NY-AC Express Train Update from Phila. Inquirer

[Poshua]

The Philadelphia Inquirer ran a story about the NY-AC express service on October 15, but I just noticed it today. It doesn't give exact information on fares or commencement of service, but it does provide a few updates:

<ul type="square">[*]Service will start in late 2007 or early 2008. When the service was first announced (June 2006), NJ Transit had projected a start date in late 2007. [*]Fares will be "competitive, not necessarily comparable" with existing Amtrak-NJ Transit train service requiring a change in Philadelphia. The Inquirer pegs that price at $53 to $87; to arrive at those numbers, they must have used fares for Amtrak Regional service. Previous coverage had suggested the pricing would be in line with Amtrak's more expensive Acela, not the Regional. The one-way NY-Philly Acela fare for this Friday is $135 at 5 PM, $122 at 6 PM. Since the story didn't explicitly state that Regional service would be the price guide, I suspect the fares will be more in line with the Acela prices.[*]Trip time will be 160 minutes, with one intermediate stop in Newark.[*]There will be nine round trips each weekend, and each train will have 300 seats. Previous reports had said as many as 75% of tickets would be reserved for the subsidizing casino operators (Borgata and HET) with only 25% of tickets (that is, 675 each way per weekend) to be sold on the open market. So, this won't (at least initially) be a very high-capacity venture with lots of tickets to sell, making it easier to hit these high price targets.[/list]

[nineinchal]

160 minutes with an intermediate stop in Newark?

Just put me on a bus.

[nyc999]

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160 minutes with an intermediate stop in Newark?

Just put me on a bus.

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Almost every train that heads south out of NYC stops through Newark-Penn Station. I wouldn't pay that much for a ride to AC (prefer to drive), but it would be much more enjoyable than a bus trip.

[NYTyler]

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160 minutes with an intermediate stop in Newark?

Just put me on a bus.

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Almost every train that heads south out of NYC stops through Newark-Penn Station. I wouldn't pay that much for a ride to AC (prefer to drive), but it would be much more enjoyable than a bus trip.

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Somewhere in the neighborhood of $52 to $135??? Bus is $32 get $20 back. Only $12. This sounds like it will be way too expensive anyways. Especially if it takes 2 hrs to get there and the bus only takes about 2hrs and 20mins. I will go via Academy or Greyhound. Now if they made it an express train like the high speed ones they have in Europe and you get there in an hour...I might be tempted.

[Poshua]

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160 minutes with an intermediate stop in Newark?

Just put me on a bus.

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Almost every train that heads south out of NYC stops through Newark-Penn Station. I wouldn't pay that much for a ride to AC (prefer to drive), but it would be much more enjoyable than a bus trip.

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The train won't appeal to everybody, but I think there's a significant market in NYC that will buy tickets. It's targeted at affluent young people (25-35 years old) who live in NYC and don't have cars. New York is basically the only market in the country with lots of affluent, carless households.

Currently, their two main options for getting to AC are the bus and car rental. The train will be much more expensive than the bus and a bit more expensive than car rental (assuming a group of two people who can share one car). However, a lot of people (myself included) find the bus to be a very unpleasant experience. Driving is nicer, but traffic is often bad at peak Atlantic City travel times. 2h 40m sounds slow, but it's definitely faster than my average Friday afternoon drive time to AC. Further, a lot of people who choose to be carless Manhattanites don't like to drive at all.

Some people don't mind the bus and some people like to drive. The key users for the train will be people who find the bus to be gross and driving to be a hassle not worth the marginal cost savings.

[*TT*]

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The train won't appeal to everybody, but I think there's a significant market in NYC that will buy tickets. It's targeted at affluent young people (25-35 years old) who live in NYC and don't have cars. New York is basically the only market in the country with lots of affluent, carless households.

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Take it one step further, I think it will become known as "The Comp Train" - replacing the long lost comped limo rides of the old days now that AC is on a downward trend.

[TomTom]

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Fares have not been set, but casino officials say they expect prices to be competitive with Amtrak's service through Philadelphia, which ranges from $53 to $87 EACH WAY.

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Way too much. And I love trains.

[mshalen]

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[ QUOTE ]
The train won't appeal to everybody, but I think there's a significant market in NYC that will buy tickets. It's targeted at affluent young people (25-35 years old) who live in NYC and don't have cars. New York is basically the only market in the country with lots of affluent, carless households.

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Take it one step further, I think it will become known as "The Comp Train" - replacing the long lost comped limo rides of the old days now that AC is on a downward trend.

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I really miss the 80's.

[postoakpoker]

Maybe a bus to AC from the city attracts a different crowd, but I took bus rides from ohio to psu to visit an ex gf, and I can't exactly say I was comfortable with the average rider

[onoble]

i haven't taken the bus to AC before, but was considering it.

Is it really that bad? Should I be worried about carrying my roll on it?