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Presumably the up to a 37% share of the combined train and air market came from a Wikipedia posting, which references a March 21, 2008 WIRED article. The quote from the article; "An Amtrak rep says Acela’s market share on the busy route grew from 36 percent in 2006 to 41 per cent last year."  It does not say that the Acela's have a 37 or 41 per cent of the Boston to New York end point market.   Coupled with the map presented, I suspect the claim the market is the total market between Boston and New York, which amongst other stops would include Providence and New Haven.  Both of these stops are significant markets for the train, but they are not significant air markets to and from New York. This is especially true for New Haven.    Amtrak is cherry picking market data to toute the impact of its trains on NEC travel. Amongst other things it overlooks buses, which I suspect are a significant presence in the NEC. Reportedly Megabus is doing well in the New York to Washington market. Equally important, although I have not been able to find the numbers for the NEC, I wonder what per cent of the intercity travel market Amtrak enjoys when automobiles are thrown into the equation. The travel market is not just trains and planes. Wikipedia along with several other sources claim that the Acela is profitable.  That is incorrect. Based on Amtrak's numbers, which by the way have not been presented for more than a year because Amtrak is supposedly trying to figure out how to roll depreciation, interest, and unallocated costs into its route costs, the Acela is not profitable when the capital costs, which are substantial, are rolled into the equation.
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