“That is Unbelievable”: Traveler Calls Out Amtrak’s ‘Insane’ Prices—Claims Uber Black and Delta Airlines are Cheaper

A traveler called out Amtrak’s apparently “insane” prices to get from one point to another. She claimed that even with the combined price of an Uber Black and a Delta airline ticket, it would be far cheaper.

She shared her experience after attempting to book tickets from DC to New York for Thanksgiving in November. @hannahstudent sparked a buzz on the internet after highlighting the ‘out of control’ costs of train tickets from Amtrak.

Now, she claimed to live in Washington, D.C., and wanted to go to New York to celebrate Thanksgiving, which is four months away. Considering it’s the holiday season, she did anticipate a higher-than-usual price.

But since the trip was four months away, she thought it still wouldn’t be as expensive. She was surprised to find that for a regular economy ticket, she’d have to pay $600 (or more). 

She even checked flight tickets on Delta Air Lines and found that it was far less: $270. Reflecting on the price difference, she said, “I could take Uber Black in New York to and from the airport; that, coupled with my Delta ticket, would still be cheaper than taking the train.” 

Although she loves trains and had high regard for Amtrak, she said, “ That is unbelievable…It is over $600 to take the train and less than half of that to fly.”

In conclusion to her remarks, the woman urged Amtrak representatives to look into these high costs. Her insights have been viewed nearly 350,000 times on TikTok. 

Traveler Called Out Amtrak's Holiday Prices — X Users Agreed

@WallStreetApes frequently discusses the rising prices for Amtrak travel. The verified X user noted that many others have addressed this traveler’s concern. The account may have an answer about why the costs might be that high.

First, they answered one big question that could directly affect cost: is it a private or a public company? According to the X account’s findings, Amtrak is a public company that is controlled by the U.S. government, including President Donald Trump. 

Moreover, they’re a “for-profit” company funded by taxpayer money. And according to the X user’s findings, they get $2.4 billion in funds from taxes.

The narrator from the video explained that taxpayers have been paying a public company billions in taxes. Only for them to “turn around” and charge extensively during the holidays. 

Some believe that the woman from the TikTok video might have checked tickets for First Class. They flooded the comments section of the X post with screenshots of ticket prices in coach, albeit with different destinations and dates. 

However, the woman from the video was clear that she only inquired about Coach tickets. Many other travellers have continued to share their insights about Amtrak being allegedly overpriced.

This article is based on a video shared by @hannahstudent on TikTok and reshared by @WallStreetApes on X. The Daily Dot could not independently verify the ticket prices shown or the Amtrak funding figures cited. Amtrak did not respond to a request for comment. The corporate structure information attributed to @WallStreetApes was not independently verified.