Amtrak Coach vs Business Class: Difference and Comparison

Amtrak is the National Passenger Corporation. It is a passenger railroad service that gives a great medium and inter-city service in the United States.

It also provides its service to nine other Canadian cities. Amtrak is a passenger train rolling type of train. The Amtrak train’s fare is said to be higher than a flight if we pre-book the tickets with some special facilities like a bedroom along with the meals and personal arrangements.

But the Amtrak coach seats are a bit cheaper than the flight tickets if we pre-book them. The Amtrak train services are ruined by the government.

Key Takeaways

1. Amtrak business class offers more legroom, adjustable seating, and complimentary non-alcoholic beverages than coach class.
2. Business class passengers enjoy priority boarding and access to Metropolitan Lounges at select stations.
3. Coach class is more economical, but business class provides additional comfort and amenities for a higher price.

Amtrak Coach Class vs Business Class

There is less room in the Amtrak Coach, while there is more room in the business class car, along with free non-alcoholic drinks. Amtrak points bonus and reserved seating on some routes (no reserved seating in coach cars). They differ in the train car layout as well.

The Amtrak Coach class only offers the basic requirements of a passenger. It is accommodated by comfortable seats, a tray table, and a reading light over the heads.

The Amtrak coach class tickets are a bit cheaper as it only provides the basic requirements and can be used by general people also. The Amtrak coach classes accept both reserved and unreserved seats.

On the other hand, the Amtrak Business Class offers all the luxurious needs of a passenger. It is accommodated with cushier seats with a headrest, it has more room than the coach class, and it has tray tables and outlets for electronic gadgets.

The Amtrak business class seats are booked by corporate travellers to use the electric outlets for their gadgets. The Amtrak business class tickets are expensive as compared to the coach class, and it also requires pre-booking for their seats.

Hence, only reserved seats are available.

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Amtrak Coach Class	Amtrak Business Class
Features and Services	The Amtrak Coach Class has comfortable seats, a tray table, and a reading headlight. It only provides the basic requirements.	The Amtrak Business Class has comfortable cushier seats with a headrest, it is spacious, a tray table, and outlets for electronic gadgets.
Ticket Price	The tickets are cheaper.	The tickets are expensive.
Seat Type	It has two-seater seats.	It has both two-seater and more seater seats, which face each other so that, meetings can be arranged.
Reserved or Unreserved Seats	It has both reserved and unreserved types of seats.	Only reserved or pre-booking seats are available.
Passenger	General people can also travel in the Amtrak coach class.	Generally, corporate workers travel in the Amtrak business class.
Food and Snacks	There is a general cafe or canteen, from where people can purchase their food.	Complimentary snacks, foods, and non-alcoholic drinks are being served.

What is Amtrak Coach Class?

Amtrak is a passenger rolling train service. There are two types of classes in the train that provide the passengers with the facilities accordingly, and the Amtrak coach class is one of them.

The Amtrak coach class refers to the class where only basic requirements and necessities are provided to the passengers. It has some facilities like it has a comfortable seat to sit, a tray table where the passengers can keep their belongings and a reading light above the head.

The price of the tickets for the coach class is less, and hence, it is inexpensive compared to the business class. The facilities of each class depend upon the price of the ticket or class.

The Amtrak coach class has two-seater seats that face forward. The two-seater seats provide the passengers with great comfort.

The coach class seats are available in both reserved and unreserved. The pre-booking facility provides the passenger to choose their seats according to their comfort, and on the other hand, for those passengers who travel only a short distance, unreserved seats are available.

Since the coach class tickets are inexpensive and cheaper than the business class, so general people can also travel through them. However, it allows any passengers to travel.

Also, there are cafes on the train which provide food and drinks to the passengers, but the passengers need to buy them at an extra expense.

What is Amtrak Business Class?

The other class in the Amtrak train is the business class. Same as the coach class, the business class also provides the passengers with some facilities accordingly.

The Amtrak business class provides facilities like, it has cushier seats with headrests, it is more spacious and a lot of room for the passengers, a tray table, and it also has outlets for electronic gadgets like laptops, phones, DVDs, etc.

The Amtrak business class tickets are expensive as compared to the coach class.

The Amtrak business class provides both two-seater and more-seater seats to the passengers. Generally, corporate people travel in business class, and sometimes they arrange meetings and conferences.

The outlet facilities the electronic gadgets also help corporate travellers in a lot of aspects. The Amtrak business class requires a pre-booking of the seats and hence, only reserved seats are available.

The business class also provides complimentary food and non-alcoholic drinks to the travellers with the other facilities.

Main Difference Between Amtrak Coach Class and Business Class

1. The Amtrak Coach Class has comfortable seats, a tray table, and a reading light above the passenger seat. On the other hand, the Amtrak Business Class has cushier seats with headrests, a spacious tray table, and outlets for electronic gadgets.
2. The tickets of Amtrak coach are cheaper as compared to the business class. On the other hand, the tickets for the Amtrak business are expensive.
3. The Amtrak coach class has two-seater seats. On the other hand, the Amtrak business class has both two-seaters and more-seater seats, which enables corporate travellers to arrange meetings or conferences.
4. In the Amtrak coach class, both reserved and unreserved seats are available. On the other hand, the Amtrak business class has only reserved or pre-booked seats.
5. Since the tickets are expensive, general people can also travel in the Amtrak coach class. On the other hand, generally, corporate travellers travel in the Amtrak business class.
6. Passengers need to buy drinks or snacks from the cafe in the Amtrak coach class. On the other hand, passengers are provided complimentary snacks and non-alcoholic drinks in the Amtrak business class.

References

1. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/581391/
2. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/case.darden.2016.000211/full/html