Amtrak/ least expensive/ least crowded time to travel

The Amtrack Home Page:

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/HomePage

The train is probably similar to the plane re times of being less crowded, and certain routes are probably less crowded than others.

Ticket prices usually drop substantially at off peak seasons. The dead of winter might be good...or not...it would depend on where your travel route is.. One sure way to have a rock bottom low price is to make your ticket purchase a week or two after a major derailment. Sounds nuts, I know; however, the prices usually go down and the ride is much safer since the train operators are watching everything much more carefully.

As to crowds, you never know exactly what to expect since it seems to change as rapidly as the weather.