Is Amtrak’s Acela Express REALLY worth the money?
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- čas přidán 28. 03. 2023
- High-speed rail in America is an often discussed topic, so I decided to try out the USA's only high-speed train, and see if a ticket is really worth the high price they ask. Welcome to Amtrak's Acela!
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Journey Details:
Origin: Moynihan Train Hall at New York Penn, NY
Destination: New Haven Union, CT
Company: Amtrak (AMTK)
Train: Acela Express
Accommodation: Business Class Seat (2nd)
Distance: 76 miles / 122 kilometres
Price: $85.00 (£74.40 / €84.90)
Time: 1 hour 43 minutes, arrived 3 minutes early
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The poor ride quality is due to poor track maintenance. It's a general problem across the US. I used to commute on the NE regional train and I always had the same almost spilled drink experience.
Imagine what would have happened to that cup of tea of the train were traveling as fast as the cars and semis on I-95. It had to be disheartening to pay such a ridiculous fare and watch vehicles on the road traveling faster than the train!
MNRR also doesn't have the best of trackwork, especially within CT.
the tracks on the northeast corridor, which the acela runs on is generally maintained very well. this excludes the metro north section between new rochelle and new haven, since they get priority over amtrak for whatever reason, which is odd considering amtrak has priority over every other commuter railroad on the northeast corridor.
@@CTSLRailfanThe tracks in that section are owned by Metro North, which may have something to do with the local trains getting priority. The schedules have carefully carved out windows for Amtrak to help speed up their trains, but if a train gets to the Metro North tracks late it loses its window and gets delayed further.
The tracks in Massachusetts are also owned by a regional transit agency, the MBTA. They don't run as many trains as Metro North does so the scheduling isn't nearly as much of a problem, and the tracks are in much better condition. (One of the sections where Acela reaches 150 mph is in the MBTA area.) Amtrak owns the rest of the tracks used by Acela, most of which are shared with other regional transit agencies. The only parts of the Northeast Corridor that do not have any commuter rail service are a short piece between Perryville MD and Newark DE, and the stretch between New London CT and Wickford Junction RI.
Big problem on the Cascades (which could be called the NW Regional but gets sold as a HSR journey as well...not sure a train that hits stations that not even the overnight services handle counts as high speed even if it does get cooking up to 200 km/h for some _brief_ sections in Oregon and on the sprint to Bellingham).
Nice review. You did manage to pick the slowest portion of the entire Northeast Corridor however. There is a brief 100 mph sprint just out of New York after crossing the Hell Gate Bridge, but then from New Rochelle to New Haven the entire segment is owned by Metro North Commuter Railroad and has an 80 mph top speed, with most of it slower given the many curves and movable bridges. Had you continued on from New Haven toward Providence and Boston, it would have become a much different ride as that's where the Acela's active tilt capability and higher speed becomes evident. (Just east of New Haven, there are a couple of 125 mph segments and then once you hit Rhode Island you get to the 150 mph straightaways.)
there's actually many sections on that portion that can easily be increased to triple digit speeds, but the track conditions are absolutely horrid. amtrak should really have priority there. it's odd that they don't.
@@CTSLRailfan It's unlikely that trains will ever reach speeds over 100 mph in that section. The large number of local trains mean that complicated schedule Tetris already needs to happen to accommodate the speeds that Amtrak does reach.
The crowding of that area has the unfortunate consequence that if an Amtrak train leaves NYC late, it will be considerably later by the time it reaches New Haven because it will miss its carefully set up slot in the schedule and will be slowed down by local trains.
Heya. American that recently rode the Acela Express recently, let me fill people in regarding this trip.
Between New York City, New York and Westerly, Rhode Island is THE SLOWEST part of the Northeast Corridor in its entirety. With an average speed of around 70 MPH, with major dips into 30 MPH in some areas, such as New Rochelle (NY), Stamford (CT), and Bridgeport (CT) and 15MPH at New London (CT, not shown in this trip). The Northeast Regional (the slower option) can match the Acela's time schedule between NYC Penn Station and New Haven Union Station if the Northeast Regional doesn't stop at Bridgeport and New Rochelle (which some don't)
To answer the question pitched about why the Acela Express doesn't stop at Bridgeport. It's a combination of things. 1. It doesn't have a good power-to-weight ratio, meaning that since both the Northbound and Southbound bends are an incline (departing from Bridgeport), it will get stuck at Bridgeport. 2. The station platform itself is too narrow. What I mean by that is that due to station side ramps being used for handicapped users, it is quite hard for handicapped users to board and leave the train. 3. The travel numbers that go to Bridgeport is rather low. Combined with the fact that Bridgeport only has 2 platforms and 2 passing tracks, the ordeal of moving the Acela Express to stop would cause more congestion, lost time, and the fact that it would get stuck.
Is the Acela Express worth it? On short trips like how Superalbs did, no not even close. On longer distance trips such as DC to NYC or NYC to Boston, yes
For comparison, using 2 months in advance and comparing a 20% full Northeast Regional and a 20% full Acela Express for a NYC to New Haven Trip, using the cheapest options. The Northeast Regional costs 17 USD, whereas the Acela Express costs 39 USD. (Since this is technically operated by the government that is the total price, no tax), and the Northeast Regional takes about 5 minutes longer. The prices of train tickets go up the fuller the train is and sooner the date is.
The Acela Express has an allowed top speed of 150 MPH and Northeast Regional has an allowed top speed of 125 MPH. This is what allows for faster travel times when you aren't in Connecticut or New York on the Northeast Corridor. Especially in Rhode Island and Massachusetts area where the Acela can get up to its 150 mph speed capabilities.
I hope this helps anyone who maybe wondering.
Good points. Thank you for explaining. Indeed, to experience speed, one must travel in the train in Rhode Island where the maximum permissible speed is reached.
First thought starting the video as well. New York to New Haven has to be the worst possible trip you could take on Acela. Certainly it highlights the genuine issues the NEC still has, with large sections still nowhere near up to HSR spec or performance, but ideally you'd want to see the good parts of the route as well, namely the 150mph sections in MA, RI, and as I recall now NJ. Plus in general, while the line from New Haven east into Rhode Island still has the issue of slow speeds due to curvature, at least a good portion of that route has very nice views along the coast.
One other part of the issue between NYC (specifically around New Rochelle) and New Haven is that the line is state owned and operated by Metro North... So you can often get the absolutely absurd experience of watching a commuter train fly by you while your Amtrak service crawls along. I recall hearing that MNRR also only maintains that line to a commuter rail standard, so those tracks probably have some unused room for improvement as far as Amtrak service goes.
Took the Acela in biz class in 2021 between ny and Philly for around the same price. I agree, not worth a single penny!
Amtrak needs to lower Acela prices to stay competitive.
@@The4905, Between NYC and Washington DC, you have a lot of curvy tracks. You will never get high speed in that section.
@@pmaitrasm I was only on the nyc 2 Philly section, which has straighter track and higher speed ( especially at Princeton jct)
That trip was completed at an average 45 mph - on a 150 mph train! I hope the track is due for an upgrade from the Infastructure Bill.
Not much of this section will be upgraded anytime soon. A lot of the enhancements planned are to bridges, tunnels, junctions and stations rather than for linespeed increases.
@@andrewreynolds4949 Given that those are the biggest speed dips, those upgrades will actually yield more speed increases than simple line speed upgrades. It's often more important to remove an acute slowdown than to increase the top speed another 10-20 mph.
there is very little infrastructure in the infrastructure bill. Its really more of a general spending bill, they just called it infrastructure bill to make people like it more.
The northeast maglev is supose to be built eventually
@@matsv201 Maglev is dead, dude. What's the point of building something that costs 5x more, with 1/2 the capacity and frequency if regular HSR trains now routinely go 70-80% of the speed of maglev?
Maglev lost the technological arms race. When it was almost 2x faster than in-operation HSR trains in the 70s and 80s it had a value proposition. But why would you want to pay 5x more for a 20% speed improvement with a bunch of other disadvantages today? No one is going to do that. That's why pretty much all the maglev projects were cancelled from 2015 onwards when it was clear that 220-250 mph HSR trains are basically already here.
@@TohaBgood2
". What's the point of building something that costs 5x more, with 1/2 the capacity and frequency if regular HSR trains now routinely go 70-80% of the speed of maglev?"
Do you have a source for that, or did you just guess it, not any of those numbers are even close to right.
" 2x faster than in-operation HSR trains in the 70s and 80s it had a value propositio"
First high speed maglev that could carry passengers was built in 1984, it tested at speed of 400km/h in 1986. At that time TGV-Sud was just about to change there speed from 270 to 300km/h. It was change to 320km/h in 1992 and that have been the top speed since (with the exception of one line in china).
1988 TR07 reach top speed of 450km/h. In 1998 MLX01 reached a top speed of 582km/h, in 2016 L0 reached a top speed of 602 km/h. And High speed service traffic is still 320km/h. So the opposite to what you claimed is true.
But your main error here is to assume the top speed is the main selling factor, its not.
"But why would you want to pay 5x more"
Where did you get that number from?
"That's why pretty much all the maglev projects were cancelled from 2015 onwards"
Apart from the 10-15 that was not canceled. From 1986 untill 2012 there was 2 commercial maglev line built. From 2012 until day there been 4 built and 2 under construction. And that is on top of the ongoing project, like the Washington to Baltimore maglev line that is going throw environmental checks right now, expected to be done in October this year
I am glad others have pointed out that New York to New Haven is the absolute worst section to take the Acela. Not only is it the slowest portion of the whole trip, but there are frequent and decently cheap commuter trains (as he mentioned) on that route. As such, there’s no reason to take the Acela between these cities, as it makes no sense at all: it saves no time and costs much more. However, the Acela can be an hour or more faster for trips like Boston-Philadelphia, Baltimore-Providence, etc, and for that it can be worth it if you want a quicker trip than the regional.
The best way to judge Acela is trying DC to NYC or all the way to Boston. There are many sections >120mph. You also need to try several breakfast and lunch items in the cafe. Some are pretty good. I just completed a 5.75 hour trip from Wilmington, Delaware to Boston. Prices are not fixed and vary by time of day, day of week, and how far in advance booked. I felt it was a good value. A smooth and quiet ride for most of it except the one section in you rode in Connecticut. Flying this same route costs twice as much and adds the hassles of flying.
Hope you'll review the Brightline high speed train in Florida next.
It is slow, but that’s our slowest section. Especially on Metro North CP216 to CP274
I recently took (Feb 2023) the Acela on a round-trip from DC to NYC and it cost $71 for each leg, I booked 2 months in advance. The trip is 200 miles and there is now a 17 mile section of track in New Jersey where the Acela gets to the top speed of 150 mph. DC to NYC is the best route to take the Acela on
Just 17 miles at top speed? Thats underwhelming
@@osasunaitor speeds range from 110 to 135 in other sections of the route
@@osasunaitor Most of the track on the NEC has a 125-150 mph top speed. There are slower approaches to certain cities, but that is perfectly normal for an HSR service.
All of you EU and Asia HSR supremacists need to remember that the French TGV network only beats the average speed of the Acela every other year. Heck, they barely beat the speed of their own Regionals, but that's a whole other issue.
That 17 mile section of 150 in NJ is between New Brunswick and Hamilton
Interesting that by comparison, London to Southampton is the same distance, and the trains do it in 1 hour 15 minutes, at a maximum speed of 100mph. Slam-door commuter trains used to do it in 1 hour 06 minutes in the 1980s, but like most things, it has got slower since then.
The rest of the Acela line is much better (Washington - New York and New London to Boston). The part you went will need massive infrastructure investment to allow for higher speed.
I used to travel on Amtral's Metroliner, Acela's predecessor, back in the 70's/80's. Train service on the East coast hasn't changed much since then. The US went from trains to planes. Hopefully, it will some daycatch up to the rest of the world with high-speed electric trains.
Hav'nt watched yet, but I got so happy when I saw you had a new video out! Keep going man, love your vids
Excellent coverage of the experience. I appreciate all the little details too! 👍🏻
As many other people mentioned, the stretch between New Rochelle and New Haven is slow and is owned and maintained by the states of New York and Connecticut. Despite Amtrak pushing them to upgrade their track, they won’t budge. The Acela’s are dated and old, but they are a significant upgrade over the Amfleet cars used on the regional trains, and are much a lot more smooth.
Others may have commented on this, but traveling on the Acela for such a short trip isn't really a fair comparison. You should have gone to Boston or Washington DC to see if it was worth it. For short trips use the Northeast Regional.
Only in America is 122km a short trip lmfao... Even when they get stuck in routine traffic.....
@@muyangcheng3874 For some in the US, that's a daily commute. From one side of the Phoenix metropolitan area to the other at its longest is around that length.
@@AML2000 I think the overall idea is that this is a HSR review, and the question is whether the Acela as an HSR is worth it... And what I meant was that only in America would people ask others to go on a slower train for a 122km "short trip" because the Acela is so slow to a point that it's "not worth it".
And I won't really comment on why someone would choose to live on one side of Phoenix and commute to the other side for work over 120km.....But in the context of the video, it's literally two independent cities 122km apart.....
the acela is barely faster vs the regional on any route
@@cooltwittertag That's not true. The Acela is faster by a good margin already and is about to get a further speed and time advantage with speeds increasing to 160 mph and more track being upgraded to 160 mph in the future.
The Acela I's locomotives are actually based on third-generation TGV designs. They were heavily modified to fit the FRA's stricter weight requirements vs the EU.
The top operational speed of the current Acela trainsets is actually 160 mph not 150 mph. The Acela routinely tested at 160 mph back in the day. But the right of way itself is currently only rated at 150 mph top speed. With the introduction of the Alstom Avelia Liberty trains, which are a subvariant of the Alstom Avelia/TGV-M, the top speed of the track will be raised to 160 mph. The actual top speed of the tilting variant of the Avelia Liberty will be 186 mph, but they could only reach that speed on the NEC in the distant future after more sections are upgraded to higher speeds.
@TohaBgood2, that's great to hear.
It's the opposite actually. The track is good for 160 but the trains are only certified to operate at 150. The new Avelia trains are certified for 300 km/h but the track is still only certified for 160 mph or about 258 km/h. Much of the track from New York to Washington is actually good for 160 as well but the wires are only certified for a max of 135 mph or about 217 km/h.
@@JBS319 You are incorrect. The maximum speed that the Acela Is are certified for is 165 mph (266 km/h). And they run at those speeds routinely in testing. Quote, "In September 2012, speed tests were conducted using Acela train sets, achieving a speed of 165 miles per hour (266 km/h)."
You're also incorrect about the top speeds on the NEC. I quote, "The Next Generation High-Speed project is designed to upgrade electrical power, signal systems and overhead catenary wires to improve reliability and increase speeds up to 160 mph (260 km/h), and, after the purchase of new equipment, up to 186 miles per hour (299 km/h)."
Dude, where exactly are you getting your numbers from?
It definitely varies where you are traveling. I have screenshots of my GPS reporting 163mph through many sections from NYC to Baltimore, but it isn't sustained. Much of the attraction is skipping over the smaller stations. Thankfully, all of this is electrified, albeit at three different levels. The lower part, from NYC to DC is still 25hz.
One of the biggest problems with commuter rail in the U.S. is that most of the rail network is owned by freight haulers, with commuter service taking leftovers and yielding priority to freight trains. And freight haulers don't care about your tea spilling. I live in France now, and I've worked all over Europe. Rail is the best way to travel here.
The sections in the video are owned by the state transportation agencies, not freight railroads
In 2014 I travelled on this train from Boston down to DC. I’ve just had a look through my emails and I paid $290 for a business class seat. Which considering it was an eight hour trip was an absolute bargain. I found it comfortable but functional. But the business class thing was nice because it was quieter the seats were larger and it included as much free booze as I could get down my neck. Which considering I’d watched a Super Bowl playoff game the night before and didn’t get to bed till 5 am was quite welcome because it kept the hangover at bay for another day. Best part of this journey was going through the outskirts of New York and crossing over or under The east River into Penn Station. Which of course is weird because it’s under ground. But for me it was the first time I’ve seen the New York skyline and as we travel through Queens down into Brooklyn and then turned under the river, it was quite the buzz to see the New York skyline for me for the first time in my life. My final destination was DC and rather than flying into DC I flew into Boston just so I could take the train journey down across all the states and see the views. Absolutely spectacular when he got across the top of Chesapeake Bay especially as I was there in January and it was all frozen over. Highly recommend that trip if you want to see the east coast in a nice fashion.
Took it last year (DC to Boston). As a Euro, I found it a bit more shaky than e.g. ICE or TGV, but the leg room made up for it. Easily the best way to travel the Megalopolis.
If traveling south to north, make sure to it on the right side while traveling from NY to Boston, the views are great!
American trains have been shaky ever since the first tracks were built. It's a tradition.
Here's a train I wish to sample too. But you picked up the NECs worst section, wich incidentally doesn't belongs to Amtrak (it's owned by MTA & CT). Despite a modern signalling system (with PTC included), and some modernized tracks, most of the Catenary, some bridges and some tracks are really old, hence the subpar ride. Generally speaking, top speed is only 75Mph with lots of restrictions. That's why the train has a really leisurely schedule, and with a lot of padding, because NYP to New Haven can be done in 1h30 or less
Awesome video can’t wait for your next video
as someone who was born and raised in stamford, it feels good to see it again
There’s a ~$31 Pacific Surfliner train from Los Angeles to San Diego I’ve always wanted to try. It’s conventional diesel, not HSR, and I don’t know the ride quality but the view is amazing as you go along the coast.
I've been on this train. The ride quality is ok, nothing to be impressed about. But the view certainly is beautiful. From San Diego to LA, only the first half of the journey has the amazing views. For maximum ocean views, I recommend taking it all the way up to Santa Barbara or even San Luis Obispo.
I took the Acela from Philadelphia to NYC last month as I thought I had better ride on one before they are replaced. I was impressed with the speed on that part of the route but I know the track north of NYC is very slow. It cost $45 compared to $19 for NER both advance fares. The walk on Fares for Amtrak are very expensive so on the way to Philly I took NJ Transit and SEPTA for $29. These were slower with filthy windows but overall were good for commuter rail.
At the time Bridgeport station was reconstructed, it was turned into a local station. This limits operational use of Bridgeport even for Metro-North. The other issue is despite its population, Bridgeport probably does not attract enough ridership to justify the time taken to stop (and switch tracks).
The advantages of the Acela come if you're a business traveler (and your company is picking up for the cost). I've taken Acela between many of the East Coast cities and it allows me to get home at a decent time after a day trip for work in a different city. The reserved seats and dedicated overhead bins are a plus. And as soon as I'm on the train, I can open my computer and start working - which you can't do on a plane, because you need to have your computer put away for the first and last 30 min of the flight. Usually, I can get online and send a couple of emails. Sometimes I plan the business trip so that my dinner is the one offered on the train. And since the train takes you right into a city center, you don't need to rent a car drive into the city from an airport. The advantage of Acela seems to increase somewhere around the "2-cities" point... if you're going from Washington DC to Philadelphia, skipping Baltimore, or from New York to Boston, skipping the smaller New England cities. At a certain point, the overall time on the ground for a train puts the advantage with the airlines. But you'll have to weigh that versus how far you'll have to Uber or drive to your final destination.
Just a correction ont he lounge usage only First and Sleeper (Roomette and Bedroom) passenger are granted access to the lounge all business class passenger have to pay in NYC. Lounge access rules can vary throughout the country. But typically lounges with Acela service require first or sleeper while other lounges in the Midwest and West Coast only require business or sleeper.
Welcome to my home state of Connecticut...short trip tho... the best part of the State is the north eastern part, rolling hills, forests, and quite a few Bears, the growly kind.. take care and be safe in your travels, i like your personal invitations at the beginning of your videos.. 👍👍
Same problem here in Canada. It's the infrastructure, not the trains. This continent had its railways built for freight. For people more interested in the destination than the journey, air travel trumps trains.
Air beats rail for long distance, from a door to door perspective, but rail absolutely claws air at mid distances and clearly out does it at convenience.
Alas, you chose the worst section of the Acela to ride if you wanted to experience the speed.
11:47 can you hear the disgust in his voice when he says "scottish"? A true englishman 😂
Great job.
I am at 0:37. Thx for the intro of "true" high speed train of the U.S. I just saved myself more than 14 mins.
I took Acela all the way from DC to Boston a couple of years ago. I booked pretty far in advance an the whole journey was about $200. I'm glad I've done it once but will have to be hard pressed to do it again. The tracks between DC and New York were in much better shape than NY to Boston. It only hit 150 mph on a couple of sections somewhere north of NY, and the ride quality there was horrific.
Great trip, and yeah Finally US trip. Talking about Acela, this train should be deserve dedicated track to reach optimum speed. And talking about Northeast Corridor, this corridor is the busiest passenger rail line in the US based on ridership and service frequency, that's why this route is considered as the most profitable Amtrak route. And yeah, only at Northeast Corridor you'll find more passenger train than freight train.
Those Acela trains are very nice I have to say. Very nice trains in the USA.
Hell yes it is ! Less riffraff more comfortable seats & faster arrivals.
The many track curvatures don't allow for true high speed in most of the Acela route. I often take Amtrak, but for the price difference over the Northeast Regional trains, Acela is not worth it. I only took it once (for fun, from Providence, RI to New Haven) when during pandemic times the price was slashed. So I got to experience one of the few 150 MPH sections. Regional trains routinely hit 80 MPH, and over straight stretches they can get up to 100 or so.
Were the restrictions changed on riding Amtrak to or from New York City with a station also served by Metro North? I used to remember seeing Amtrak schedules where a station like Croton Harmon, Poughkeepsie, Stamford and New Haven would have a footnote next to it, indicating that passengers could not board trains at those stations if going to New York City, or that passengers coming from New York City could not get off at those stations.
Nice Video, as always! I am be very interested in a ride on China's new high speed rail network, that would be great!
0:58: wow well-lit little plaza, lovely muggers' outdoor lounge; hoped you're armed!
September 1938: The New York, New Haven and Hartford RR ran six trains from Penn Sta to New Haven (the bulk ran from Grand Central): The Federal took 1 hour 50mins; The New Englander 1 hour 43 mins; The Pilgrim 1 hour 36 mins; The Colonial 1 hour 40 mins; The Senator 1 hour 37 mins and The Montrealer 1 hour 40 mins. 84 years and 6 months later journey times are still roughly the same. Surely, before one can run a high speed service there has to be investment in infrastructure. Without it high speed trains are almost worthless, and I do take Snivy Films point.
That is interesting back then. As you may know, ninety-two years ago in April 29 1935 The New Haven Comet Streamlined Diesel Electric set a top speed record of 109.1 mph between Providence and Boston n 32.5 minutes. The regular tiiime for a normal train was 57 minutes. The five daily round-trips route was promoted as 44 miles in 44 minutes. Later with infill station stops the ride became somewhat longer. It was 3 cars -- 160 passengers.
Yeah, and half the time you arrive on fire or wearing a pigeon. Give it a rest. Safety regulations are based on real problems that killed a ton of people. No one reduced speeds "just because".
That is absurdly slow 🐢
Way faster then any Canadian train sadly
Thought the same: 1:43 for 122km?? That's 70 km/h or 40 mph. The metro I take in the morning (which is basically a glorified tram) rides at this speed.
Once I took a high speed train out of Beijing. Once past the city limits, it accelerated clean to 187 mph (300 km/h) and then just kept going like that for 3hrs. It felt super unreal.
@@RCake He based his trip review on the _slowest_ section of the Northeast Corridor. I was questioning his motives as soon as he mentioned the endpoints of his journey.
Yesterday i took a commuter train here in italy, the max speed was 155kmh
Living in CT, I can tell you that Metro North is vastly more popular than Amtrak unless you're going out of state. A one-way trip from Grand Central to New Haven is only $25. It's not much slower than Amtrak if you're taking one of the express routes, and the amenities provided aren't too far off either.
Most of the line between Penn Station and New York Connecticut state border is own and maintained by the New York State Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The level track quality on that section of the Northeast Corridor is not of the same quality as the sections owned and maintained by Amtrak.
Many sections for Philadelphia to DC are 120mph plus. Its 123 miles with 4 (4-5) minute stops. We made it in 1hour 40 minutes
Loved the video although wonder what your issue is with Scottish looking curtains. Said in jest always enjoy your work
Nice video
2:02 The reason it doesn't have seating is that the station was probably built with the expectation that in the future the station might have trains every few minutes or less. In Europe, I think not many stations have seating (don't quote me on that)
You can also pay $50.00/€46.14 to get access to the First class lounge at Moynihan Station
Ouch, managed to ride the absolute worst and slowest part of the NEC. The NEC through Connecticut as a whole is in need of straightening and bridge replacements, and that particular stretch has a number of heavy speed restrictions partly due to a derailment in 2013 and the subsequent ongoing feud between Amtrak and Metro North.
I was surprised when u called Gatimaan express' suspension fantastic. Then I saw this video.
The Northeast Corridor generally has very good track quality and maintenance allowing for high speeds...except in Connecticut. Connecticut has let its section of the Northeast Corridor languish and deteriorate for at least 20 years or more, leading to longer travel times and less reliable trips. For your journey, the best option would've been to take a Metro North service out of Grand Central.
yeah in the CT corridor Metro North gets the priority for track maintenance. Amtrak really needs to buy or build their own ROW in that section. Not that MTA's own ROW is much better. Example. LIRR from Long Island into NYC, inbound to Manhattan the ride is pretty smooth, outbound from Manhattan to LI the track is much older and has a fairly rough ride. Meanwhile in Denver where I live, our new RTD commuter trains are amazingly smooth, of course they've only been in service since 2016 and only serve parts of the north side of Denver, but do go to the Airport.
the US has a lot of work to do… in italy, for example, you can buy a 125 mi from Bologna to Milan for only 14,90€ in standard class (which is a 2+2 configuration), or 20,90€ in business class(which is a 2+1 configuration), and it takes only one hour…
Only going from NYC to New Haven means you won't be going very fast... Half the trip is in the city to be honest. There are some upgrades coming around there eventually, but unfortunately, nothing revolutionary, just new tunnels into Penn Station under the Hudson, and some new bridges in the area.
I travelled on the Acela in 2017 from NYC to South Boston. My biggest disappointment was that the seat reservation didn't mean a thing, as I had booked a window seat 2 months in advance so I can enjoy the view, which I didn't get until the last 90 miles of the journey. Business class was more like cattle class, first in first served to get a window seat. Seat reservation wasn't worth the price and paper it was written on.
My ride wasn't to bad, the start was slow, but eventually we did get up to maximum speed.
Yours is probably the only video on CZcams to showcase the standard waiting area. A breath of fresh air as everyone likes to flex and get first class. Thank you for this!
Glad I could be of assistance! :)
Hey superalbs travels had made
videos in New Jersey
Nice video. I like what they have done at Penn Station. I travelled on the Acela from Washington to Philly , it did go faster but it certainly isn't real high speed.
The Acela hits 150 mph along that section, that’s absolutely high speed
@@andrewreynolds4949it is high speed but it doesn’t hit 150 in that section it hits 135 it hits 150 between south brunswick and hamilton and attleboro and kingston
@@xxontop_ytx2750 Was fairly sure it hits 150 in that area, maybe my map is wrong?
The NEC row needs some serious upgrade to be truly called "high speed"
Are you planning to ride Brightline in the future?
Moynihan represented New York State not New York City. Also, isn't Penn station in Lower Manhattan, not central, though LIRR do now serve central Manhattan with Madison extension.
It is between 30th and 34th streets which is Midtown Manhattan.
@@barbaralcharles Yeah ok, Lower only extends to 14th st. I was right about the other stuff though.
Right about NY State.
Hello, I will be traveling to the United States and for the first time I will use the train from New York to Boston, it has the Acela and Northest option, is there much difference from one train to another? because in terms of travel time there is not much difference
Northeast Regional is perfectly fine, and usually much better value. It's similar experience overall.
Thanks for the update. This is bad news for Metro North regarding maintenance. I wonder how the Long Island Rail Road compares? I just hope that Metro North dosen't become another LIRR from the 1950's when it had many derailments and crashes. Jim
Verygoodpicturhenry
As a Dutchy I recommend the German ICE # 5 high velocity long distance train.
Its much more spacious compared with the French Alstohm TGV.
You mean version 4? ICE 5 is planned for end of the decade.
@@Psi-Storm
Yeah y're right.
I spent 5 hours on an ICE4 just before covid and the seat comfort was awful, and this was in 1st class. It's like you're sitting on a leather-covered bench. The most comfortable ICE trains are the ICE2 in my opinion.
@@LiamWalsheliamskitchen Yes, many people complained about those. DB started replacing the seats in the ICE 4 in 2020. The ICE 3 neo also gets the new seats.
@@Psi-Storm Then again I guess I can't complain too too much because it only cost me 64 euros to go from Paris to Berlin, including an overnight stopover en route so that I could go to an event. And that's for 1st class, not 2nd.
I took both acella and regional between Boston and NYC during my holiday there. My speed test application shows the same speed on both trains.😢
excuse me. the town is "Greenwich" Old Greenwich is the oldest Neiborhood in Greenwich.
also, short trips are expensive on Acela, but Washington to NY is worth it.
Super bro..Brilliant video..Absolutely marvelous✅..Very KIYADIYATI.. 🕋👍👌👌
As many said here, you took the slowest section on this line but even on the full line there are very few sections that can support full speed so it is faster than the other option but not by much. The new Avelia Liberty train will not change that as they'll have the same speed restriction (they will be a bit fastre on the few sections that the Acela reaches full speed) but in a fre years, when the new improvment to some sectoon of the NEC (thanks to the infrastructure bill) it will be much faster and.
Didn't know CTRail served Stamford. Thought it ended in New Haven.
Next ride Brightline!
You should have taken Acela to Baltimore or DC instead, that's where the train is faster. It's possible to reach DC within 4 hours, which is much faster than driving or flying out of the NYC airports (counting the security, delay and taxi times). I wish that the Acela gets extended into Virginia as a dedicated HSR train.
13:11 o suspect those cups are supposed to be used when brushing your teeth.
Nothing on Earth would convince me to swallow that water lol
“Now the major Acela upgrade, once planned for 2021, might not be on track until sometime in 2024. The Wall Street Journal reports that the new Acela cars are being held up by requirements that mandate the trains are run in a range of real-world conditions before boarding passengers.” Someone reported that the new trains are sitting at the Philadelphia train yard.
It's cool to share the American rail. Unlike European, it's a shame that most American use cars instead of public transport to travel, even though they have good facilities such as stations & train carriages. I like your video showing us the details of the trains' interior & the explanation of stations on the route. Your British English is perfectly lovely. 😊
A lot of America doesn’t have train stations at all, even if freight traffic is still doing well. Most of where I live it is so decentralized passenger rail doesn’t make any sense.
Most of the US has low population density and vast distances to cover. Planes just make more sense. That said, I really like the looks of the new Brightline train in Florida.
This train could be great, if it was faster and cheaper. Then there would be no doubt on how to travel in the Northeast! It's not worth it now, but it could be soon.
I think the choice to focus on Business Class Acela between these stations was simply a mistake. The most ardent Acela fans would not make that choice. Between Penn Station and New Haven lower fares are available on Metro North and Amtrak Coach. This review did give a good description of the interior of the Acela trains. A fair assessment of the value of using Acela Business Class would need to be between stations where passengers might choose to use that service.
I firmly agree with your disagreement with the price of the Acela. It’s ludicrous. If Amtrack are trying to attract more customers. They seriously need to rethink their prices
The Acela, and Amtrak in general are market priced services. They sell the supply of seats that they have at the price that riders want to pay. The Acela and the Northeast Regional are incredibly popular trains, the two most popular rail lines in the country. The price of the tickets are just reflective of the supply and demand situation.
We could fund more improvements to the Northeast Corridor in order to increase the frequency and speed of trains. This would increase the supply of seats and decrease the prices. But since we refuse to fund rail improvements and instead fund more incredibly expensive and unprofitable highways, we get the result that we get. It's literally up to the voters, but they don't want to fund Amtrak.
Why would they rethink their prices? They sell the train out more often than not, particularly between DC and NYC.
Acela is best experienced heading from NYC down to Washington DC, that stretch has the most high speed track where the train can spend a good amount of time at 150mph. The irony is, the "low speed" Northeast Regional trains still have a top speed of 125mph so not too much slower than the Acela. The new Avelia Liberty trains are being delayed into service because much of the track can't handle their higher 165mph top speed. Just shows how much effort it would really take to build European level HSR in the US. It would almost be easier to build new HSR from scratch in other regions of the country than to bring the Northeast rail corridor up to HSR standards.
I'd have thought that Metro North would go from Penn too but maybe they just use Grand Central?
Yes it is not for the reason you think. Business Class is likely to be relatively noise free and may be clean, Toilets/WC excluded. The rest of amtrack on the eastern rail corrador is a Circus...
Senators represent states. Senator Moynihan represented New York state, which is roughly the size of England.
Thank you for mentioning the disability accessible features.
Happy to help! :)
Acela is where Japan was in the 1970s and Europe in the 1990s. Public transport is a non event in the car/plane based USA.
But without the speed!!!!!! Spot the traffic going faster than the train.
In Greece a distance that is around 93 miles is covered in (1:20 with trains that are not even high speed, but do 2 stops, which are called "fast" trains) and (1:38 with regional trains that do more stops, around 10), and in the USA less distance is covered in more time with high speed trains? How is that possible?
Did this train have wifi?
One of the big problems that Amtrak faces is that the MTA which owns the tracks in Westchester and Connecticut is that the top speed is 79 mph. That plus the fact that east of New Haven is very twisting therefore the trains can't go very fast.
The top speed on MTA tracks is not 79. A 79 MPH max speed only applies on train tracks that don’t have Cab Signals. Metro North does have them. The top speed on the New Haven line is 80 mph. It was 90 mph a number of years ago but Metro North’s terrible maintenance History has caused them to lower the speed to 80.
When did this journey take place?
Quite recently, it look like.
Amtrak long distance passenger trains are reputed to be vastly over-rated. There are videos on here of their First Class and sleeper services, which are both pricey and low quality.
Re: Bridgeport
The Acela train you rode skipped Bridgeport. However, that city is very well served by many other trains, both Amtrak and Metro-North commuter service. I can't say why your particular train didn't stop there. Probably, Amtrak analyzed the ridership patterns and determined that other trains would better serve the public.
If you want to see something really weird, look at some old railroad timetables for trains that ran before Amtrak was established in 1971. You'll see a lot of stations with service in only one direction. You could take a train from A to B, but there was no train back to A.
I own a small library's worth of books about railroads. Also hundreds of magazines, including every issue of "Trains" magazine going back to 1955. In all this vast body of literature, I cannot recall any mention whatsoever of stations with service in only one direction. Like it was perfectly normal.
I'll be the first to admit that Amtrak has a LOT of problems. However, it has never subscribed to this lunacy.
Sadly you took worst part of the Acela ride. Going through Connecticut is the slowest part. You should have ridden to Boston.
Love your videos. Surprised you rode the Acela - it's kind of embarrassing. It looks so bumpy and janky compared to many Euro trains. I am new to this/your channel. Be interesting if you ride some of the trains in Japan, like several of them. You should find them to be quite clean and running on time. I've seen Japanese buses that look clean enough to eat food off the floor (which would be a no-no in Japan).
Generally speaking the Amtrak tickets are way more expensive than they should be (and are in other countries) for what you get. And they're well aware of the food situation being exorbitant, since they recommend budget-minded coach passengers to bring your own lockable cooler...
WHT didn't you take a longer ride ?
Too expensive!
Travelled on Acela last week . Disappointing price wise, and extremely jolty ride
Amtrak numbered the Acelas from 2000 to 2020.
Awesome video! You picked the wrong state to travel on the Acela. New York-New Haven is the slowest part of the entire NE Corridor with an average speed of 75 ish mph. Its too curvy and lacks proper maintenance. West of New Haven you can reach speeds up to 90 and in Rhode Island and Massachusetts's you can reach 150 MPH. The section you should try next is NY to Philly or Washington DC on the Acela. Much "higher speeds" like 150 MPH in New Jersey and 135 mph in Delaware and Maryland. The rest is around 125 mph on that stretch. Once the Avelia liberty starts service, the 150 mph speeds will be increased to 160/165 mph. The Acela has great potential but with the current speeds and aging infrastructure, save your money and use the regional. Its only 25 minutes slower than the Acela and is MUCH cheaper! Keep it up!
I’ll answer why it doesn’t stop at Bridgeport: classism. The Acela is marketed as a “premium” service, and as such, Amtrak doesn’t find it “economically viable” (heavy air quotes) to serve places “like” Bridgeport. Bridgeport is pretty poor despite being large, so the Acela doesn’t stop there (this is the same reason they recently stopped all Acela Trenton service).
I believe there are infrastructure reasons that play a larger part than any sort of “classism”
Finally the acela
Acela might be a "high speed train", if it rides slowly on conventional tracks, it is just a train. The cost therefore is stupedly high. For this journey, that is.