Amtrak sold 3,300 tickets in the first day of sales for the
That’s about one pair of tickets every minute and almost a quarter of all the tickets available for the weekend train service.
When Amtrak offered a trial run of the ski train to Winter Park ski area in March 2015, priced at $75 round trip, about 900 tickets for those two days of train service were gone in a matter of hours.
Last week, Amtrak and the Winter Park ski area announced a revival of the historic ski train, with its rolling between Denver and Winter Park on 26 weekend days and holiday Mondays. for early buyers, with prices rising to $49 and $59 as ticket demand increases. Kids are half-price, and travelers are able to choose their own departure and return dates.Without any advertising — other than news stories — about the new train service, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari called this “a strong start.”
“The service doesn’t even start until more than four months from now, and itap selling,” he said. “These are strong indications and the kind of indications we were hoping to see.”
Amtrak, Winter Park and rail owner Union Pacific spent 18 months negotiating to revive the historic ski train that ran between Denver and the ski area from 1940 to 2009.
Demand for the tickets — which could reach $118 round trip — was a big question. But early results seem to show Denverites are eager to ride the rails to the slopes. There are a limited supply of $39 tickets for each train, and as of Tuesday there remain at least some $39 tickets available on each train, Magliari said. Once those are gone, prices jump to $49 for a one-way ticket.
“Buy as far in advance as possible” to secure the cheapest tickets, Magliari said.
More distinct selling patterns should emerge soon, he said. Group tickets seem popular with groups asking to secure entire cars, he said.
Travelers who miss the opportunity to book on the Winter Park Express — or want to travel midweek — still can ride the rails to Grand County. Tickets from Union Station to Fraser on the Amtrak’s California Zephyr start at $18 one way, and the
