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For FY ended 30 September 2007, the Acela covered its Total Attributed Costs and contributed $173.1 million toward other charges, i.e. interest, depreciation, infrastructure management, etc.  The NEC, which includes Acela operations, covered its Total Attributed Costs and contributed $258.3 million toward the other charges.  This includes the $173.1 million from Acela operations.  The results for the first six months of FY 2008 show similar although slightly better outcomes.The NEC fares would have to be raised an average of 26.14 cents a mile, based on 2007 results, for the NEC to breakeven, assuming that it wears 80 per cent of the other charges. This would raise a typical New York to Washington Acela ticket price by $59.08, which would take it from $151 to $210.08. Applied to an average regional fare between New York and Washington, the ticket price would have to be raised to $146.58.  The cost of an economy class airline ticket on August 13, 2008, which is the date that I selected for comparison, would be $81.      Of course, the increases could be prorated over different segments of the route.  And they could fall differently on different classes of users, i.e. Acela vs. Regional, first class vs. business class vs. coach.  But Amtrak would have difficulty competing on the NEC if it had to raise its fares to breakeven.  Airfares will continue increasing, especially after the summer, because of the planned cutbacks announced recently by the major air carriers sans Southwest Airlines.  But the fares between New York and Washington would have to increase far more dramatically than is anticipated to give the train between those two cities a cost advantage.
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