Filling the seats is the best way to raise the revenue without appeaciablely increasing the costs of operation. Every empty seat is lost revenue.
The trick is finding the best way of filling the seats. The problem is how to get the best bang for the advertising/promotional buck.
While we are all railfans and may like the idea of a short, little freight train or a rail extravaganza, the real money comes the non-dyed-in-the-wool railfan.
From my experience the real money comes from one of two groups that have expendable income. One group is families with kids who are turned on with trains. The other group is age 50+ couples that are looking for scenery and unique experiences to visit.
Brian Norden