Travel in Amtrak

Amtrak is bringing back — and expanding — its seasonal service between New York City and the Berkshires this summer, and has started selling tickets for the picturesque ride.

Jun 27, 2024 • 6 min read

In 2021, I traveled on Amtrak trains from NYC to Miami and back. The rides took about 30 hours each way, and I had a private cabin in a sleeper car on both journeys.

Flights at New York City-area airports were briefly disrupted following a minor earthquake on Friday that set Northeast residents on edge.

In October 2021, I spent 30 hours on an Amtrak train traveling from Miami to NYC. Since it was an overnight trip, I booked a bedroom accommodation for $1,000.

When traveling from NYC to Baltimore in 2022, I rode in first class on an Amtrak Acela train. 

For a 10-hour train ride from NYC to Niagara Falls, New York, in August 2022, I booked a business-class ticket on an Amtrak train for $168. It was $100 more than a coach ticket on the same ride. 

Amtrak is adding more trains to its schedule along the busy Northeast Corridor, owing to major strides in ridership after pandemic setbacks between 2020 and 2022.

Amtrak has expanded its Northeast Regional service to offer more travel choices along the U.S. East Coast. This enhancement includes the introduction of four extra weekday roundtrips and two new weekend roundtrips between New York Penn Station (NYP) and Washington Union Station (WAS), along with a fresh weekday morning departure from Philadelphia’s William H. Gray III 30th Street Station (PHL) to NYP. In addition, one new weekend departure now also connects PHL to Boston South Station (BOS). 

Rear-facing seats are debuting on Amtrak's key Northeast trains.

Amtrak announced a new flash sale to help travelers looking to book a rail trip save money on their adventure this spring.

Amtrak has begun using self-check in technology on a limited number of its Acela trains in the Northeast.The new process, which is accessed through the Amtrak app, allows passengers to validate their train tickets once onboard the train, The Points Guy reported.Using the app, a button displays that says “Check In” on trips where the new self check-in process is available for use.After selecting the “Check In” button on the Amtrak app, passengers will be required to scan a barcode located above their train seat in order to complete the new process.When the train’s conductor passes through a train car, they will be able to tell which passengers have already checked in and validated tickets on their own.The self check-in process became available on select Acela trains in the Northeast in December, per The Points Guy. Slowly it has expanded to additional Acela trains as well. An Amtrak spokesperson told The Points Guy that the new self check-in is being used on: "more — but not all — of our Acela trains.”

"Tickets, please," may become a thing of the past if Amtrak's newest initiative takes off.

Aria Lockhart boarded an Amtrak train around 3 a.m. out of Carbondale, Illinois, headed for Chicago on Sunday.

Amtrak has reached a milestone in the long path to get its new Acela trains onto the tracks of the Northeast Corridor.

In a step that airlines would likely never take, Amtrak bumped up certain riders who were close to reaching the next status level instead of making them reach it on their own.

Amtrak is helping travelers criss-cross the country for less by offering $50 off the purchase of a USA Rail Pass.

New Yorkers looking for quick winter getaways from the city are in luck: Amtrak is bringing back its popular buy-one-get-one-free sale, which offers free adult companion fares for midweek trips through February. The deal applies to full-fare adult coach tickets for trips within the Empire State on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays on the Adirondack, Empire Service, Ethan Allen, Maple Leaf and Associated Thruways lines, with the exception of 7000-8999 Thruway service.

Even when splurging on first-class upgrades, lounge access, or TSA Pre-Check, I don't know many people who would consider the airport environment particularly relaxing.

Amtrak is making it easier to travel around the Big Apple from the bustling streets of New York City to the soaring peaks of the Adirondacks, the thundering roar of Niagara Falls, and beyond with a buy-one-get-one ticket sale.

U.S. federal employees should rent electric vehicles and opt for rail trips when feasible on government travel to sharply reduce emissions, the White House said on Thursday.