If you actually read with comprehension what others wrote about this instead of repeating your opinion over and over you might just understand that John Q Public chooses Acela for reasons beyond speed or timings. They are neither stupid nor suckers, as you believe. But in your tiny world, any opinion that differs from yours must be attacked in a Trumpian fashion.
An amusing thing here is that each of you is castigating the other for something you yourself espoused earlier, in a way.
Let me start by saying that, in my opinion, the Acela is a ‘better’ business-class experience than good regional equipment, but nowhere near ‘better’ enough to justify the price difference. My experience with people who have taken the Acela service is that they’re basing most of their decision to pay extra on the perception of high-speed service, not business-class higher amenities. And that is where the P.T.Barnum aspect really comes in: if the speed difference is actually as piddling as statistics make it appear, much if not most of the extra ‘agio’ to ride Acela is in the sizzle, not the steak.
Meanwhile, Joe’s point right from his first letter was that, instead of providing rocket-fast true high-speed capability (on a railroad largely incapable of providing the opportunity to use that capability) Amtrak would have spent the Avelia Liberty money much more tellingly on much more luxurious equipment operating at no more than 125mph peak speed. Which is precisely the argument charlie hebdo is now making for the actual ‘competitive advantage’ of the current Acela trains, defective though the real added luxuries on those trains are.
I for one would be highly interested to see the effect of reasonable 125mph equipment even with ‘legacy’ levels of parlor-car amenity and service on NEC operation. These wouldn’t throw nearly as much of a prospective wrench into congested service in the areas where that’s a factor, and would provide some multiple of the attractiveness of the current services to compete tellingly with most of the competition for the ‘extra fare’ so many are evidently willing to pay.
I freely admit I’m not one with distinctive competence in ‘knowing’ what modern folks value most in railroad transit. T
All I know from personal experience is that folks I spoke with who had ridden both thought the Acela ride was better. They were aware of the small increase in speed but once they could afford it, they were willing to pay the premium and not use the NEC Regional trains. You and Joe can call them stupid suckers if you wish. The numbers are there.
The advantage of the new equipment is 25% greater capacity as well as more comfort.
That wasn’t very nice.
We live in a ‘marketing age’ - marketing is selling sizzle. If the customers are satisfied with the sizzle that they have purchased, they will likely return to buy more. If they aren’t statisfied with the sizzle, they most likely won’t return.
P. T. Barnum was a marketer.
Tell that to P.T. Barnum[;)]
They’re assuredly not ‘suckers’ – this is America, and no one forced them to ride regional. The argument, as far as it goes, is that they aren’t getting full value for all the additional they’re paying. (Doesn’t matter if I think it’s insufficient, either; just that it could be a much better perceived bang for the buck were that buck to go into real amenities.)
There are likely plenty more advantages than those. I’m glad we’re getting the new trains now that the deal’s been done, and I frankly hope they succeed so wildly as to drive priorities to increase their functional speed between destination pairs.
I suspect a ‘dirty little secret’ is that some great part of allocation of funds to these trains was driven by political considerations, and there’s no practical way the full amount, perhaps even a significant fraction of it, would have been provided either for 125mph alternative or for ‘luxurizing’ some of the existing 125mph-capable stock. So this was never really the ‘either-or’ that Joe was working from.
Sounds like an ointment does it not?[}:)]
More like a flowering bush, a compact Canadian car, or the ‘boutique’ upscale marketing version of an elastic bandage.
More like a flowering bush, a compact Canadian car, or the ‘boutique’ upscale marketing version of an elastic bandage.
(Unlike “Acela” which is the name of a skin condition from drinking too much vinegar.)
But people are riding them. So apparently they(or their employer) think they are getting full value.
I mean, you can use a 1992 Camry for all your driving needs as well.
Ah I can see the ad now…‘Hemorrhoids? Try Acelia. It’s a high speed cure!’[:)]
So you advocate spending taxpayer dollars for no gain other than eye appeal and amenities when the same end can be achieved for considerably less taxpayer dollars?
I need to give you a crash course in user marketing - you missed the obvious slogan here: HSR stands for High Speed Relief!
More fun with the little suppositories that look like bullets lined up in a row… (I won’t make the obvious pun!)
Pour votre commodité et pour clarification charlie.
From post#2:
High speed train travel is not feasible on the Northeast Corridor (NEC). Congress recently approved a 2.45 billion dollar loan package for Amtrak of which a good portion will be spent on twenty eight Generation 2 high speed trains. Why? Generation 1(Acela Express) high speed trains only accomplished a fraction of what they were touted to do. There is no reason to expect Generation 2 to be any different. The reasoning being that you can only travel so fast on the existing roadbed no matter the tilt technology. Generation 1 trains were equipped with the latest tilt system yet could only equal, not exceed, the running time of the 1969 Metroliners between New York and Washington D.C.
Saying the same old sfuff over and over doesn’t change anything. You just don’t get it.
Dispute what I say.
Why? What didn’t work the first time still doesn’t work the last time. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
Hey Joe, don’t get on your high horse commanding people. You have zero influence with authorities and almost nobody on here gives a hoot about your compulsive rants.