Submitted by El, Jul 13, 2007 09:11

Per the point that the Acela is priced to demand, the other side of that equation is supply. The way the Acelas sell out and people still pay the prices on regionals, I think the NEC market is actually underserved. The the trainsets Amtrak ordered are too short. they should be twelve coaches, not six. More available seating would mean lower prices. Since such an enormous portion of costs are incurred in just getting the equipment out on the road, I think more seats at lower prices coudl yield the same net revenue as the current higher prices. I really do think Amtrak had no idea how popular the service would become. Especially operating under the dark days of Warrington. Per the NY-Philly Market, Amtrak also runs Keystones which are seem to bre priced higher. If I were amtrak, I'd offer discounted monthly passes on the Keystones to get commuters onto those trains instead of the Acelas or Regionals. Not NJT prices, but lower than the other services. Those too shoudl be replaced with modern trainsets. I was happy to see Kummant mention they were looking at replacing the Acelas within five years. Perhaps they could use some of the current sets on the Keystone line.

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