Today I’m grandly announcing a new series: Getting There From Here (GTFH). Perhaps one of the most mystifying things for people accustomed to flying is making sense of Amtrak’s routes. The trains have different names, go to different places, and (sometimes) offer different levels of services. They all cost varying amounts at different times. You’re starting to panic.

Relax: I’m from the Internet and I’m here to help.

I’m starting this series with my favorite problem: getting from Chicago to the East Coast (Washington-New York-Boston). I make this trip about twice a year. There are four different ways of doing it, and I’ve done three of them:

  1. The Lake Shore Limited from Chicago to either New York (train 48/49) or Boston (train 448/449).
  2. The Capitol Limited from Chicago to Washington (train 29/30), and then a connecting Northeast Regional or Acela Express from Washington to New York, Boston and points in between.
  3. The same as #2, except switching to the Pennsylvanian (train 42/43/44) in Pittsburgh and continuing to New York.
  4. The Cardinal from Chicago to New York (train 50/51) via Washington.

In later posts I’ll break down the difference between these four options. For now I’m going to explain selection criteria, or what Donald Rumsfeld might have called “unknown unknowns.” Here’s how to pick a train.

Timing

Trains depart and arrive at different times. Amtrak also publishes an endpoint-to-endpoint travel time for each train. Some times use a more direct route and may be faster, but may also leave at less convenient times. Consider what works for your schedule, and when you’d like to be onboard.

Cost

Amtrak uses a pricing strategy similar to that of airlines. Prices fluctuate based on time of purchase and demand. Railfans refer to “buckets” of pricing, with the “low bucket” being the lowest available fare for a given train between two given cities and the “high bucket” the opposite. To get a sense of what a reasonable fare between two cities, try plugging in your desired route about 5-6 months out. In most cases that will give you the low bucket, or something close to it. Amtrak fares will rise noticeably in the last few weeks, particularly for long-distance trains. Don’t wait! You can always cancel and rebook at a lower price–up until the day before in coach, and a week before in sleeping accommodations.

On-board amenities

Over the last twenty years Amtrak has pushed to standardize its offerings across the system. Like a Hampton or a Holiday Inn, you’re going to get the same experience on most trains, with a few noteworthy exceptions which we don’t need to get into here. What’s most important is to recognize the character of the train and the classes of services it offers. See this guide for more information.

Scenery

You’re on a train. Unless it’s the Acela Express you aren’t doing it for the speed and you’ll spend a good deal of time looking out the window. Amtrak publishes route guides for many of its routes full of information about the sites along the route and things to watch out for. I’m slowly adding guides of my own under the “Route guides” heading based on my own observations.

Equipment

Okay, this one is really nerdy. Amtrak operates several different types of equipment. If you’re like me this is actually a consideration. If you’re not like me it’s not.