very pretty.  This is track used now by the ACE commuter trains, and historically by the original Western Pacific California Zephyr.

Here's the post I wrote back in October '08 when I rode the detouring Coast Starlight.  That detour operated "nonstop" all of the way to Sacramento skipping the Bay Area altogether.

If you book yourself a trip on the train in the expectation that it will make the detour, you should to contact Amtrak a few days in advance to reconfirm, as track maintenance plans can change.

Amtrak Service and Fares - # 14 - Fares, business class (Acela Express)

On Amtrak's higher speed premium Acela Express service in the Northeast that links Boston, New York, Washington DC, and major intermediate cities, the minimum service available is business class.

Because of that, the pricing for business class on Acela Express is similar to that for reserved coach on other trains, with the main difference being that instead of the 4 fare levels and corresponding inventory codes/buckets, there are 5 fare levels and inventory codes on Acela Express business class.

Let's start by looking at a fare display from New York to Washington, DC, so you can see the hierarchy of fares.  This is for travel on 23 December, the day before Christmas Eve (Christmas Eve Eve, if you prefer).

Starting from the top, the lowest fare is $142, fare basis DOAE, booked KD inventory, followed by the COAE at $166 booked in KC inventory, then $190 (KB inventory), $213 (KA inventory), and finally the full fare KOAE at $237 (K inventory).  The ZOGE at $192 is also booked in K inventory but as the freeform information at right indicates, it is for government business travel.

So the hierarchy of inventory codes starts with KD at the lowest (like YD is lowest for reserved coach), then KC, then KB, then KA, and finally full-fare K.  And in the New York-Washington, DC market, the ladder of fares go from $142 (KD), to $166 (KC), to $190 (KB), to $213 (KA), to $237 (K), depending on what is the lowest price available on a given train.

Now we'll look at business class availability for Acela Express trains from New York to Washington, DC, on the 23 December starting at 1 p.m.

I've highlighted in red the lowest available inventory for each train.  None of the trains have KD available.  Four of the six shown have KC ($166).  The 3:00 p.m. train only has KB ($190), and the 4:00 p.m. departure (train 2165) is down to only KA ($213).

Our make believe traveler, Keith Test, is willing to pay more to leave at 4 p.m. and here's what his reservation on that train would look like.

The same thing from the consumer side at Amtrak.com:

In the next chapter we'll look at how Amtrak prices first class service on Acela Express.

Hint: if you understood Chapter 13 about how the pricing worked for business class on trains other than Acela Express, then you'll easily understand how first class pricing on Acela works.

Amtrak Service and Fares - navigational links
Backward to # 13 - Fares, business class (non-Acela Express)
Forward to # 15 - Fares, first class (Acela Express)
Introduction

Amtrak Service and Fares - # 13 - Fares, business class (non-Acela Express)

In Chapter 10, I set forth some basic principles that apply to Amtrak fares.

Here are the ones that apply as we look at pricing for business class service on Amtrak.

• Each person pays a rail fare which entitles him or her to a coach seat 
• For service higher than coach (business class, first class on Acela Express, sleeping accommodations) an accommodation charge is added on top of the rail fare 
• Accommodation charges for upgraded seats (business class, first class on Acela Express) are charged per person and therefore per seat
• Rail fares can be discounted by passenger type (child, senior, and others)
• Accommodation charges are almost never discounted by passenger type

Amtrak offers business class service on many though not all short-distance corridor trains.  The features vary from train to train, but they can include (though not always) larger seats or seats with more pitch (space) between them, and amenities including snacks or beverages, and newspapers.  On the Cascades service in the Pacific Northwest seats are configured on a 2-and-1 basis instead instead of 2-and-2.  Because reserved business class service is in a separate car and requires payment of an additional charge, it often can mean the difference between a crowded and sometimes noisy train and a less crowded, quieter experience.

Business class is mostly offered on trains where coach service is reserved, but in Amtrak's second busiest market, the Pacific Surfliner in southern California, it is sold on trains where the coach service is unreserved.  We'll look at how pricing works in both instances.


Business class fares on trains where coach is sold as unreserved

In Chapter 11, you saw how the coach rail fare for unreserved travel typically is one of two levels:
- a fare that applies most dates, except on blackouts over peak holiday periods
- a higher fare that applies during those blackouts

The accommodation charge for business class is simply added to the rail fare that would apply for unreserved coach on the same train.

Using the example of travel from San Diego (SAN) to Los Angeles (LAX) on the 9th of January, let's begin with a fare display.

At the top of the display under "One way accommodation charge" appears "J"  at $15.00.  "J" represents business class service.  So this means that in addition to the coach rail fare, a passenger would pay an additional $15 one-way for a business class seat.

Below that, you see coach rail fares that you saw in Chapter 11 about pricing for unreserved coach travel.  The UOB1 for $36 with some blackout dates, and the UOF1 for $45 without any blackout dates.  Because 9 January is not a blackout date, the total fare for business class travel one way would be $51: $36 for the rail fare from SAN to LAX, plus $15 for the business class accommodation.

Here's how the business class availability would look for this trip requesting trains with an afternoon departure:

JU is the inventory code used for business class on trains in which coach is sold on an unreserved basis (U).  On all of the trains above, business class is available.  JU8 means that at 8 or more seats are available to sell.  (Note that even on trains where coach travel is sold as unreserved, business class is always sold on a reserved basis.  Your seat is not preassigned, but you are guaranteed a seat.  Once the seats are sold out, the inventory will show 0, whereas the U inventory for unreserved coach will always show 8, because Amtrak does not track the number of seats sold.)

So for one person traveling one JU seat is sold.  Here's what a reservation on train 785 (the departure at 4:05 p.m.) would look like for Joseph Test:

Notice how in the fare portion it shows the breakdown as "UOB1 RAIL FARE 36.00 ACCOM 15.00" for a total of $51.00.

When I worked for Amtrak training travel agents how to book Amtrak, one of the first questions I would get is whether they also needed to sell coach seats when booking business class or sleeping accommodations.  Universally the answer is "no".  Amtrak's system automatically prices in the coach fare, also called the rail fare.

In physical terms, think of it like this.  Passengers booked in business class or sleeping accommodations do not also get a seat in coach.  Paying the accommodation charge earns them an upgraded seat or sleeping accommodation, but does not entitle them to also occupy a coach seat.

Here's how this very same thing looks on the consumer side at Amtrak.com:

Business class fares on trains where coach is sold as reserved

On trains where coach service is sold on a reserved basis (inventory codes Y/YA/YB/YD), business class fares follow the same ladder from high to low, and the availability of business class inventories is chained to the corresponding coach inventories.

We'll use an example from Portland, Ore. to Seattle on 15 December.

Let's first look at the fare display.

J at the top of the display is the additional accommodation charge one way for business class travel: $16.  It is added to any one of the coach fares below, depending on the availability of coach inventory.

It's pretty simple, really.  In Chapter 12, you learned how reserved coach has four different levels, with the lowest priced being sold in the YD inventory, and then rising up the ladder to YB and YA and finally Y, the full-fare level.

Business class service on reserved trains is also sold in four different levels, JD (the lowest), followed by JB, then JA, and finally JY for the full-fare.  The inventory of each of the four levels of business class is directly linked to its corresponding coach inventory.  For JD to be available, YD must be available, for JB to be available, YB must be available, and so on.  (The only exception to this would be JY.  If all of the full fare coach seats -Y- were sold out, but business class were still available, you would see JY as being available.)

Now take a look at a 15 December Portland-Seattle availability display for coach travel followed by availability for business class.

Coach availability - Portland to Seattle, 15 December

Business class availability - Portland to Seattle, 15 December

Look at line 1 (train 500 at 8:30 a.m.) on the upper (coach) availability.  The lowest coach inventory available is YB, because the YD inventory is sold out.  Now look at line 1 on the bottom (business class) availability; the JB inventory is available.

Glance back up at the fare display and you see that the fare for the YB inventory is the BOF1 at $39.  Add the $16 accommodation charge for business class to that and the total price should be $55, right?

Here's how it would look as a reservation for Michelle Test:

And the same thing as a consumer would see it at Amtrak.com:

Now if booked instead in JA inventory on the 12:15 pm train, the price would be $60 ($44 + $16) or in JY inventory on the 2:50 p.m. train it would be $68 ($52 + $16).

Last of all, let's consider passenger type discounts and business class.  As a rule, passenger type discounts never apply to the accommodations charges for upgraded service such as business class or sleeping accommodations.  In fact, I have only one recollection of such a discount over the years, and to my knowledge none are in effect at this time.  But the same discounts that would apply for coach travel, can be applied to the underlying coach rail fare when traveling in business class.

For consistency's sake, let's imagine two people traveling on the same train between Portland and Seattle.

Two regular adults would pay a total of $110 ($55 x 2) as below for Rebecca and Michael Test.

Now let's imagine that both passengers are 62 or older (seniors), and thus entitled to the 15% senior discount on the coach rail fare.  Rail fare of $78 less 15% = $66.30, but the accommodation charge of $32 ($16 per person) remains the same, because it is not subject to a passenger type discount.  The total price is $98.30, as you see below.

Now imagine that Rebecca Test is a senior and Michael Test is a child.  The $39 fare is discounted by 15% ($33.15) for Rebecca, and 50% ($19.50) for Michael for a total rail fare of $52.65, but the $32 in accommodation charges is, of course, the same.  The total price should be $84.65.

Below you see the same as above, from the perspective of Amtrak.com:

Amtrak pricing is actually quite sensible.  Is it making sense to you?

In our next chapter - a short one - we'll look at business class pricing on Acela Express.

Amtrak Service and Fares - navigational links
Backward to # 12 - Fares, reserved coach
Forward to # 14 - Fares, business class (Acela Express)
Introduction