I read the above posts and thought that I would plan an imaginery trip this afternoon from PHL to BOS and from PHL to WAS/DCA returning tomorrow morning. I picked this afternoon as Yield Management in both AMTRAK and USAir would be at the highest buckets and applied no discounts (not that there were any), returning early tomorrow.I used regional rail coach and Y for fare basis.
While I expected AMTRAK to win the fare comparison, it was interesting to note that time wise where AMTRAK would be most competitive in the PHL to WAS/DCA segment the AMTRAK fare was only $111 compared to USAir's $554 plus tax & fees. The PHL/BOS r/t was $221 for AMTRAK and $278 for USAir with the flight being shorter even with security etc.
I don't know what this means except that I have to much time on my hands but it is interesting to note.