(Bloomberg News distributed the following article by Chris Dolmetsch on February 17.)
NEW YORK — Amtrak lowered some fares on its high-speed Acela Express trains between Boston and Washington by as much as 25 percent to attract leisure travelers as ridership falls because of fewer business trips.
Amtrak will offer one-way nonrefundable Acela business-class tickets for as low as $99 between New York and Washington, down from $133 or more, and as low as $79 between Boston and New York, from $93 or higher. The prices are available for travel from March 3 through June 26 and tickets must be purchased 14 days in advance.
Acela ridership dropped about 14 percent in January from the same month a year ago, and about 10 percent for the four months ending in January from the same period last year, spokesman Cliff Cole said in a telephone interview from New York.
“The economy being what it is, a good many business people have either cut back their operational budgets or been laid off, and that has traditionally been our clientele for the Acela,” Cole said. “This is an initiative to make it more affordable for the leisure traveler.”
The Acela Express, which started running in 2000, is the only high-speed rail line in the U.S. It carries passengers between Boston’s South Station and Washington’s Union Station at speeds of as much as 150 mph (241 kph), according to Amtrak’s Web site.
Amtrak’s annual ridership for the year ending Sept. 30 rose to a record for the sixth year in a row as higher gasoline prices led more travelers to use trains. The railroad’s passenger loads were up 14 percent in July to a monthly record as U.S. regular gasoline prices reached as much as $4.114 a gallon on July 17.
The highest one-way fares on the Acela are $221 for a trip between New York and Washington and $155 for travel between Boston and New York, Cole said.