After more than a decade of planning and years of testing, Amtrak’s high-speed, next-generation Acela trains are finally set to enter service early next year.
The new Acela trains should enter revenue service sometime during the spring of 2025, the rail operator confirmed this week.
It’s a milestone that will bring far greater comfort – and capacity – to Amtrak’s flagship Northeast Corridor service that runs between Washington, D.C. and Boston via New York City.
Amtrak said the new trains “will elevate the travel experience for millions of passengers and set the stage for the next generation of train travel across America and the Northeast Corridor.”
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very delayed timeline
The fact that passengers won’t see the new Acela trains until next spring is a delay from Amtrak’s previously announced timeline.
In fact, the new Acela trains are more than three years behind schedule, having faced a number of obstacles — among them the coronavirus pandemic. Last year, a federal watchdog report marked defects On several new Acela train sets, warnings were issued that problems could cause further delays in their entry into service.
this time last year, amtrak told me It hopes that passengers can board the new trains by the end of 2024.
final stretch
However, the wait of the passengers now seems to be over.
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In an update last week, Amtrak said it recently completed more than 900 test runs of the new Acela trains with Alstom (the train set manufacturer) and planned to submit the data to the Federal Railroad Administration soon — a Important final step.
Amtrak’s billion-dollar Next Generation Acela program will replace its aging Acela fleet with 28 brand-new train sets with personal outlets, USB ports, contactless restrooms and a vastly improved café car.
Infrastructure improvements along the Northeast Corridor should eventually allow trains to reach top speeds of up to 160 mph.
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all aboard
The news comes as Amtrak announced a record-setting ridership and revenue year in fiscal year 2024, which runs from October 2023 to September 2024. This included a 9% increase in Acela passengers and an 18% increase in ridership compared to the previous year. In the North-Eastern region, more widely.
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