Originally Posted by
roadman3313
I will be traveling from NYP to WAS on a Tuesday evening in mid-February and see two options, the Vermonter and the last NE Regional of the evening. Are there any differences between the services given the Vermonter now also shows as starting at NYP? I also have some Upgrade Coupons I am trying to use up, however the Vermonter has fewer BC seats in what I assume to be a split BC/Food service car? I have done Business on the Regional before but not on the Vermonter. Lastly, has anyone navigated the new Train Hall and is it easy to find your way around? I have a tight scheduled connection of about 15 minutes if my connecting service is on time and the Vermonter departure time. I'd rather not wait around for an extra hour for the Regional (though I hear the new Club Acela is very nice), but also don't want to miss the Vermonter if that is an unrealistic connection time. Worst case I figure rebook on the Regional if I am running late. Thanks for your insights.
Only one data point, but I enjoyed a Sunday morning ride on the Vermonter, WAS-NYP, in October (before the 3-day quarantine in NY). The Business "half-car" actually has seats as wide as the F car on Acela. Only disadvantage is that the seats *face* the cafe, so that can be distracting, I think particularly so on an evening trip where the cafe car will be brightly lit. Recommend picking a seat near the back of the Business half-car, and book a window seat, to avoid the distractions.
Reason I took the Vermonter is because on that day, it had an earlier morning trip to NYP than did the Acela -- got me in over an hour earlier.