Submitted by N. Smaltino, Apr 21, 2007 16:08

The Acela Express service by Amtrak has seats in Business Class and First Class only. They have Regional trains that offer coach class and Business Class. Acela Express is aimed at travelers that are willing to spend the money to be on a shuttle flight but would like to forgo the hassles associated with flying. All Amtrak ticket prices are based on scheme known as 'demand pricing' which has been in use by the airlines for years. An Amtrak press release notes 'In figures for the four months ending January 31, 2007, more than one million passengers (1,020,031) rode Amtrak Acela Express trains, an increase of nearly 20 percent from the same period a year earlier. Acela Express ticket revenue is up by nearly 22 percent and is in the excess of $127 million for the first four months of Amtrak's Fiscal Year 2007." "For schedules, fares and information, passengers may call 800-USA-RAIL or visit amtrak.com." An Amtrak fact sheet notes "During FY 2006 (Oct. 2005-Sept. 2006), Amtrak welcomed aboard more than 24.3 million passengers, representing the fourth straight fiscal year of record ridership when comparing the same routes. An average of more than 67,000 passengers ride on up to 300 Amtrak trains per day... In FY 2006, Amtrak earned approximately $2.05 billion in revenue and incurred approximately $3.07 billion in expenses, covering 67% of its operating costs. Excluding depreciation, a non-cash cost, Amtrak covered 80% of its operating costs. No country in the world operates a passenger rail system without some form of public support for capital costs and/or operating expenses... If included among U.S. airlines, Amtrak would rank 8th (2005) in the number of passengers served, with a market share of nearly 5%. On average, there are nearly twice as many passengers on an Amtrak train than there are on a domestic airline flight."

References: http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Copy/News_Release_Page&c=am2Copy&cid=1173376445781&ssid=180

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Copy/Title_Image_Copy_Page&c=am2Copy&cid=1081442674300&ssid=542

Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. We reserve the right to reject anything we find objectionable.