Do you travel by train in the United States? And did you know that the U.S. has the largest rail transport network in the world at about 160,000 miles? Yet, the odds are that most of consumers not have gone on a vacation riding the train.
Last year, Amtrak carried 28 million passengers, up from 22 million in 2022. And, while there are other train services in the U.S. (particularly commuter trains), Amtrak is the only operator of regularly scheduled long-distance trains in America. It operates more than 300 trains each day to more than 500 destinations.
So, why don’t we travel on vacation by train more? Many reasons, including limited service to destinations by train, and many of the trains and stations are run-down or outdated. We have also become accustomed to air travel, which carries more passengers than do trains.
Environmentally, Amtrak uses 27% less full per passenger mile. Economically, train travel can be much cheaper. So, what is the answer for Amtrak? It will run a multiyear advertising campaign with the tagline “Retrain Travel.” The ads will also compare rail travel to driving and air travel.
Ready to roll?
Group Activities and Discussion Questions:
- Poll students: Have they traveled by train? Why, or why not?
- List barriers to travel by train.
- Show Amtrak’s website: https://www.amtrak.com/home.html
- Also show Amtrak Vacations site: https://www.amtrakvacations.com/
- Show the new commercial – “Retrain Travel”: https://media.amtrak.com/2024/10/retrain-travel-30-second-commercial/
- Poll students about their opinions of the ad.
- Divide students into teams.
- For Amtrak, have each team select three different tactics. For each tactic, explain why it was selected and how it will be used. One tactic must be video ads.
- Have each team develop a story board for the Amtrak ad.
Source: Deighton, K. (1 October 2024). Amtrak’s new marketing strategy: It’s not a train, it’s a hotel on wheels. Wall Street Journal.
