Actually your question assumes that both an Acela and a Regional train leave NY at the same time which never happens. Looking over the schedule, the next train to leave after the 8:20p Acela Express #2173 is Regional #187 at 9:05p which gets into Philly at 10:27pm. The last Regional train to Philly prior to the 8:20pm Acela departure was Regional #175 at 7:40pm. So in response to your question, with the aforementioned information, the logic of paying $62 more would be to get home almost an hour earlier (not faster) at 9:28pm on Acela instead of at 10:27pm on the Regional.
Your question also assumes that “home” is at or near 30th Street Station. If you have to connect to SEPTA Regional Rail, Subway/Trolley or bus service, then saving $62 by taking the later Regional train could result in longer connecting times to SEPTA service (depending on what line/service you need) which in turn potentially means getting home even later than the Acela would have.
Honestly, in the end it boils down to how much do you value your time.
Making $100/hr. is hardly rare. Additionally, many folks heading to NYP might want to make it in time to a Broadway show, a concert or an event in the Garden. Or perhaps they want to get home for dinner with family?
Yes, but making it in between the time you have to leave for Penn Station to catch a 7:40 and the time you have to leave to catch an 8:20 – which is the only measure of marginal income that actually applies to this situation – is likely to be far more rare.
Especially if you are in a business where you choose to live in Philadelphia. And absolutely, positively,need to be in the office late but not all that late.
Sorry, I’m from New York and spent considerable time in Philadelphia, and I just don’t see the point.
(But then again, I’m not striving to get the absolute maximum number of Amtrak favor points per month…that’s about the only activity for which the example would make sense.)
Give me the short list of Broadway shows and MSG events that happen in Philadelphia. Or weren’t you reading it right.
Show me anyone who would rather have dinner after 9:30 … no,wait, it’s going to be later than that when anyone actually gets to the dinner table … instead of dinner at whatever time the earlier train gets there. Or, in either case, would keep his “family” up that late to have dinner at that hour.
I agree with you. And I don’t mind rolling along for several more minutes. Both Northeast Regional trains and Acelas run throughout the day so if you want to be in, say, Philadelphia starting from New York you can arrange that with either train. So it is a question of each to his own taste and pocketbook.
That is one of those questions which, if you decided to ask it, the answer will be “no.” And I would prefer to buy my own food at one of the really excellent bakeries or delis in New York Penn Station than get it on any train. But clearly there are people who make a different decision. A lot of people.
You are right, Schlimm. And if I made that kind of money I just might not want to bother with slower service. One guy who didn’t want to bother with it is Joe Biden. I just read an article which said that in the Senate he rode Acela between DC and Wilmington 7 or 8 thousand times. The article called him “Amtrak Joe Biden.”
Wilmington: capital of the state he represented for so long
Washington: logical ‘other end’ where he does the business.
Alternative service that makes sense to use between these two points: NIL. Too long for a limousine, too short for a (suitably secure) flight. Helicopters from Andrews too flashy.
I just wish he would remember his roots and GET SCRANTON-NY SERVICE PRIORITIZED.
I was thinking of Philly to NYP and not concerned with the precise time of evening, obviously, in response to the diversion from the original theme of this thread, which was::
One way to get HSR to pay for itself…
And the answer is, the only HSR we have currently already “pays for itself” and subsidizes the Northeast Regional service.
Not to beat a dead horse, but If anyone thinks that it is illogical to pay $62 more for Acela service over Regional service, just imagine what the people who ride Bolt Bus and MegaBus think of the idiots who take either Amtrak or NJT/SEPTA between NY and Philly. Tickets for both bus companies start at $1 and averages about $8 one-way. So what is the logic in taking the train for a minimum of $24 if you can get to Philly (or Baltimore or Boston or Washington) for $1.00 on the bus? [2c]
To add insult to injury, most buses are scheduled to make the NY-PHI trip in 2 hours which bests the typical NJT/SEPTA running time.
Our Ridewithmehenry group has discussed the idea of riding Acela between NYP or Newark and Philadelphia. Time wise it is about 10 to 15 minutes faster than several trains but only about 5 minutes faster than a limited stop Regional…Minimum fare for the ACELA is $97 and it goes up from there; no Sr or other discounts except weekends; seat price could be as high as $161 or more for peak hours and at boarding time. Regular Amtrak trains are less than half the Acela fare and allow for discounts any day. Our conclusion is simply that…“yeah, but you’ve got to get the ACELA experience, it might just be worth it.” But that is a railfan’s take on it. I am sure the businessman or others who have the money are glad to pay whatever fare for the luxuries of ACELA. Timing is less than 15 minutes across the Amtrak board, so those who don’t need the luxuries and don’t want to pay for them can easily accept the other trains. Those who are on tight budgets will take SEPTA to Trenton: they can board SEPTA trains anywhere in the system either heading to Trenton or to transfer to the Trenton trains at Philadelphia stations; or they could go to Camden and ride the River Line to Trenton accessed by PATCO accessed by SEPTA subway, trolley, and bus services (there is even a combined RiverLIne-SEPTA bus ticket!).
Two points I want to make: 1) there is a service available for need and willingness and ability to pay…and all are well used by all levels in this case (Philadelphia-Newark-New York). The marketers and providers have done their jobs rather well. Could there be more of this or that? Could SEPTA offer express Philadelphia to Trenton service–would that increase the number of people that use SEPTA-NJT or just increase the number of trains—would it take away from Amtrak? Could there be or should there be return to the Clockers Market St-Suburban-30th ST to Trenton, Princeton, New Brunswick, NWR, Newark, NYP? Populatio
Better still – why not the same kind of ‘joint operation’ between NJT and SEPTA that currently exists on the Port Jervis line? I doubt Amtrak will care, and in fact should be overjoyed that some of the load is being taken up by the kind of ‘state-subsidized’ service that was mandated in 2008 (and that we have discussed half to death in connection with the Pennsylvanian).
Personally, I have no hesitation in saying yes to this. (Is there no longer any point in stopping at North Philadelphia or Metropark/Iselin? And I would think a stop, even a short one, at Lautenberg/Secaucus would be in order for at least some of the trains…)
My chief concern with the situation as you describe it is that SEPTA would have considerable equipment utilization but with minimal actual convenience to anyone living in Pennsylvania unless (1) they go to Trenton in the first place, which wouldn’t involve SEPTA at all), or (2) they go somewhere or connect through to something convenient to 30th St.
Conversely, if NJT picks up a proportionate share of the load, they now have multiple trains that are operating over on SEPTA a considerable portion of the time. This may be seen by NJ as a kind of unfunded mandate situation unless Pennsylvania kicks in a higher share than ‘proportionate’ of the subsidies involved.
I see nothing insurmountable in the applied politics here. And there is tremendous regional incentive for a ‘faster’ service comparable to the Clockers, although it would be sad if they couldn’t manage under 90 min
Definitely a marketing survey is needed. Included would have to be all who currently use Amtrak, SEPTA and NJT trains, all who currently use the RiverLine-bus option or who use RiverLine-PATCO option; those who use buses, those who use car, those who use nothing because it is too complicated (cost or expense will be revealed later). The longest segment is across NJ but not necessarily the most ridership from there…and downtown to downtown may not be the core riders either…but that will depend on the type of service wanted, needed or proposed.
Once, long ago (mid 1980s?), I wound up taking a morning Metroliner from Wilmington to DC. (I think I was picking up a piece of test equipment from Amtrak). Coach was sold out, so I was allowed to upgrade to Metroclub that day. Wound up sitting right across from Joe Biden. I don’t think Joe was in club for the same reason I was…
I checked Megabus New York to Philadelphia. It is cheaper than NJT plus SEPTA but I found no $1 fares.
for Sunday, March 17 fares are $15 to $20
For April 17 fares run from $5 to $15
One problem I can see is that Megabus tends to serve big cities. Can you get Megabus from Elizabeth to Philadelphia? or New Brunswick to Phildadelphia? Or Trenton to Philadelphia? From Elizabeth and Trenton on Megabus you just can’s get there from here. From New Brunswick it is possible; you take Megabus to New York and then change to Philadelphia.