Often1

This is an age old debate which gets resurrected in a new thread every so often.

1. Yes, Acela prices are high. Why? Because people pay them. Tons of people don't look at prices, they simply have their assistant book the 9:00 AM Acela or whatever. If you ask what the ticket costs, they can look at their ticket and tell you. Otherwise, they don't know and don't care.

2. Time for WAS-NYP or BOS-NYP is not the only factor many people consider. It is productive time. Taking the WAS-NYP vs. DCA-LGA comparison, it is 2:50 on the Acela from city center to city center. Of that 2:50, 2:40 is productive time when one can work, relax, or sleep. Even if the comparable city center to city center for DCA-LGA is 2:50, there is about 20-25 minutes of productive time. I happen to prefer the Shuttle to LGA in the AM and the Acela back at night, but that is me. The rest of the stuff here is all about which type of ice cream is better, chocolate or vanilla.

mediator

[QUOTE=stc;29613386]Let's see. How about:

Avoiding security theater.
Downtown to downtown. Have you ever tried to get from JFK/LGA to Midtown?[/QUOTE

Airtran to Jamaica, then LIRR to wherever I want to go. Or I could use car service. The downtown to downtown is a hype.

Repooc17

That's because the saver fare bucket is gone. The ratio is about the same had the saver bucket still existed.

Nevertheless, I never use Acela; the NE regional is more than comfortable for 3-4 hours. Aclea doesn't save that much time due to dated infrastructure, and fewer stops also contribute into time savings.

physioprof

[QUOTE=mediator;29616642]If it's just "hype", then why are Acela trains so full all the time?

IADCAflyer

230 miles from Boston South to NY Penn - averaging about 3:45 time duration. Average of 61.3 miles per hour.

226 miles from NY Penn to Washington - averaging about 3:00 time duration. Average of 75.3 miles per hour.

The run from BOS to NYP is a lot more tricky than from NYP to WAS. Typically only double track for a large portion of the journey and a need to run rather slow in parts - near Mystic and New London. Plus some at grade crossings in that area.

Obviously, many in the business crowd prefer the Acela for the downtown-downtown experience, but those who are wedded to the Shuttle will obviously grit their teeth and bear the commute from LGA into the City.

Lets also remember that there is a rather large percentage of New York that is not Manhattan (don't tell that to folks who live in Manhattan)....

Brighton Line

Don't forget open bridges on the BOS-NYP though their openings are supposed to be scheduled around the train...

Most residents of NYC say "going into the city" if they don't live in Manhattan.

wetrat0

That's because you are looking at a super-cheap advance purchase Regional fare. I booked a last minute trip this weekend and Acela was $198, versus Regional $185. At that price I'll happily pay $12 to save 30 minutes.

ibrandsguest

I took Acela first class recently. I'd do it again. Having a single seat (in a 2x1 across car) was very nice, and the food and drinks were fine. Plus I got a slew of AGR points from the trip. It was only $50 more than regular Acela (and thus only $50 more than Northeast Regional business class) so I thought that overall it was well worth it. If only first class were also a quiet car!

bennos

I suppose if you're a leisure traveler the points in this thread are valid, as they are for advanced purchase business travelers. However, if you're aiming for a same day roundtrip (as I suspect a fair number of the Acela passengers are):

1. The airlines can be way more expensive. Yesterday I was trying to book a same day round trip for later this week. The Acela was about $350-$400/rt, depending on the itinerary. Delta wanted $900.
2. On a same day turn, the time difference between the Acela and Regional is meaningful, especially given that the Regionals take longer during peak times. An Acela NYP-WAS r/t is 6 hours total (used to be 5.5), a Regional (for certain departures) can be as high as 7.5. On a same day turn, that hour and a half is significant.
3. For late in bookings, the price gap between the Acela and Regional can be smaller than those cited in this thread. For the itineraries I was looking at, the Regional was about $270-$300/rt. And those prices are all before corporate discounts.
4. And, of course, the Acela is more likely to get priority en route. (I say this as a former NJ Transit commuter, often delayed just long enough for an Acela to pass.)

wetrat0

Just to add another data point to disprove these statements that only apply to advance purchases. I took a last minute trip this weekend and Acela was $330, while airlines were over $800. Booked two days out. Regional would have saved me $20 round trip versus the Acela. Getting there and home an hour earlier and without delays is worth $20 to me. The premise of this thread and many of the inaccurate statements are based on the fact that Acela doesn't offer many deep-discount advance purchase tickets. The fact is that they don't need to-- in both directions my train was sold out for at least one segment of the trip.