After a little playing around (prices vary per day of week & how many months in advance) I found $1049 (for a private room still), 81h, departs 20250417. Of course you could also tough it out in coach, in which case I found $198 (!), 85h, departs 20250418.
The northeast corridor sales they've been doing recently are quite something. I swung NYC to Boston for a mere $16 (usually 10x more, especially on the weekends - and the other way was $20). Even at that price my car had only 3 people left by the time we were in Rhode Island.
also, the luggage you can carry is significantly different than a plane.
- one personal item, 25 lbs. (12 kg) and 14 x 11 x 7 inches, and
- two carry-on items, 50 lbs. (23 kg) and 28 x 22 x 14 inches each
checked:
- 2 Bags Free - Up to 50 lbs. and 75 linear inches*
- 2 Additional Bags - $20 each
- Oversized Baggage (76-100 linear inches*) - $20 each
so ~ 300 lbs of luggage and the oversized stuff you can take is comprehensive. (bikes, ebikes, surfboards, skiis, musical instruments, golf clubs, guns, etc...)
That's the policy. The reality is more complicated, inconsistent, and unclear.
Checked baggage service in my experience is rare, and actually figuring out whether it is available is hard. It appears it isn't available on any NYP-ALB service, so unless you're starting from Albany, checked luggage would not work for this trip. It used to be available at some (maybe 10% or fewer) stations on the Pacific Surfliner route, but is 'suspended', so it appears it is now only available on very long distance routes. So if you have a connection, you likely won't be able to check baggage. If your connecting short route does offer checked baggage, you'll need to make sure your connection is at least two hours.
Carry-on items can be larger than on a plane and 50lbs, but the trains are poorly fitted to accommodate these, and you'll need to handle the luggage yourself. On the NYP-ALB trains in my experience, for example,
there is one luggage rack for large luggage, able to fit perhaps eight pieces at most, for an entire car; since it can be converted to a bike rack, if a single passenger checks a bike, all that storage goes away. There's sometimes space on the floor toward the ends of the car, and sometimes not, and using it is unclear. The remaining option is overhead, so you'll need to be comfortable lifting those 50 pound items above your head while surrounded by impatient people. Just to get them on the train, you'll also need to carry them up rather difficult steps, while surrounded by impatient people. You also need to keep in mind, while placing your luggage, that
different doors may be in use at different stations, so if your luggage happens to be in the wrong direction for the the flow of exiting passengers, you'll have a challenge getting to it at a short station stop.
Yep. People apparently took exception to my earlier comment but, however much baggage you can theoretically haul on-board free, good luck on most trains in the US and Europe hauling on all that free baggage allowance by yourself--which will often/typically be the case. Even in sleeper compartments, if you can't squeeze your bag into the low space under the bottom bulk, you're often going to be moving a bag aside so you can use the bathroom.
You may need to pay to check luggage on a plane but you can typically wheel it right up to the check-in counter and right out from baggage claim (to a cab).
When I took a ship into NY earlier this year, I decided to just pay to have the luggage shipped home given that I was taking Amtrak in a couple days. Big logistical win that was well worth the few hundred dollar cost. Trains are great in many cases but the ability to bring on huge amounts of luggage is not one of their advantages. (I didn't have a huge piece of luggage but it was wheeled and moderately heavy. Reasonable to pay so as not to deal with it.)
I've actually really been wanting it to make more sense to ship like a footlocker from my home to my destination and expect it to be at my hotel when I arrive versus having to lug it throughout my regular transport. Even a few days in advance is fine by me. Pack the bulk of my week long trip, be able to pack even bulky items like snow gear and what not without worry, and have it just be there when I arrive sounds like a dream than carrying 100lbs of stuff through an airport and a cab/rental car and all that jazz.
The services exist but they're not cheap and, as I discovered at one point, internationally you can run afoul of various customs vagaries. But my trip by ship earlier this year, dropping off my bag in NY after customs and having it shipped home was well worth the $250 or whatever it cost.
Depends on the station and the route. Trains can be pretty large/heavy luggage unfriendly. I haven't paid a baggage charge on a plane in years and years although I admittedly don't check bags often.
The northeast corridor sales they've been doing recently are quite something. I swung NYC to Boston for a mere $16 (usually 10x more, especially on the weekends - and the other way was $20). Even at that price my car had only 3 people left by the time we were in Rhode Island.