Amtrak Coach Vs. Business Class Comparison: Seats, Perks, Experience

Moynihan Train Hall opened in 2021 after a $1.6 billion renovation.

Amtrak passengers traveling in coach or business class can purchase a single-visit pass to the New York City lounge for $50.

The waiting area had its own bathrooms on either side, which helped me avoid the long lines often found at Moynihan Train Hall’s public restrooms. Other than that, it was a basic waiting area with benches and a few outlets.

The Northeast Regional trains offer coach and business class, not first class. I paid $30 for my coach seat.

Many passengers immediately claimed an entire row to themselves by putting their bags on the seats next to them and studiously avoiding eye contact with those still walking through the aisles.

As nice as it would have been to have a row to myself, I couldn’t bring myself to block off the seat next to me, so it was quickly occupied by another passenger.

In Amtrak train cars, half of the seats face one direction and half face the other. That way, there are always some seats facing in the direction of travel, regardless of the route.

For some, facing one direction while moving in another can disrupt coordination between the brain, eyes, and inner ear, leading to dizziness and nausea. I’m prone to motion sickness, so sitting backward on the train as it swayed and jerked along the track made me feel nauseous after a few minutes. When the conductor came along to scan my ticket, I told her that I wanted to change seats before she issued my seat check, and she waved me along.

There were a few empty backward-facing rows left, but I decided to sacrifice the extra space to avoid feeling sick on my trip. I sheepishly asked another passenger in a forward-facing window seat to move his backpack so that I could take the aisle seat next to him.

I then realized I had hit another snag — both seat outlets for our row were located next to the window seat. If I wanted to charge my phone or computer, I’d have to reach over my seatmate and string the cord over his lap or under his legs. No wonder the window seats were all taken.

I decided to forgo charging my devices for the time being.

The menu included breakfast items ranging from $4 to $8, sandwiches costing between $10 and $11.50, and drinks such as soda, juice, Starbucks coffee, beer, wine, and hard seltzer ranging from $3.50 to $16.

I was pleasantly surprised to find an outlet in the bathroom, as well.

I placed my seat check above my new row to signal to the conductors that they had already scanned my ticket.

In the window seat, I had easy access to both outlets, views of the horizon, and the extra space of the empty seat next to me. The earlier stress of the first half of my trip melted away, and the next two hours flew by.

The station was also under construction, so only one main waiting area was open to all passengers.

I originally paid $150 for my Acela business-class seat. However, I traveled the day before a massive winter storm was forecast to slam the US. After I received a travel alert about possible weather-related delays and cancellations, I paid an extra $63 to switch to an earlier train, bringing the total cost of my business-class trip to $213.

Acela also makes fewer stops than Northeast Regional, shaving about 45 minutes off the trip between Providence and New York City.

When booking a business-class ticket, the seat-selection tool indicated the direction of travel, allowing me to choose my preferred forward-facing window seat.

The guides made it simple to know where to board to find my assigned seat.

In my Northeast Regional coach seat, the overhead bins were uncovered, allowing luggage and coats to spill out over the edges. The covered overhead bins in business class gave the Acela train a sleeker look.

I preferred the simplicity of having a reserved seat in business class over the rush of trying to pick a good spot on the fly while boarding in coach.

Amtrak’s coach seats feature about 39 inches of legroom, while business-class seats offer about 42 inches.

My business-class seat was spacious enough that the person sitting in the aisle seat next to me didn’t have to stand up to let me through.

The coach bathrooms were comparable to airplane bathrooms in terms of their size. In business class, the bathrooms were large enough to move around easily or even change outfits if needed.

I also appreciated the bathroom’s frosted window, which helped with my motion sickness while still providing privacy.

I was able to refill my water bottle instead of paying for one from the café car.

The sandwich options, which included cherrywood smoked ham and fontina on marble rye, peppered turkey, Gouda, and spinach on a baguette, and turkey and Havarti on honey wheat sunflower bread, cost $12.50. On the Northeast Regional train, more basic sandwiches were $10.

Even some of the same items were more expensive. A chicken Caesar salad with an identical description on both menus cost $11.50 on the Northeast Regional train and retailed for $15 on Acela.

The drink menu varied slightly, with a custom Acela Blend roasted by La Colombe offered instead of Starbucks, but the prices were largely the same.

The ability to reserve my seat ahead of time, combined with the extra perks of more spacious seats and bathrooms, made my business-class trip more enjoyable than traveling in coach.

An Amtrak representative told Business Insider that “Business Class provides an enhanced level of comfort as well as a few additional perks during your journey.”

“On many routes in the Northeast, seat selection is offered, providing a more seamless boarding experience and taking the guesswork out of finding a seat,” the representative said.

For a shorter train ride, I’d probably just try my luck at finding a good seat to save money. For a four-hour trip like this one, business class was definitely worth the upgrade.