On Thu, 01 Apr 2004 13:56:56 -0800, Henry Littleton wrote:

A few weeks ago, I did a day return trip on the flagship Amtrak 'Acela
Express' down the Northeast corridor between New York Penn station and
Washington. The journey took 2h45m at 150mph, and the train consisted
of 4 Business (Standard here) coaches, 1 First coach and 1 very
pleasant Cafe (buffet) coach. The service provided by the attendant
in the First coach was fantastic with a range of complimentary snacks
and beverages throughout.

The return fares were as follows:-

Peak Business rtn fa £160
Peak First rtn fa £250

Now, compare this with Virgin West Coast from here in Euston to
Manchester. The journey time is very similar at 2h40m but obviously
the distance covered is far less than above.

Peak return fares with Virgin a-

Std Open rtn: £182
1st Open rtn: £280

Make your own conclusions, but who is better value for money? Before
anyone says Virgin have great Value fares, so do Amtrak on the Acela!

Yes, but ask anyone coming from the US at the moment and everything is
poor value because the dollar is so weak at the moment. At at rate of 1.6
the prices are similar.