For Short Trips, More Travelers Are Hitting the Rails

Aug. 27, 2007 — -- For an increasing number of today's travelers, the preferred way to get from point A to point B is still what it was in the 19th century: the railroad.

As airline on-time performance hits new lows and security gets tighter than ever before, Amtrak has seen a spike in travel during the last 10 months, with most of the new occupancy coming from customers on high-traffic business routes centered around New York and Chicago.

Amtrak's Acela route that connects Boston, New York and Washington has seen a 20 percent passenger spike in the last 10 months, while service across all Amtrak routes is up 5.8 percent since last October. This rise is especially remarkable considering that two years ago, in the midst of an airline price war, Acela ridership declined 31 percent.

Haider Rizvi, the director of sales for Travel Treat, a New York-based travel agency that has contracts with several large companies and universities, said he has noticed that more people are looking favorably on ground transport.

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"Security is the biggest issue. There's a huge line for people getting in the plane," Rizvi said. He also said trains are particularly attractive for business travelers, who can use their cellular phones and computers to work while en route.

During June, only 68 percent of flights were on time. Over the first six months of this year, the rate fell to 73 percent — the lowest over that time period since record-keeping began 13 years ago, according to the Department of Transportation.

By contrast, 88 percent of Acela trains have been on time to date this year, according to the railroad company.

Time Is Money

Time saved by eschewing delays and long security lines is not the only advantage enjoyed by train travelers. Airports like those serving New York, Boston and Washington are located outside the city limits and it can often take an hour to commute downtown to a meeting or tourist locale. But train hubs in those cities are located in the middle of downtown, saving travelers a big chunk of time.

Time is the name of the game, Rizvi said. His clients rarely inquire about the price of a trip. "Cost is not really an issue. It's all about time," he said. So shaving even a few minutes off travel time can make a big difference."

"Anytime you can cut down on your travel time when going on a biz trip that certainly will be a big factor in choosing your mode of transportation," Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole said.

A one-way business class seat on an Acela train from New York to Washington purchased today for Tuesday costs $173 and takes about two hours and 45 minutes to complete. A JetBlue flight from New York to Washington at the same time costs $149 and lasts about an hour and twenty minutes. For many firms the price difference is negligible and security waits and airport travel time eliminate much of the time savings, and so they turn to trains.

Amtrak also recently added a new express train from New York to Washington. That train drops all intermediate stops except Philadelphia, cutting travel time down to two hours and 35 minutes.

Of passengers who would take either the train or plane between Washington and New York, trains' share of the market has increased from 45 percent to a majority 54 percent of all runs, Amtrak spokesman Cole said.

Among other well-performing routes, Chicago-St. Louis is up 53 percent in ridership over the last 10 months. The Chicago-Carbondale route has seen a 63 percent jump over the same time period.

Cole said that high gas prices have also played a role in this trend, contributing to a spike in the cost of plane flights. Amtrak trains, run on electricity, which haven't seen the same price spike as oil.

No New Routes

Airport companies were reluctant to divulge their passenger information. A spokesman for U.S. Airways said the company has not seen a decrease in ridership of late and attributed the low on-time rates in part to weather-related relays.

Spokesman Morgan Durrant said that security checks have caused a decline in flight attendance. He said that when the Transportation Security Administration first introduced a ban on liquids and gels in carry-on baggage the airline saw a decline in ridership, but that it has since bounced back.

Cole said that while Amtrak is always looking to make travel faster, building new rail lines to become even more competitive with airlines is likely not an option.

"The cost factor is pretty much exorbitant. It would be in the billions of dollars," he said.