NEC load factor includes all stations from Boston to Washington. Anyone who has ridden an Acela or Regional train all the way from Boston to Washington knows full well that the train load goes way up in New York. Philadelphia-Baltimore is very near, if not at, the peak of traffic density on the corridor.
One of the reasons for the ride quality change in the last 30 years is that allowed speeds for regional trains are quite a bit higher. A ride on the 1980s/1990s Metroliner would feel about like a regional today.
Planning in advance can reap significant fare savings.
If one can book a flight 21 days in advance, the round trip price from Atlanta to BWI on Southwest for July 17th would be $229.80. The 7:10 a.m. flight gets to BWI at 9:00 a.m. And there is a 7:00 p.m. return flight the same day that would have one home in time to snuggle up with the spouse or the dog, whichever has the highest priority, in one's own bed. There are numerous earlier departures. Waiting raises the price. The 14 day price jumps to $439.80.
A direct flight on Delta for July 17th from Atlanta to Philadelphia would be $372.80. On July 10th it would be $651.80. The 7:40 a.m. departure would put one in the City of Brotherly Love by 9:40 a.m., which would leave plenty of time for late morning and afternoon meetings. The 6:15 p.m. or 7:15 p.m. return flights would get one home in plenty of time to sooth rover's separation anxiety pangs due to his love's absence. Spouse probably not so much unless newly wed.
The round trip coach fare on Amtrak for July 16th, necessary to get to Philadelphia by July 17th, would be $388, whilst the fare and accommodation charge for a Viewliner roomettee would be $1,082. Presumably the coach passenger would want to buy some eats in the dinning car or lounge car, thereby bringing the cost of coach travel on a par with the two week advance booking into BWI on Southwest. If one goes into BWI to transfer to a train to Philadelphia, he has to add in the cost of the train fare from BWI to Philadelphia.
These are the some of the reasons why most business people cannot afford a night on the train. Unless they work for a business that either has no competition or does not plan to be in business much longer. Or they don't matter, which is not a good place to be in.
Walk-up fares are much higher, of course, but if my experience is any indication, most business trips can be planned far enough in advance to take advantage of the 14 and 21 day booking rates.
rcdrye NEC load factor includes all stations from Boston to Washington. Anyone who has ridden an Acela or Regional train all the way from Boston to Washington knows full well that the train load goes way up in New York. Philadelphia-Baltimore is very near, if not at, the peak of traffic density on the corridor. One of the reasons for the ride quality change in the last 30 years is that allowed speeds for regional trains are quite a bit higher. A ride on the 1980s/1990s Metroliner would feel about like a regional today.
Anyone who has ridden a train only knows what she sees, usually confined to the car that she is ridding in, on the day that she is traveling. Her experience is not indicative or predictive of the days that she is not on the train. A personal experience is not a statistical sample and, therefore, cannot be projected to the population, i.e. all riders on that train, all trains, etc., for a period as a whole.
The only folks who can tell us the load factors on the NEC, or any other train for that matter, are persons with access to Amtrak's rider database(s). I have filed an FOIA request to get it. If they will turn the data loose, I'll bet that it will take me a year or more to get it.
rcdryeA ride on the 1980s/1990s Metroliner would feel about like a regional today.
A ride on an 1980s/90s regional train felt the same as a ride on a Metroliner service train. The only difference was seat pitch.
I did quite a bit of riding back in those days
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
One thing that BWI station could definitely use is a people mover of some sort rather than the present shuttle bus.
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