When I lived on Beacon Hill, I considered the 20 minute walk to South Station a nice part of the trip.
Regarding the Providence to NYP segment, the curves are an artifact of the general speeds of trains when the line was built. According to Amtrak, there is enough curvature to make something like 12 full circles. Unfortunately, significantly faster speeds will only be possible with a realignment of the ROW and property on that segment ain't cheap.
Realistically, I think time savings of several minutes could be achieved if the perpetually out of service track on Metro North comes back in service. Beyond that, I'm not sure what can be done without major cost.
One thing I did notice is that sense of speed on the train be deceiving. You definitely know when your doing 150 mph, but there are times when the train is cruising at 60-80 mph and it feels much slower until the hightway comes into view and you realize the train is still going faster that most of the cars -- even those in the left lane.
For the NYP-WAS segment, there was nonstop service for a while but it was eventually canceled. Not sure why.
For the NYP-New Haven part, part of the reason for the slowness is the old catenary, which is being slowly replaced; once it's all modernized, the Acela will apparently be allowed to go faster for much of that trip. Yet another delaly for the catenary modernization project was recently announced- won't be fully complete until 2020! It's Metro-North and Connecticut, not Amtrak, that's causing this.
I tried WAS-BBY for the first time last week in first.
Some thoughts & observations:
-Two meals served (one around Baltimore, the other after NY Penn)- love the mousse!
-Shoot for the single seat, makes more a much more pleasant trip over the course of six hours.
-Cabin wasn't at capacity until NYP, then it was pretty much full until Providence and the MA stops.
-Would highly recommend booking in first or using an S+ voucher for this ride.
Def. a pleasant experience- fantastic service overall. A great ride if you have the time. Don't forget to tip your attendants for service above and beyond!
For Immediate Release January 28, 2010
Fact Sheet: High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program: Northeast Region
Click here to download PDF
Awardees : Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority; Vermont Agency of Transportation, Massachusetts DOT, Rhode Island DOT, Connecticut DOT, New York State DOT, New Jersey Transit, Pennsylvania DOT, Delaware DOT, Maryland DOT, District of Columbia DOT
Benefiting State : Maine,Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Washington, D.C.
Miles of Track : New - 84, Upgraded - 1,542, Planned - 727
The Northeast region currently has the most integrated passenger rail network in the country. The vision for these rail corridors is to invest in projects that will boost speeds, cut trip times and strengthen the system as a real alternative to air and car travel. The seven intercity passenger rail corridors in the region include:
Washington, D.C. - New York- Boston (Northeast Corridor): The Northeast Corridor is the spine of the region’s passenger rail network; 11.5 million passengers traveled this corridor in 2008, making it the busiest in the United States. A long-term vision will be developed by a Congressionally established commission, which is charged with identifying potential improvements to the corridor, with FRA and Amtrak committed to reducing travel times.
Philadelphia - Harrisburg: Recent major investments in this 110mph corridor have made it the second busiest in the region, with 13 round trips per day. The long-term vision includes extension of this popular service to Pittsburgh and other communities in western Pennsylvania.
New York - Albany - Buffalo: The 468-mile Empire Corridor connects all of New York’s largest cities. The vision for the corridor is to increase speeds to 110mph and add daily round trips, with one of the largest investments being the construction of a third track between Albany and Buffalo.
New York - Montreal: Currently, there is daily service between New York and Montreal. Future eff orts will focus on improving speed and reliability on this corridor.
Boston - Portland - Brunswick: Five round trips per day currently connect Portland to Boston and the Northeast Corridor. The vision for the route includes reducing the travel time between Boston and Portland by 17 percent, increasing capacity to seven daily round trips, and extending service to Brunswick, ME.
Albany - Rutland: This daily service connects Albany, NY to Rutland, VT. A proposed rerouting and extension of the corridor would expand this service to Burlington, VT, directly connecting this region to New York City.
New Haven - Spring eld - Burlington - St. Albans: This corridor has one train per day connecting communities in central Connecticut and Massachusetts to the Northeast Corridor and Vermont. The vision for this corridor is to restore the alignment to its original route via the Knowledge Corridor in western Massachusetts, improving trip time and increasing the population base that can be served.
Summary of Corridor Investments
Grants from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will be used to improve safety, reliability, and travel times on all seven corridors in the region. These investments will complement ARRA funds granted to Amtrak for additional improvements to the various corridors in the Northeast.
Washington, D.C. - New York - Boston (Northeast Corridor): Funded improvements include major, long-needed projects such as the completion of engineering and environmental work for a new tunnel in Baltimore and a new station at Baltimore-Washington International Airport; final design for a new three-track bridge that will replace Portal Bridge in New Jersey; and track work in Rhode Island.
Philadelphia - Harrisburg: These grants will eliminate the three remaining grade crossings on the corridor, further improving the 110mph service, and will fund a planning study for extention of the service to Pittsburgh.
New York - Albany - Buffalo: Seven interrelated projects will be funded on this corridor, including construction of new track, signaling and interlocking improvements, upgrades to warning devices at grade crossings, and enhancements to stations in Rochester and Buffalo. These improvements will have signi cant safety benefi ts, and will improve on-time performance by an estimated nine percent.
New York - Montreal: Three miles of new track will be constructed on this route to relieve congestion, resulting in a 12.5 percent on-time performance improvement.
Boston - Portland - Brunswick: Over 30 miles of track will be restored, including 36 grade crossings, to extend new passenger rail service from Portland to Brunswick, ME.
Albany - Rutland: ARRA grants will fund the planning e fforts to reroute the service from Albany to Bennington, VT to Rutland, VT, introducing passenger rail service to several communities that currently have none.
New Haven - Springfield - Burlington - St. Albans: Funding will be provided to reroute this service in western Massachusetts, where the “Knowledge Corridor” will connect Springfield to East Northfield, MA through several college towns. A station will be restored in Northampton, and a new station built in Green eld. In Connecticut, 11 miles of a second main track will be constructed.
__________________
Wishing the US had more high-speed rail...
I have to disagree with most of what was said here. The Acela is frequently delayed (tonight's train was 1.5 hours late and had to skip BWI for some unknown reason). The train is often packed, you have to wait outside at many stations and carry your bags up several flights of stairs. The attendants are rude. The bathrooms are disgusting. People are on their cell phones the whole time. And yes, I am Select Plus and do the DC-NWK/NYP route all the time and would prefer to fly even on that route. I wouldn't think twice about flying to Boston, especially if you'd go out of DCA.
Programs: Amtrak S+, UA 1K, AA EXP (matched), eleVAte, pWNed, HHonors Gold, Colbert Platinum, Walk Score 98
Posts: 2,728
Quote:
Originally Posted by DCFlyer0306
I have to disagree with most of what was said here. The Acela is frequently delayed (tonight's train was 1.5 hours late and had to skip BWI for some unknown reason). The train is often packed, you have to wait outside at many stations and carry your bags up several flights of stairs. The attendants are rude. The bathrooms are disgusting. People are on their cell phones the whole time. And yes, I am Select Plus and do the DC-NWK/NYP route all the time and would prefer to fly even on that route. I wouldn't think twice about flying to Boston, especially if you'd go out of DCA.
1) Flights in the Northeast are frequently delayed as well. Acela averaged 86.5% on-time in the past 12 months. Not perfect, but not terrible. Unfortunately you might regularly ride particular trains that are more delay-prone than others.
2) What robust mode of transportation isn't packed? At least Acela seats are fairly roomy, and there are no middle seats. You also have the freedom to walk around and visit the cafe car.
3) I agree that the passenger experience at some stations leaves much to be desired (let's not even talk about NYP). But due to ADA accessibility law, I'm pretty sure there are elevators that access any major NEC platform with stairs. They're just not always easy to find.
4) Yes, Acela attendants are a mixed bag. I wish I could say that it's the employees in particular that make Amtrak stand out from airlines in the Northeast, but that's sadly not always the case.
5) The restrooms can get pretty bad at peak times, but hasn't Amtrak deployed more en-route cleaning staff as of late? Also, I find Acela restrooms to be generally cleaner than their Regional counterparts.
6) Cell phones are remedied by wearing one's own earphones if in F, or by sitting in the Quiet Car (an Amtrak innovation which has gotten a lot of positive press over the years).
I'm sorry you've had so many bad experiences with Acela and probably do not ride by choice. A lot of people do and are much happier than they were (or would have been) flying. Amtrak has a long way to go to improve Acela, but I would not discount its value summarily. It really depends on your needs and your expectations relative to the other alternatives.
__________________ Modern Trains Now! | My FM | 2012 UA Domestic Upgrades: 25/29; 2011: 36/39; 2010: 67/72
1
5) The restrooms can get pretty bad at peak times, but hasn't Amtrak deployed more en-route cleaning staff as of late? Also, I find Acela restrooms to be generally cleaner than their Regional counterparts.
Yes they have started on board cleanings, mid run in the NY area.
The few times I've gone significant distances on Acela, say Back Bay to Metropark, or Providence to Wilmington......looking around at the other passengers, these longer trips seem to be quite productive for occupations which have billable hours! I see many laywers reviewing documents, etc.
As a mere per diem employee, I'll take train if weather is a concern, or if I need time to concentrate to write a report or a good nap before a presentation. Nothing finer than staying at Boston-Copley Square, walking from hotel to Back Bay station, then getting off at Metropark in sight of my company's main office without any of the air-travel-anxiety.
The few times I've gone significant distances on Acela, say Back Bay to Metropark, or Providence to Wilmington......looking around at the other passengers, these longer trips seem to be quite productive for occupations which have billable hours! I see many laywers reviewing documents, etc.
As a mere per diem employee, I'll take train if weather is a concern, or if I need time to concentrate to write a report or a good nap before a presentation. Nothing finer than staying at Boston-Copley Square, walking from hotel to Back Bay station, then getting off at Metropark in sight of my company's main office without any of the air-travel-anxiety.
I travel from Metropark to Providence quite a lot also and usually take the Acela. I was in FC the other time and there were three people who worked for CNN that were reviewing documents, making calls, and all that fancy stuff. I wonder if CNN pays for FC tickets for rail and airplanes...
1) Flights in the Northeast are frequently delayed as well. Acela averaged 86.5% on-time in the past 12 months. Not perfect, but not terrible. Unfortunately you might regularly ride particular trains that are more delay-prone than others.
2) What robust mode of transportation isn't packed? At least Acela seats are fairly roomy, and there are no middle seats. You also have the freedom to walk around and visit the cafe car.
3) I agree that the passenger experience at some stations leaves much to be desired (let's not even talk about NYP). But due to ADA accessibility law, I'm pretty sure there are elevators that access any major NEC platform with stairs. They're just not always easy to find.
4) Yes, Acela attendants are a mixed bag. I wish I could say that it's the employees in particular that make Amtrak stand out from airlines in the Northeast, but that's sadly not always the case.
5) The restrooms can get pretty bad at peak times, but hasn't Amtrak deployed more en-route cleaning staff as of late? Also, I find Acela restrooms to be generally cleaner than their Regional counterparts.
6) Cell phones are remedied by wearing one's own earphones if in F, or by sitting in the Quiet Car (an Amtrak innovation which has gotten a lot of positive press over the years).
I'm sorry you've had so many bad experiences with Acela and probably do not ride by choice. A lot of people do and are much happier than they were (or would have been) flying. Amtrak has a long way to go to improve Acela, but I would not discount its value summarily. It really depends on your needs and your expectations relative to the other alternatives.
Thanks for your well-reasoned and very accurate reply. I'm sure that Acela is the right option for a lot of people and think it makes a lot of sense if you are traveling from city center to city center. However, if you are traveling to locations in central Jersey / northern Connecticut, or really, anywhere past NYP (if originating in DC), I don't think it's a great option. Adding a 4+ hour train ride onto 1.5+ hours of driving (plus another 1 hour or more of waiting for the train if there is a delay) just doesn't make sense to me on a 2-3 day business trip. Yes, airlines are also delayed a lot. But, at least airports have multiple restaurants, bars, safe restrooms, quiet places to sit, electrical outlets, etc, all of which are missing from many train stations. I would much rather spend a 2 hour delay at EWR than at NWK. And, I'd take even heavily de-valued airline miles over Amtrak points any day!
I think Amtrak has a lot of work to do to become a reliable, consistent option anywhere outside of the direct DC-PHL / PHL-NYC / DC-NYP routes and don't believe that is is currently the best solution. I've spent way too much time in off-brand train stations and slow-moving, crowded, and dirty train cars to see it as a panacea.
I agree with DCFlyer. I'm at school in boston and go back and forth from NYC relatively often. I started off taking the train, but now switch it up between taking the train and flying, and I usually prefer to fly. I usually fly BOS-EWR, and find that the fares are usually cheaper than RT on the Acela. Even with flight delays, I have found it to be much much faster than to fly, especially if your final destination isn't Manhattan. That would only be compounded by the BOS-DC route.
I find the flying experience much nicer than than the train experience. Logan is a pretty small airport and I rarely wait too long for security. I can then go up to the PC and get a drink/use free wifi/watch tv until the plane leaves. South Station, on the other hand, has a lack of seating which makes it annoying to wait for too long. And that's not even discussing NYP.
The NYP-DC leg of the trip seems useful, but if you go much beyond NYP it seems worthwhile to take the plane. Even the weather issues impact Amtrak. I have been stopped for over an hour in CT due to wet leaves on the track. I have been stuck in Queens for two hours when the tracks flooded due to thunderstorms in the area. And I have had trains run 3 hours late due to snow.
Acela seems to be serving at least two discrete markets along the NE Corridor: WAS-NYP and NYP-BOS. If you are trying to get on an Acela at major stations in between WAS and NYP such as BAL or PHL during rush hour, the train will be crowded. Sometimes, you can't even book Business Class on certain rush hour trains. There is no doubt that the Acela is popular on this segment. The Providence-BOS portion of the NYP-BOS segment is also quite useful because the Acela is extremely fast on this portion of the route.
I would agree with some of the earlier posts regarding passenger experience, referring to station amenities. Certain stations will offer as much retail and food/drink areas as airports but sometimes these places are difficult to find, depending on the station you're in. The major advantage train stations have for now is the ability for a customer to go from one connecting transport mode to the train without stopping to go through layers of check-in and security as in airports. Of course, all of this is dependent on rush hour, weather, etc.
One marketing strategy Amtrak is doing to attract more Acela customers is to provide 3 for 1 specials, refurbished train cars and free wi-fi beginning in March. Lounge access is also available for Acela First Class pax, AGR pax with status and pax connecting with CO First Class. Ultimately, speed improvements will be the biggest attraction for developing new markets, maintaining reliability and retaining the customer base.
Programs: AA EXP 1.4MM, Asiana Club Silver, KE Morning Calm, Hyatt Platinum, Amtrak Select
Posts: 4,404
Quote:
Originally Posted by tonywestsider
refurbished train cars and free wi-fi beginning in March. Lounge access is also available for Acela First Class pax, AGR pax with status and pax connecting with CO First Class. Ultimately, speed improvements will be the biggest attraction for developing new markets, maintaining reliability and retaining the customer base.
I don't know if it has to do with the length of the platform, but if the routes are popular and there are not many seats to go around, would it be possible to add more rail cars to the train set?
According to wikipedia, it says
The Acela Express trainset consists of two power cars, a cafe car, a first class car, and four business class cars, semi-permanently coupled together. The train has newer seats than regional service counterparts. The first class car has 43 seats and there are 260 business class seats on each trainset.
Judging by these numbers on business class rail car has 65 seat, meaning adding two business class seat cars would add 130 seats, giving one train set the passenger seat capacity equivalent of a wide body jet.
Plus, I like the Japanese approach to utilize a rail cars for more passengers: you don't need a dining car. Just have rail attendant go up and down the aisle on a trolley. I also like their efficient approach to get rid of the two power cars when having power underneath per each car allowing two more cars front and back to carry more passenger seats. That a total of three additional cars that can carry more passengers.
__________________
Wishing the US had more high-speed rail...
would it be possible to add more rail cars to the train set?
Amtrak is looking at that, but the Acela trainsets are to be phased out in I think 14 years, and Amtrak doesn't want to be stuck with newish train cars for an out-of-use train set. Details are in Amtrak's recent fleet modernization report at narprail.org.
