Amtrak: New York City to Buffalo by Train

View from the train to Buffalo

Russell and I woke up early Thursday morning to ride the first Amtrak train (7:15am) out of Penn Station in New York City heading to Buffalo via Empire Service. The tickets were $56 one-way, but, like always, I did a google search for coupon codes and found a code for 20% off tickets within the state of New York - score! The trip was supposed to take 8 hours total but ended up taking 9 hours because we got stuck behind freight trains twice. I also was under the belief that the Exchange street station in buffalo was the main station. Wrong. We ended up in a really dumpy area. The correct station is Depew Station.

Whenever I take Amtrak from Santa Barbara down to San Diego I always pay the extra $13 to upgrade to first class, which is totally worth it, but this time around I am glad all the first class tickets were sold out. Turns out that the only difference between first and coach on this train is that first class has leather seats. Also, first class is in the dining car, so it smells a little funky. Besides, our coach seats were super comfortable - reclining, more than enough leg room, a foot rest that pops out from underneath the chair (like lay-z boy style), a foot rest under the chair in front of mine, and a table that folds down. I really couldn't have been happier.

The reason we decided to take the train was not for comfort, and definitely not for speed, but rather for the incredible scenery. We went up the Hudson River for a few hours, which was absolutely beautiful, then headed East and went through stunning, bright green forests - that was when I fell n love with New York (as long as I don't think about freezing winters!). If you ever take this route up, be sure to sit on the west side of the train (the left side if facing the front of the train).

I would recommend that anyone going to upstate New York take the train just for the excellent scenery on the way there. That being said, now that I have taken the train and seen the beauty of New York, I will certainly be flying back into the city - the train is practically a day trip on its own and a flight is only 1 hour and 15 minutes.