I booked a roomette and a first-class seat on Amtrak trains. The cheaper ride was much more comfortable.

• I booked a $400 roomette for a 15-hour Amtrak ride across the Southwest in January 2025. • Then I booked a $450 first-class ticket for a 3-hour train ride from Washington, DC, to New York City. • I was shocked that the overnight ride in a private cabin was less expensive than a first-class seat.

When I saw how much a first-class ticket cost on the Amtrak Acela train, I had to book it.

At $450 for a 3-hour trip up the East Coast, it was $50 more than the private cabin I booked for a 15-hour journey from Colorado to Utah earlier this year.

The steep price point would probably deter the average person. However, as a travel reporter and train enthusiast, I wanted to compare the first-class experience to a more affordable ride with greater privacy on an overnight train.

I took a sleep