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Terms & Conditions

Essential Information about USA Rail Passes

When booking an Amtrak pass you must provide us with details of your first journey, passport number, expiry date and date of birth. You will be issued with a voucher which must be exchanged at this first station for your actual pass. Before boarding the train you must take your pass and passport to the Amtrak ticket office where they will issue a free ticket for your journey.

Tickets and Reservations

Your USA Rail Pass is not a ticket. When travelling on a USA Rail Pass, you must have a ticket and a reservation for each train you board. You must make reservations and pick up your ticket(s) before boarding any train.

Reservations for train travel should be made as far in advance as possible; seats available for USA Rail Pass passengers are limited on each train. We do not recommend waiting until the day of departure to make your reservations since there is a greater chance that seats allocated for the USA Rail Pass may not be available on your desired train. If your plans are not flexible, non-USA Rail Pass seats may be available at an additional cost.

Passengers must present their USA Rail Pass and passport at an Amtrak office for issuance of tickets to be used on the train. The USA Rail Pass entitles you to regular Coach Class travel on all Amtrak routes except those listed below. On some trains, you can upgrade your reservation to Business Class or Sleeping Car accommodation. Amtrak offers half-price fares for children ages 2-15 when accompanied by a full fare-paying adult (two children per adult fare; one child under two years of age travels free per adult). Reservations are required for travel on most trains. We recommend that reservations be made prior to arrival in the US and as far in advance as possible. Further restrictions may apply.

Eligible Trains

The USA Rail Pass is valid for travel on all Amtrak trains except:

  • Auto Train
  • Acela Express
  • Metroliner
  • Certain Thruway motorcoach connections
  • The connections between the Canadian border and Toronto

Travel is restricted to four one-way trips between two cities, and to all cities in between, over the same route. For example, the following trips would use up the four trips over the Washington, DC to New York route segment:

  • Trip 1: Washington, DC to New York
  • Trip 2: New York to Washington, DC
  • Trip 3: Washington, DC to Philadelphia
  • Trip 4: Philadelphia to Washington, DC

Regions and Travel Periods

Passes are available in three travel durations and travel segments (15 days/8 segments, 30 days/12 segments and 45 days/18 segments) throughout the entire United States. Travel must begin within 180 days of the date the pass purchased.

Travel Segments

Amtrak considers a travel segment any time you get on and then get off a vehicle (train, bus, ferry or other allowable leg) regardless of length.

Example 1

Because we don't have a direct route from Washington, DC to Oklahoma, City, OK, you could ride the Capitol Limited train from Washington to Chicago (segment 1), then ride the Texas Eagle train from Chicago to Fort Worth (segment 2) and finally ride the Heartland Flyer train from Fort Worth to Oklahoma, City (segment 3). This journey from Washington to Oklahoma City would use three of your allowable segments.

Example 2

To travel from Spokane, WA to Portland OR, you could ride the Empire Builder train directly to Portland using one segment or you coulde ride the Empire Builder train to Seattle (segment 1) and then ride the Amtrak Cascades train from Seattle to Portland (segment 2). Both journeys take you to Portland but use a different number of your allowable segments.

Each segment booked counts toward the total allowable number of segments permitted for the pass.

Refunds and Pass Changes

The USA Rail Pass is only refundable before travel begins. The pass, and all tickets issued with the pass, must be turned into an Amtrak ticket agent no later than the day before the date of the first use written on the pass. A cancellation fee may apply. Substantial cancellation fees apply when sleeping accommodations are cancelled less than 24 hours in advance.