Amtrak from ST to NYC

Hey,
I'm looking for some intel regarding a train trip from ST to NYC.
I want to figure out if taking the train is actually a better call than just grabbing a bus.
According to the Amtrak site, a round-trip student fare for the ST-NYC-ST route comes out to about $77—which seems like a steal compared to the bus, especially since you can't even snag a student discount on most bus lines.

How reliable is the service—we talking frequent delays and stuff like that?—and how long does the ride to NYC actually take? Also, is it comfortable enough to sit through?
Thanks 🙂

If you look at the Amtrak website where you were checking ticket prices, it actually lists the travel duration right there 😁

As for everything else, the ride is comfortable; a train is always infinitely better than a bus.

Unfortunately, when dealing with Amtrak, not only is the schedule unreliable, but it’s honestly a miracle if they even arrive on time.

John Castillo7 said:If you look at the Amtrak site where you were checking ticket prices, it actually lists the duration of the trip right there.😁

Aside from that—the ride itself is comfortable. A train is always going to be way more comfortable than a bus.

The problem is, when you're dealing with Amtrak, the schedule isn't just unreliable—it's a miracle if they actually show up on time.

Yeah, I checked the price and it turns out it's about $6 cheaper than taking the bus. 😁
But this whole delay issue? That's a dealbreaker for me.

How bad can these delays get? Are we talking thirty minutes, an hour, or two full hours?

Most of the time, it shows up within about a half-hour window, but hey, you never know—sometimes it’ll be running two or even three hours behind schedule... though those crazy delays usually seem to hit way harder during the winter months.

Nicole Cook42 said:Most of the time it’s within a thirty-minute window, though—who knows—it could easily be delayed by two or three hours. Those longer delays usually happen more often during the winter months.

Yeah, I read somewhere that snow is usually the main culprit...
but a half-hour or an hour delay? That's pretty standard.

Are you actually calculating this, or just trolling? It seems like this is the biggest crisis of your entire life. Whether Amtrak is running five minutes late or two hours behind schedule, it’s clearly all you think about.

Angela Peterson83 said:What are you even calculating—is this just trolling? Honestly, it seems like this is the biggest crisis of your entire life. Like, if the train is late, does it matter if it’s five minutes or two hours?

So apparently there's zero difference between five minutes and two hours?
Just stop being difficult and get off the thread already.
People have given me perfectly reasonable answers and that's that.

Hey,
Can anyone give me the lowdown on train 523 leaving Chicago for St. Louis at 3:21 PM?
Are we talking sleeper cars here, or is it going to be packed? Also, does it involve any bus transfers mid-route?