Ask any Amtrak employee which is Amtrak’s flagship route and most likely they’ll talk about the Acela – the only high speed train in the Americas!
The Acela train ticks off many great American cities on its 457 mile (735 km) route starting its journey from Boston to Washington DC, via New York and Philadelphia. The route is called the Northeast Corridor and is unique in United States in the fact that the infrastructure is owned by Amtrak, rather than the freight companies. This means that passenger services take precedence, and this can be demonstrated by a simple glance of the Amtrak timetable showing frequent services across the day.
The Acela should not be confused with the Northeast Regional – this is the other long distance Amtrak serving the Northeast Corridor, but, journey times are slower and amenities are simplified.
The Acela reaches speeds of up to 150 miles (240 km) per hour compared to its slower counterpart reaching up to 125 miles per hour. Looking at the timetable for the full route, the journey time savings are minimal – probably something to do with the fact that only a short section of line is able to reach the top speed and the fact the two train types share the same line.
So, does the Acela make up for its prestigious status in the onboard experience? Let’s see! I decided to take a trip on the Acela in the most premium accommodation, First Class, for almost the full journey the train would make that day from Boston to Philadelphia. I also took a trip in the other accommodation on the Acela, Business Class, at another time so will take a look at this too.
Firstly, here’s that all important route map of the full route:
Departure from Boston South Station
Boston Amtrak Metropolitan Lounge
First Class travel on the Acela comes with access to the station lounges available at the key cities, including Boston. The lounges are complimentary for First Class passengers to use at both the origin and destination of their First Class ticket. For my trip I was therefore able to access the Metropolitan Lounge at Boston South Station on departure and Philadelphia’s on arrival if I so desired (I didn’t as I went to a baseball game, but they did let me leave my luggage behind the desk).
Located at a historical part of the station dating back as far as 1899, the lounge at Boston South is well worth utilising if you have the spare time. There are complimentary soft and hot drinks available as often as you like and is much more comfortable and light environment than the rest of the station. The lounge is also available to Business Class passengers for a fee of $35. This probably isn’t worth it for some, however, I think it’s nice to have the option.
Onboard the Acela train
Allowing a comfortable fifteen minutes to exit the lounge and locate the platform before departure, my stylish Acela with its pointy nose was waiting to whisk me away down south. It’s nice to see that the trademark American stainless steel is incorporated into part of its livery. First Class was located right at the front – walking the full length of the train to board provided enough opportunity to burn off what was about to come.
First Class Accommodation
First Class on the Acela doesn’t come cheap. If you do decide to upgrade, there is a clear difference between the seat and catering offer compared to Acela Business Class. The First Class carriage on the Acela is very spacious with seating in a 2+1 configuration. There’s a mix of solo, tables of two and four available. Tables for two come with a choice of opposite seating or side-by-side. Aside from the larger, comfortable seating on offer here, there is a complimentary meal service.
First Class Dining
New for 2023, Amtrak launched a partnership with the STARR Restaurant Group for the Acela First Class catering. This appears to only stretch to one dish by the restaurant group, however, the menu rotates which is great if you’re a regular traveller. The Black Peppered Beef was very delicious.
Throughout the five hour journey, the two hosts did come around to offer drinks on several occasions starting with a bottle of water upon boarding. I also washed down two Diet Cokes, a glass of wine and a gin and tonic, and the latter was the largest can of tonic water I’ve ever seen.
I was misled by Amtrak when booking. I asked how many meals would be offered to be told that there would be one from Boston and another from New York. Unfortunately this didn’t materialise on the day, much to the disappointment of other passengers as well who were informed that they would have to visit the Café Car for more food. We were offered a bowl of nuts following New York which did help with some of the hunger later in the journey.
Business Class Accommodation
Business Class accommodation is the other class of accommodation on the Acela. This would be Standard Class or Coach Class on other services as seating is in a 2+2 configuration. This doesn’t come with any perks aside from the reserved seat. What makes the Acela unique for train travel in the US, is that you can choose your specific seat from a seat map once you’ve booked your ticket. Perfect if you prefer an airline style, or a window seat. On the day, however, we found people sat in our seats and several announcements to sit in our designated seats. The conductor even came around to enforce this.
Café Car
The Acela has its own onboard Café Car. At this point I had travelled across the entire width of America with Amtrak, and compared to the other trains we had been on, the Acela Café Car actually had more healthy food options. For my Business Class trip on the Acela, I had purchased a Caesar salad which was very tasty.
The Café Car also had its own sound booth, or naughty corner – take your pick! This is something that I’ve only seen on Japanese trains before. This reflects how focused on the business market these trains are.
Arrival at Philadelphia William H. Gray III 30th Street Station
The Future of Acela
The current Acela train-sets are set to be replaced by new Avelia Liberty train-sets built by Alstom, which promise to deliver an increase of up to 160 mph to the top speed and upgraded amenities onboard. At the time of travelling, a few of them could be seen parked up from the train just north of north of Philadelphia.
Booking and Fares
First Class on the Acela doesn’t come cheap with the Boston to Philadelphia journey starting from an eye-watering $239.00 one way – Amtrak are clearly chasing after the mainly price insensitive business market with this product. First Class can be a lot more expensive than Business Class which will put off many from upgrading – after all Business Class is perfectly adequate.
| Journey Leg | Business Class | First Class |
| Boston to New York | from $58.00 | from $199.00 |
| Boston to Philadephia | from $69.00 | from $239.00 |
| Boston to Washington DC | from $74.00 | from $255.00 |
| New York to Philadelphia | from $45.00 | from $153.00 |
| New York to Washington DC | from $71.00 | from $243.00 |
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Conclusion
How does the Acela fair in the Amtrak world? Well, I really liked the product in both First Class and Business Class. The train is comfortable and offers a host of amenities. The service, at least in First Class, was thoughtful and enjoyable but does come with a high price tag. The catering onboard was good and met expectations – the new STARR menu in particular in First Class I’m sure will prove to be a hit. Multiple drinks were offered throughout the journey. It was a shame only one meal in First Class was offered for the long journey despite Amtrak informing me in advance that I would be offered two, however, I didn’t let this ruin an otherwise great experience! The future is bright for the Acela with state-of-the-art trains lined up to replace the ageing fleet. I look forward to sampling this one day once they are up and running!
This Travel Report was first published in September 2023.
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