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Since reducing Acela Express fares five weeks ago, Amtrak has seen ridership increase 13 percent on the Boston-to-New York City route — averaging 12,525 trips per week compared with 11,073 before fares were reduced to $99.



The national passenger railroad also reported a 34 percent increase in the number of Acela passengers that purchased first-class tickets — an average of 1,477 passengers per week have ridden the high-speed train first class during the past five weeks compared with 1,106 prior to the fare change.



Acela ridership previously averaged a 15.4 percent drop compared with the same 2002 period. Now, ridership is up an average of 5.6 percent over last year.