After years of delays, the day is finally here: the fastest train in the United States is ready for its great debut.
That is the new Amtrak Next generation acelathat can (theoretically) travel to 160 mph. The Trainters, which will become a pillar in roads between Boston and Washington, DC, were delivered for the first time in 2020, but since then they have been sitting at the Ferroyard for half a decade waiting for the completion of the tests and the final certification.
Finally, the waiting game is over. The Acela program of the next generation of a decade will reach its greatest milestone to date on Thursday, when the first of the new trains enters the income service along the Northeast of Amtrak corridor.
Now, with delays in the rearview mirror, it is time to test the most modern offer of Amtrak.
That opportunity arrived on Wednesday, August 27, when Amtrak invited executives, key partners (including the Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy) and the media selected for the first trip from DC to Boston.
I joined the train at the Moynihan Train Hall in New York and set up in several cars for the trip of approximately four hours through the Northeast corridor.
This is what you need to know about the new trains.
First class coach
The emotion begins in the first -class car, right at the front of the train in the 1.
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It will be a somewhat methodical deployment.
From the beginning, Amtrak will present five of the new trains built by ALSTOM of 28 in total.
Amtrak says that more new trains will be applied until 2027, since it completes the retirement of the Legacy Legacy trains fields.
At the launch, the following services will have the new trains:
- Week days: Trains 2153, 2154, 2170 and 2173
- Saturdays: trains 2250 and 2251
- Domains: Trains 2248, 2258, 2259 and 2271
When booking a train on the website or the AMTRAK mobile application, look for the “Nextgen” label next to the route. You can see on the website, lists the label in Premium Booking
This label denotes services operated by the new acela.
Back on the train, it will address through doors that present the Alstom logo at the level of the foot, in the same way that Bombardier C planes used to present this mark when it climbed on board. (Airbus suspended this when the C series project took over).
The first class car is arranged in a 1-2 configuration, with individual seats on the car side and double seats on the starboard side.
Unlike the existing acela, this has only one set of individual seats that share a table. (The existing acela has four sets of seats in this configuration).
Similarly, there is only one table on the other side of the cabin, compared to four in the existing design.
Business travelers seek to organize a Powwow on board will not be pleased with this design, but all others who prefer not to end at a four -top table when traveling alone will probably be excited about this change.
The cabin itself feels much more modern than the existing acela. I loved orange bursts in the seat headrests and high -definition television screens that show the station and trip information.
Each seat has a small legrest that can be raised or lowered, as well as a tray table that measures 10.5 inches long and 17 inches wide, probably not large enough to comfortably adjust a 15 -inch portable computer (or more).
The good news is that the table can be extended as necessary to create a more ergonomic workstation.
The aerial compartments have been replaced by storage of exposed luggage, and larger bags can be placed on the front and rear of each car in the luggage towers.
Speaking of the halls between cars, this is where you will find the bathroom. Here is an interesting configuration: automatic doors are at half circles and revolve open when pressing a button.
You must press a button to close the door and then press a lock button to mark the bath as busy.
Inside, all controls are without touch, a good hygiene update, but still will take me a little accustomed to the new process of entry and exit of the bathroom.
Executive class cars
All but one of the remaining cars are dedicated to business class seats.
Here, the seats are organized in a 2-2 configuration, which is standard for Amtrak executive class configuration.
The seats alternate between guidance forward and backward, and there are four tables in the center of each car for travelers who want to catch up with colleagues or friends.
As with the existing acela, all seats are assigned. It seems that Amtrak could be preparing to debut banks of digital seats that could show their reserve information and travel, since the seats have a strip of letters on them.
The seats themselves have 39 inches of tone, which is 3 inches less than the first class.
The seats are definitely firmer in terms of comfort, although I imagine that will change as the cushions break in the coming months.
Interestingly, the backs of the seats are not actually reclined, and the central armrests are not mobile. (Only the armrests of the hall can be raised or down).
When the Recline button presses, the lower cushion slides forward, which I think makes relaxing a little less comfortable than the configuration existing in the oldestus.
And be careful if you are sitting on a table: if the seat cushion slides too much, your knees can hit the table.
The comforts in the seat in the executive class are essentially the same as those of the first.
This includes two CA power sales and two USB-A ports between each seat. Unfortunately, these trains occurred before USB-C had become the main current.
There is also an incorporated reading light in each headrest.
Amtrak greatly improved Wi-Fi in the new Acela trains. Internet now works with 5G cell towers along the route, which is great news for when there is mobile reception. In fact, in my tests, I frequently measured download speeds of more than 100 Mbps and loading speeds exceed 30 Mbps.
However, there are parts of the northeast corridor with poor cell reception, and their internet experience will suffer in those areas. (It was then that a satellite option, like Starlink, would have been much more reliable).
Café Acela
The best main update with the new trains is the coffee car, called “Cafe Acela”.
For the first time, there are refrigerators to carry, where you can take a snack quickly and then see a built -in tablet.
This will definitely help shorten the line for the counter service during peak hours.
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Zach Griff/The Points Guy
You can still collect hot items through the counter and even participate in the cart service in executive class. (The first class is served to the letter with dedicated assistants).
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Zach Griff/The Points Guy
The coffee car also has some areas of the bar to the back to the back. There are no stools or seats here, so this is definitely designed for short visits, or perhaps a fast phone call.
End
Amtrak’s next -generation Acela train is an important update of the railway experience in the Northeast.
Modern touches, such as new LED reading lights, updated and fastest wi-fi color schemes, they should make this an excellent way to travel among some of the largest cities in the country.
While the “hard product”, the train itself and its configuration of seats, could resemble something that would find in Europe, unfortunately, these trains do not necessarily bring the very necessary infrastructure improvements that Amtrak requires in the northeast corridor.
If it is a comfort, at least the new trains should help relieve some of the cancellations related to the team that have been affecting the existing acela fleet.
But despite the advertising speeds of up to 160 mph, the drivers will not take the pedal to the metal for more than the short sections of the trip. (The monitoring improvements that could allow faster speeds and improve reliability are part of other ongoing projects with AMTRAK and regional entities).
But Amtrak has to start somewhere, and even if the whole trip will not operate at maximum speeds, the next -generation acela fleet and its associated improvements are still worth celebrating.
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