Amtrak’s Acela: better than flying
Amazingly, neither JetBlue nor American Airlines could confirm a flight from any New York City airport to Boston this morning. The cutbacks in airline capacity are taking their toll and have driven me to take the train for the first time in a long time. So here I am, sitting on Amtrak’s “Acela,†cruising between New York and Boston.
I have to admit this is not the travel-weary train I expected. In fact, the Acela is spick-and-span. I have a table to work on, plug-in power for my laptop, and seats equal to first class airplane seats. Coffee and sandwiches are available just a couple of cars down the train, there’s a place to spread out my newspaper, and the countryside is panning by at high speed, socked in by thick fog. I smile as I realize that my wished-for flight is probably delayed.
This train is a pleasant surprise. I have traveled on the regional trains that normally ply the route between Boston and New York, and this train is nothing like them. In fact, it is a step above anything else on American rails. It’s well worth the $30-or-so surcharge over the usual fare for this route.
Plus, I’m scheduled to arrive in Boston only a half-hour after the flight I tried to reserve at the last minute.
Let’s do a time comparison. I walked out the door of my 72nd Street accommodations at 7 a.m., took the subway to Penn Station and had my ticket in my hand by 7:24 a.m. That left me time to search for a Sausage & Egg McMuffin and a cup of coffee and relax a bit before the train pulled out of the station.
On the other hand, flying from New York City requires at least an hour of transportation just to get to the airport — more in most cases. (The subway/Airtrain to JFK takes about 60 minutes. The train to Newark takes at least an hour, and 90 minutes if connections at Penn Station aren’t perfect. Morning traffic often snarls the bus to La Guardia — same with a cab — so you have to plan on at least an hour of transit.) Add another hour to go through security and get to the gate on time. The flight takes about an hour and a half, and it will take you at least another half-hour to get to downtown Boston. Add it up: Flying from New York to Boston takes between four and a half and five hours, provided there are no delays.
And the train? The Acela takes three hours and 35 minutes from downtown to downtown. Granted, you have to get to the train and be there a bit early, but it is nothing like the rigmarole of getting to and through the airport.
Moreover, the economics of this deal are staggering. My Amtrak Acela ticket cost me $106. OK, I spent an additional $2 for the subway down from 72nd Street. A total of $108.
What about flying? Well, first you have to get there. The train to Newark Airport costs $14. The Airtrain to JFK is $7. Taxis cost $45 to JFK and about $30 to LaGuardia, and at least $40 to Newark Airport.
Now, get ready for the sticker shock for the one-way airline ticket. According to Sidestep.com, which I am consulting at this very moment, the least expensive airfare is on Continental: $279 for a 9:15 p.m. flight out of Newark. In the afternoon, the least expensive one-way airfare is $309 on either US Airways or Delta, this time from La Guardia.
You don’t need a powerful computer to make this price comparison. The least-expensive total cost, on Continental from Newark, comes in at $293. The least expensive total cost from La Guardia is more, approximately $340. Remember, Amtrak’s Acela costs $106; the subway costs $2. This is a savings of between $185 and $230 – plus, there’s more opportunity for uninterrupted work or reading on the train.
Verdict: On the New York–to–Boston run (and vice-versa), the Acela is a steal, especially if you have to travel at the last minute. I may not fly this route again — not unless I need to connect to another flight, or I find a great round-trip ticket, or I can plan far ahead. Even then I’d think twice, as the Acela fare is comparable to the discounted flights, once transit costs are added in.
With the Acela option, taking a plane is just not worth the hassle.
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