After reading a recent article about the Northeast Corridor, I was curious to see what the Acela schedule was from Boston to Wash. DC. Amtrak shows it as 6hrs 44mins and $149 one-way. The Amtrak Region schedule is 1 hr longer at 7hrs 45 mins, but the fare is much less at $87 one-way.
I wonder how folks evaluate the value of the schedule being an hour quicker vs. the addl $62 cost.
I guess I would have thought that the Acela schedule would beat standard equipment by more than an hour. I’m not sure why I thought that, maybe all of the hoopla about the new equipment and the 150mph speed between Boston and central CT.
Ironically, Google maps directions shows the distance as 441 miles and the drive time (obviously subject to traffic) as 7hrs 45 mins, exactly the same as Amtrak Regional. At what I believe is the current mileage reimbursement rate of $ 0.405 / mile (per Kiplingers.com), the reimbursable drive cost for the same trip is $178, so even the higher Acela fare is cheaper for business travelers.
But here’s the tough one - according to Kayak.com, I can fly from Boston Logan to DC in about 1hr,45 mins, on any one of several airlines, one-way for $110. That’s tough to overcome vs. an addl 5-6 hrs on the train for fares in the same range. Looks like a pretty competitive commuter airline market.
I’ve done Boston-Washington both by plane and by Acela. There is not a 5-6 hour advantage by airplane. It’s more like 2-3 hours at best, assuming you’re flying to Reagan National and not Dulles. As for Acela vs. Regional, it’s worth it to me at least.
I don’t think there is a huge Acela market Boston-Washington. The market is Boston-New York, New York-Philadelphia, and New York-Washington, where Acela is a heck of a lot more convenient and faster than air, particularly if your origin or destination (or both) is the city center and not a suburb that conveniently is next to the airport. When I’ve ridden Acela Boston-Washington the passenger turnover in New York is virtually 100%.
So they expect you to average about a mile a minute on the roads between Washington and Boston? I suspect you have to leave sometime around dark-thirty for that to work (based on my own experiences Washington to New York–never gone to Boston that way).
And at what point during your drive does the beverage cart pop out of the trunk? I don’t think you have time to stop.
I’ve done Philly* to Washington (& Fredricksburg, VA) solo several times by car and Amtrak Regional, and Acela (once). I won’t drive it again, absent a compelling reason, such as a long distance away from Washington Union Station, a lot of stuff to carry, or many other people that could ride along as well.
Actually Allentown, which is only about 50 miles / 60 minutes door-to-door by car to 30th St. Station, and about 1-1/2 hours to PHL (Phila. Int’l. Airport), both outside of rush hours - add 1/2 hour if during the rush hour. But I’ve never done it by air, even with the local airport (ABE) less than 5 miles away - no time savings and way more expensive.
The Regional is way faster and more convenient than the car - no contest. Even can get a few billable hours in most times, with a little forethought. Spacious seats and a work surface - drop-down tray table - are right there. Food, drink, and bathrooms convenient, too - none of this is available in a car.
Took the Acela once Wash. - Phila., just to try it out. 30 minutes faster for $50 more - ride not quite as good, nor as spacious as the Regional. Would use the Regional for that leg on it again - perceived net benefits of Acela (less time but a little less comfort, too) not worth that added cost. But I’ve told my wife when we go to Boston (her wish, not mine), we’ll go Acela from Phila. rather than Regional or drive for the time savings.
A mile-a-minute on the Pike? They’ve got to be joking… (To all you non-Massachusetts-anites, the Mass Pike is well known for its early morning traffic…)
You’d have to go pretty fast to make up time from that as well as in New York and other busy areas…
Train sounds easier to me, but I don’t know about prices. How much would it cost to travel the same places by car?
I’m not an air traveler–at all!–so I don’t know much about how well either airport is tied in to the central city. But I suspect that if you’re coming from and going to the respective downtowns, quite a bit of time and money (either transit costs or cab/limo fares) will be eaten up, too.
The last time I was on a train that would now come under the “Regional” branding, we traveled at up to 120 m.p.h. between Washington and Philadelphia. I think that Acelas can only do 135, tops, in this area, so the time savings isn’t going to be all that much.
The SoCal branch of the AAA listed (in fall 2007) the costs of driving a car at 56.2 cents a mile. It is easy to calculate that gas, even at its most costly, was only about 1/3 the cost of driving. Yet most travel writers only compare the gas cost to the cost of a RR or plane ticket. At the AAA rate the 441 miles from Boston to DC would cost $248.
Another consideration: on a train or in a car you don’t have to deal with the tender mercies of the TSA security personnel. I have two cardiac stents in me and they set off the wands the last time I flew. They wouldn’t look at my card for the stents and I had to almost strip (without very much privacy) to convince them it was legit.
The real benefit of driving comes when there are more than one traveling together. That divides the cost instead of multiplying it as on a train or plane.
One difference between the Regional Service and the Acela not pointed out is that the Acela does not have a Coach class, just Business and First Class, which should show the market that they’re planning to accomodate. I’m not sure that the price quoted above for the Regional Service was Business or Coach Class.
Another difference in driving to DC is parking. If the hotel you’re staying at doesn’t have a garage, good luck finding a place to put your car. With the Washington Metro system, the last several visits I made to our capitol city, my car never went into town. In fact, last time it was parked in Philadelphia and I took the train into DC Union Station, where there’re also Metro rail and bus stops. At least in the capitol, they seem to have the idea of an integrated public transportation system.
The lowest Acela fare from Boston to Washington is $149. But the average Acela fare as per Amtrak.com for December 10th, as an example, is $193.40, with the highest being $223. Only one train per day, at least for December 10th, is listed for $149. Based on the average fare the cost is 43.85 cents per mile.
The cost for the regional train is 19.72 cents per mile, which as shown below is less than the cost per mile for me to drive so
Just last weekend, some friends and I took the train from South Station in Boston to Washington, D.C. for the weekend. On the way down, we were on Train 83, a Regional job. On the way back, we splerged for Acela seats on Train 2256.
Train 83 took 7 hours and 50 minutes. Train 2256 took 6 hours and 41 minutes. I have to tell you, the difference was vast in my mind. The trip down seemingly took forever, while the way back (even after a long weekend of touristing in D.C.) was seemingly much faster (and no, I didn’t nap in either direction). Both trains ran within 5 minutes of the advertised (we were a touch later going down than back). But the difference between an almost 8 hour train ride vs. an almost 6.5 hour train ride was quite noticable and well worth it, IMHO.
Paul North,
Um, how can the Regional be more spacious, have a superior ride, and be more comfortable than the Acela? The AmCoaches have 2-2 seating while the Acela has 2-1 seating. This means the Acela seats are wider (and I know they are more comfortable). I know for certain that the bathrooms are a lot roomier on the Acela, and so is the cafe. Ride quality is a little more subjective, but on all five Acela trips I’ve been on, the ride has always been better than on the AmFleet. YMMV.
I realize you are kidding about a ferry between Boston and Washington, but I cannot imagine how a high-speed ferry could be competitive in time between Boston and Washington because Washington has no direct access to the Atlantic Ocean. What about the bus?
On what level of service was your difference in the fares between the Acela Express and the Amtrak Regional based? The Acela Express has first and business classes while the Amtrak Regionals have coach and business classes.
One way somebody might justify the $62 difference between the Acela Expresses and the Regionals is to figure that time is money. So if one earns $62 per hour or more that might justify taking the Acela Express rather than a Regional.
Neither the Acela Express nor the Regional are particularly fast between New York and Boston due to many speed restrictions and several moveable span bridges that have to open frequently. However, both trains are much faster between New York and Washington because there are fewer speed restrictions since the line is straighter, and there are fewer moveable span bridges along the way which have to open frequently.
The Acela train is more expensive than driving if you’re taking a family of four to NYC, and it really took me a long time to convince my wife to take the train again. Here are a few things for families that might make the extra hundred bucks more acceptable. If you take Acela it’s much shorter than NE Regional for a couple of reasons aside from the speed of the trains. Delays are less on Acela than on Regionals evidently due to their high priority in the system. Acela passengers get to use exclusive waiting rooms in DC and NYC. The crowds do not need to “rush the train” like they do on the Regionals which can be an annoying problem when you’re with family who wants to sit together. The seats are nicer and bigger on Acela. Finally, on Acela, you almost never need to check your bag because all seats have both overhead and underseat luggage holders and car-end luggage racks. I wish all Amtrak trains would convert to use overhead luggage bins!! It’s such a natural and obvious improvement of Acela over the other trains, I wonder if Amtrak could even stop using baggage and cabbage cars by installing those airplane-style overhead luggage bins on all cars.
Another factor to consider when flying to Washington is the security restriction - you cannot stand up during the last hour of a flight into National. If you need to use the bathroom, you are basically out of luck. For several shorter flights, you are not allowed to get up at all during a flight into or out of National. I don’t think that Dulles has the same restrictions but since the rail connection to Dulles is currently scheduled to be completed sometime in the distant feature, Dulles is simply not an option.
Between the security and dignity issues, flying a short distance like that isn’t worthwhile - you just aren’t going to save too much time
Oh - one other thing about flying into National - I used to work in Rosslyn almost right under the flight path to National. After watching some planes stray too far over Arlington, and pass way too close to the buildings for comfort there I would never recommend flying into National if you can avoid it. National is generally considered the most dangerous North American airport by pilots and aviation safety experts because there is absolutely no margin for error on approach or departure.
The point about parking in Washington is a very good one. Parking is hard to come by and expensive. The Metro is very fast and efficient - and it stops at Union Station and National Airport. In fact, the Metro is the only thing I miss about Washington. Driving in Washington is a nightmare. Last time I drove up there I remembered why I hated living there. The traffic is simply atrocious.
from prior post: “National is generally considered the most dangerous North American airport by pilots and aviation safety experts because there is absolutely no margin for error on approach or departure.”
Not to be contentious, but worse than Midway in Chicago? Worse even than San Diego?? – al
I am a retired pilot. The things that make Reagan Intl so dangerous are:It is in the middle of high density development and up against a river which results in the runways being too short, but there is no way to lengthen them. The people who live near it complain constantly about the noise, so it has noise abatement arrival and departure procedures. Arrivals must come down the river and then turn toward the runway at low altitude, and departures must do maximum performance climbing turns to stay over the river while climbing as steeply as possible for noise control.It is a living example of why the airports in are normally so far out of town.
National, or what we’re supposed to now call “Reagan National,” only exists because the members of Congress do not want to ride the 30 minutes to Dulles. Furthermore, I observe motorcades blasting down the airport restricted lanes of the Dulles Access Road to know that nobody wants to have motorcades blast down the Dulles Access Road at any time. Incidentally, Metro (subway) service to Dulles is approved by the FTA to Weile Ave, which is about halfway to the airport. The second approval (that brings it slightly past the airport) still has an unknown fate.
AL: I’ve also flown to the three airporets you mention. Practice in flying the shuttle to DCA is the only thing that makes it safe. Cannot tell you how many times flying into DCA with someone who never flew there I had to take over even when I was flying co-pilot for some reason. SAN not too bad really just stay on or above the glide slope. MDW no problem at all unless there is a southeast wind and ORD is landing on runway 13 and midway 13 also. Then conflicts really boost the pucker factor for those low minimun approaches.
Guys, this is very interesting. Thanks for sharing. Have to admit that I only flew in and out of Nat’l a couple of times, and it was “glorious flying weather” both times.
Midway scares the heck out of me but then, I’ve been known to route thru it anyway to save a few bucks. Nonetheless only empiricism keeps me from being positive that we didn’t take out that guy’s TV antenna. (Alas, MDW is now almost as much a hassle as O’Hare because it has grown so large, the fifty-dollars-and-growing taxi fares are not nice, and security seems to me no less of a hassle than anywhere else.)
San Diego was just once, and I will say that the “condo canyon” nearby wasn’t as scary as scary as 60 Minutes had made it sound.
I apologize for the f[censored!]g bullets but somehow they got enabled and I can’t cut them. - a.s.