Amtrak extends fare sale again, will now be on for more than one year

Amtrak, which cut fares up to 25 percent on its Northeast corridor in
February, is extending those cuts for the second time this year to
March 31 meaning the lower fares will be in place for over a year. The
lower fares require a 14 day advanced reservation and there are
blackout days around the upcoming holidays.

It's a good idea for Amtrak to discount its fares to boost ridership
numbers but two week advance notice limits its success. My last post
talked about buses increasing ridership along the NEC and Amtrak
should take this seriously. NEC is Amtrak's money maker, they need to
do more than just this temporary fare discount to ensure that they
don't lose market share to bus service.

Amtrak's Northeast regional trains carried 640,000 passengers in
October, up from September and October 2008. System-wide, Amtrak saw a
decline in passengers last month.