I do not know that AMTRAK does not make money on NYP-WAS, but I would be surprised if they do. When I say making money, I mean without the federal subsidy -- that the revenue on the line covers the expenses on the line. I would be very interested to see any statistics on this. And I certainly do not have any definitive proof either way; this is just my back-of-the-envelope suspicion.

Full fare DL shuttle (also US) is approx. $200 each way in Y. Full fare on ACELA is about $150 each way NYP-WAS. Corporate discounts can cut these numbers in half.

But then, remember, that AMTRAK runs non-ACELA service on the same tracks. And those prices are a fraction of the ACELA fares. My frequent commute NYP-HFD costs something like $30 each way -- a distance of 125 miles. We run a bit slower than the ACELA, but the schedule doesn't really permit me to take the ACELA in any case. And I get there in 2.5 hours. Perhaps the ACELA could shave off 15 minutes. (For this routing there is still the diesel connection on the Springfield spur).

I am certainly glad for the competition with the airlines. But I doubt anyone makes a killing anymore on these routes. That said, it is nice to have the choice, especially when we have bad weather.