Acela, more properly Acela Express, is the name used by Amtrak for the high speed trains which run between Washington and Boston via New York and Philadelphia along the Northeast Corridor of the United States. They can be identified in timetables by their four-digit train numbers.

Amtrak formerly operated a service on comparable routes using traditional trains called the Acela Regional. To avoid confusion with the Express, this service was renamed simply the Regional.

Thanks to recent improvements to railroad infrastructure, notably complete electrification of the line, the trains have become much faster; one can travel between Boston and New York in under three and a half hours. These trains also tilt to negotiate the many curves on the densely populated route, permitting better passenger comfort and lower construction costs for the higher speeds. The improvements in speed, as well as the relative convenience of rail as opposed to air travel especially after September 11, have made the Acela competitive with the Northeast air shuttles. By some reckoning, Amtrak has captured nearly half of the market share of travelers between Boston and New York City.

Acela Express trains are manufactured as a joint project between Bombardier (75%) and Alstom (25%). They reach a top speed of 160 mi/h (257.5 km/h) only on one 29 km (18 miles) stretch of track (high-speed rail is usually defined as over 200 km/h, or about 125 mi/h). The average speed of the train in practice is below 110 mi/h (177 km/h).

Seats on the Acela Express are colored blue; the interior is largely white and brightly lit with large windows; there are tables in the first-class section, while other cars are business-class and include a "quiet car" in which talking on cell phones is banned and the lights are sometimes dimmed. A complimentary audio service is provided and there is beer on tap.

Acela outages

In August, 2002, shortly after their introduction, Acela trainsets were briefly removed from service when the brackets that connected truck (bogie) dampers to the powerunit carbodies were found to be cracking. The trains were returned to service when a program of frequent inspections was instituted. The damper brackets have since been redesigned and the old brackets replaced with the newer design.

On April 15, 2005, Acela trains were again removed from service when cracks were found in the disk brakes of most of the passenger coaches. As of April 17 no schedule has been announced for their return to service. At the time of the failure, Bombardier (the vendor) reported that they had approximately 80 replacement brake disks on hand whereas about 300 would be required to complete just the current repair work.

Stations

The trains stop at the following stations. Stations only served by some trains have an asterisk. For details on connections, and other trains which make more local stops, see Northeast Corridor.

• Boston South Station
• Boston Back Bay
• Route 128 Station
• Providence
• New London *
• New Haven*
• Stamford *
• New York Penn Station
• Newark Penn Station
• Metropark*
• Trenton *
• Philadelphia 30th Street Station
• Wilmington
• Baltimore Penn Station
• BWI Rail Station*
• Washington Union Station

See also

• Eurostar
• InterCity Express
• Shinkansen
• TGV
• Thalys

External links

• Amtrak: Acela Express official home page
• Trainweb.com: Acela
• Travel & Leisure: Amtrak accelerates at last

References

• Amtrak (April 15 2005), Service Alert: Acela Express - Amtrak Cancels All Friday and Saturday Acela Express Service Due to Brake Problem. Retrieved April 15 2005.
• Hauser, Kristine, New York Times (April 15 2005), Amtrak Suspends Acela Trains After Finding Brake Problems. Retrieved April 15 2005.