New York City Travel Forum

Hi,

At the end of September I am planning on taking the train from Buffalo to New York and I've been looking on Amtraks website. There are 3 trains that do the route - The Empire Service and Lake Shore Limited trains are cheaper than the Maple Leaf but the Maple Leaf is a longer journey - what is the difference on the trains? Any suggestions to which one I would be better to book?

Thanks for your help - I'm really looking forward to my trip!

While I'm posting can anyone suggest a hostel in New York that they have stayed at? None of the ones I've looked at are rated that well - all I want is somewhere clean and reasonably well located.

Thanks!

There is essentially no difference between these Amtrak trains beyond the route and the price. The seats/cars are the same. So just pick the one that best suits your schedule and budget.

Thank you for your help thats all I wanted to know!

Be aware that Amtrak's long-distance trains are chronically late! Make sure you don't plan any time-sensitive activities that depend on your train's being on time.

Thats ok, I'm used to British train travel and that is shocking for being on time!! Thanks for the warning though, will take an earlier train so I dont end up arriving in to New York in the middle of the night!

Sorry to be a pain I just have one more question - Would you suggest that I prebook my train or just arrive at the station and buy my ticket? I can't decide between the 0710 train or 1310, is there much of a saving by booking early?

There is some savings for booking early, but not a huge amount (I think the UK trains have much larger price differentials for this). It is rare for these trains to sell out, so you won't really risk anything by waiting.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions!