Washington woman sits down to book Amtrak’s coach ticket for Thankgiving. But ends making an ‘insane’ discovery: ‘It shouldn’t be’

The cost-of-living crunch has hit just about every facet of life in the U.S. A TikTok creator said she was planning a trip for the upcoming Thanksgiving from Washington, D.C., to New York in November. She intended to book an Amtrak ticket, but the “insane” fare ended up being so expensive that even a Delta flight plus an Uber Black ride from the airport would have cost less.

The creator, who goes by the username @hannahstudent, explained that she lives in Washington, D.C., while her family lives in New York, so she wanted to plan well in advance to make the journey easier. She also acknowledged that because she was booking holiday travel, she expected prices to be higher than usual.

However, Hannah assumed that booking four months in advance would still come with some savings. Instead, she was shocked to find that Amtrak was charging nearly $600 for an economy ticket. For her, that price was simply too high.

Amtrak costs twice as much as a Delta flight

She then checked Delta Air Lines fares and found a ticket for about $270—less than half the price of the train. 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.”

Hannah admitted that she loves traveling by train, but the fare was simply more than she was willing to pay. People in her comments shared similar experiences, saying they were equally surprised by some of Amtrak’s prices.

One user wrote, “I don’t understand the huge differences in prices at different times of the day that aren’t even really odd hours of the day. I recently had to book an Amtrak from NYC to Philly and leaving at 9 a.m. coming back at 10 p.m. was only like $60, but if I wanted to leave at 11 a.m. and come back at 7 p.m., suddenly it’s like $250.” Another added, “You have to book Northeast Regional Amtrak Thanksgiving train tickets in January or December when booking opens… I’m not even kidding. You can get $30 roundtrip when you book then.”

According to Amtrak, there are several reasons its fares often struggle to compete with the aviation industry. The biggest is federal funding.

There may be a $4.7 billion investment in Amtrak

The federal government heavily subsidizes aviation infrastructure and highways, while Amtrak has historically received far less consistent funding to maintain and expand its network. That has begun to change following a $4.7 billion federal investment for both the Northeast Corridor and the National Network.

Before that, Amtrak relied much more heavily on ticket revenue to cover operating costs and invest in its infrastructure. As a result, it often had to charge higher fares to sustain its services.

Many users in the TikTok comments wondered whether the U.S. rail network will ever reach the level of countries such as those in Europe or China. It appears lawmakers recognized that gap as well—and recent federal investments suggest they’re beginning to address it.