"The reason so many ostensible air users will opt for Acela instead is one of a cultural entitlement that seems hardwired into the collective psyche of Northeasterners." What utter hogwash!

Speaking as someone who used PRR's (later Amtrak's) Metroliners for many years, the reason many travelers, especially business travelers, opted for the train between Washington DC and New York (or Philadelphia) was speed, comfort and convenience. The travel time between a lawyer's office on F Street, NW, in DC and a bank in lower Manhattan was, after the Metroliner was introduced, shorter and arrival more reliable by train, plus the seats more comfortable and the amenities better. Yes, even Pennsy's plastic food was better than Eastern Airlines' no food and plastic coffee. But most importantly, even in those naive days, both National (now Reagan) and LaGuardia Airports were vastly more degrading and insufferable than were any of the old railroad terminals.