Amtrak Acela! America's Fastest Train!
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- Up today, we take a look at Amtrak's Acela service, which is America's fastest train!
Date of Travel: March 2022
Class of Travel: Business Class
Rolling Stock: Acela Express Trainset
Type of Service: Acela
Operator: Amtrak
Train Number: 2254
Origin: Washington Union Station, Washington D.C., United States of America
Destination: Pennsylvania Station, New York City, NY, United States of America
Cost of Ticket: $49 (£37.35, €45.05)
Menus: www.amtrak.com...
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I'm glad viewership is increased when it comes to your vlogs. More to come & more power to you.
Love the quick glimpse of Aberdeen station at 11:18, spent many hours there waiting for trains.
This is perfect for commuter trips for people working in New York or Washington DC or day trips for tourists and wonderful views along the way.
If they don't run late like mine did on a day trip between DC and Wilmington. The night service was 2 hours late arriving at my station. Try trying to fill time in at a station where the shop and customer service had shut at night in a sketchy part of town (Wilmington).
I agree that these are better trains than their reputation would suggest. The track itself let them down for a while but Amtrak has been making improvements to the worst areas, which has improved the ride quality. I think most people prefer the look of these vs. the new Avelia Liberty trains, which both look more "European" and also have locomotives that don't match the profile of the cars in between; they look mismatched. I've never ridden high speed trains in Europe but I have ridden Japanese Shinkansen trains pretty extensively, and overall I'd put the Acela Express experience right up there in comparison. It's just not quite as fast.
Agree on everything except the look of the Avelia Liberties. The more I see them the more they grow on me.
But yes, the Acela is a widely under-appreciated service. The trains are great and incredibly comfortable in typical Amtrak fashion. Amtrak’s seats and pitch never disappoint. You immediately know why the Acela is more expensive than flying when you first sit down.
But I really do think that the Avelias will greatly improve the service. As soon as they are introduced Amtrak will be able to increase top speeds from 150mph to 160mph. Their faster acceleration will also allow for time savings elsewhere on the route. And with Amtrak planning to eventually upgrade all the 125+mph high speed sections to 160mph, we’ll start seeing a very different experience on the Acela in a few (or more) years.
Who knows, maybe Amtrak will even find some sections where the Avelias can fully stretch to their 186mph top speed at some point.
Nice video! I remember the original Penn Central Metroliner and the thrill of seeing them race by (when they still had street grades/crossings way back). The Acela looks nice, clean and ride appeared smooth.
I enjoyed this video. I've never been on any trains except the subway in Toronto, Montreal, NJ, Washington DC, and Paris France. I've often been fascinated with train travel and I hope to do this someday.
You were in France and you didn't take a TGV? :(
I travelled on Amtrak from New York Penn to Boston Back Bay in July 2021 and we were allowed to select our seats in Business Class with an airplane style seat map on the website at booking
Bravo.. bravo.. loved that you named amtrak a scotrail service!! the entertainment system doesn't work unless you plug your headphones in.
I do like the Washington DC underground, few stations though it may have, it always seems modern and futuristic. Did you do any video specifically on this?
we call it the metro here :)
erm, I think Philadelphia is pretty well known "historically" for something other than as an industrial centre.
Great video as always, I’m actually doing the reverse trip in October. Have to agree with the prices though they are a bit steep
Very nice Dylan. Well we crossed paths again. You came right thru my home town of Philadelphia. It doesn't look good via the rails. We do photograph well. DC's old station has aged well. 30th St. Station isn't bad either, unless you're trying to get to it or out of it. I can let you in on a tidbit that locals know. This train service has to be good because that's how many politicians get back & forth to our capital. Biden took it regularly. I was waiting to hear you pronounce our Native American names. You did manage Susquehanna quite well. Natives love to help out. We'd get you thru all of them. Don't be afraid to ask. Think of Maryland the same way you'd say Marylebone. Thanks again for a nice ride on the rails. I missed you last Monday. I couldn't find your post anywhere. Enjoy your weekend.
The Acela is a fine service. I've been on it a few times and it doesn't disappoint. What's really holding this service back is the 100-year-old infrastructure. You can't get high enough speeds to achieve high speed rail status and it's a shame since this is Amtrak's most profitable route. With the new trains, service speeds in RI, MAS, and NJ will see speeds of around 160/165 miles an hour and some places in Maryland and Pennsylvania will see speeds increase to around 145/150 miles an hour thanks to track and catenary upgrades. The tickets can be expensive at times, and I would sometimes take the regional since its cheaper, but the Acela defiantly fits the "Too long to drive and too short to fly" narrative
The Susquehanna River begins in Cooperstown, NY, flowing out of lake Otsego. It zig zags through New York State (not two miles from my boyhood home) and Pennsylvania.
There used to be a circular bar/restaurant in the middle of the great hall. It was great!!
Maybe I misheard, but Thurgood Marshall" is pronounced as spelled, not "through good".
Hahah listening to Dylan pronouncing American names is like me trying to pronounce Welsh names :P
I've literally gotten 10 dollar tickets on the Northeast Regional from Philly to NYC in the past. It's a way better deal. Acela is cool though, and its significance for American Rail History will be remembered for generations.
Wonderful Compilation
Thanks!
Great one Dylan 👍
Thanks!
I feel like it would be a good idea for Amtrak to move these trainsets to other viable mid-high speed routes, instead of entirely retiring them from service. Maybe in California, the great lakes area, Florida, etc.
What is the point of moving them there when they wouldnt be able to go fast because of the state of the tracks.. :(
Remember in USA tracks are owned by private companies which haul only freight, they dont need super big speeds, creating tracks and maintaining them for anything above 80 MPH is pointless throwing of money from their point of view.
@@KuvDabGib the tracks in California are actually of quite decent quality for passenger travel, at least there. And of course moving the trainsets would also involve adapting the route (namely to electrify it), but in general it would be good to expand level of service in regions other than the northeast if train travel is to be profitable and useful in the US
@@pepsdeps it will not happen for multiple reasons, but mainly because it is risky investment. Unfortunately.
@@KuvDabGib Look at how much Illinois has spent upgrading a few corridors to 110 mph top speed with Amtrak Midwest services. To go faster Illinois balked at the significant cost increase to build over passes and under passes to every farm along their lines in the vast Corn Belt...There aren't as many trees in Illinois as the eastern seaborne.
@@ronclark9724 I live in Europe, we have high speed tracks all across the continent, freight or no freight, so for me.. it doesnt make sense to not use them or not to even build them... But USA has different logic & money policy...
Nice video . Thanks
For your next future train trip, if you were to travel to Canada and you want to ride on Via Rail, then maybe you can ride on The Canadian leaving Vancouver on Day 1 and arriving in Toronto on Day 4 and the same for The Ocean leaving Montreal during the evening and arriving in Halifax the next evening.
THANK YOU.. most enjoyable
I just took Acela this weekend and also paid $49 each way thanks to the sale they ran a while back. Unfortunately the system came crashing down on Monday thanks to a drunk driver. So I had to take a bus home. That was quite dire
For such a massive station, in the capital of the USA... It felt empty.
A clear representation of the state of USA passenger railways
Maybe, Although this was midday so it’s likely much busier during the rush with Marc and VRE services
You do know that people fly a lot, right B_chan?
@@Neville60001 Sadly, yes
@@Bchan, due to the size of the United States and due to the convince provided, flying is a main means of transportation in the United States (and with electric planes coming, it will most likely continue to be.)
This does not mean that we still can't have HSR in the U.S. or here in Canada, but there will still be a need for air travel (here in Canada, I doubt that the Northwest Territories/Nunavut will ever have HSR going into it, and planes will still have to be used to go to areas like these.)
The upshot of what I'm trying to say is, neither form of mass transit is better than the other.
@@Neville60001 Fair enough. The problem is people taking planes for crazy short distances.
HSR can be so much faster, if only they didn't make it feel like you're at an airport. They should see how the french do it
Dylan you need try the Amtrak maple leaf to Toronto Canada
I was just going to say the same thing (I also want him to try the _Ocean_ [Montreal to Halifax] and the _Canadian_ [Toronto to Vancouver.]) Plus, I want him to come here to Toronto and take the GO (Government of Ontario) Transit train from Toronto to Niagara Falls.
fares are very misleading. Walk up fares are typically amongst the highest in the world, even on Acela Regional trains. Very little capacity offered so trains can be filled at high fares. The bottom 80 percent must use buses or regional trains, where they exist.
great video
Thanks!
This seems like Amtrak is on the right track (pun intended) by offering a deluxe high speed train as an option for business people. Too bad this kind of service is not offered anywhere else in the system. The Regional trains offer an excellent service, a little slower, a lot cheaper. I noticed there is no food service, at this price and level of service there should be. Good report Dylan !
There absolutely is food service. He shows it in the video. Also, in first class (which I don't fault him for not really talking about), the food service is at-seat if you want it.
@@ModernClassic My bad ! I meant that there is no at seat service , such as a cart with sandwiches,etc. There is such a service on some trains and most all Canadian VIA Rail trains. I realize you can go to the food service car and get what you need. Sorry.
Dylan I have a question regarding your video, at about 17:03 you panned the camera towards the seats in front of you. On top of the seat it appears like money is clipped on the seat tops ?? Also when you had your phone out and showing the actual speed of the train, what app were you using ? Great video and lots of interesting facts.
6:14 well, that’s sort of true, during the pandemic, amtrak introduced reserved seating on the northeast regional I believe a couple more regional services, I’m not sure if that is offered anymore
Only on Regional Business Class which isn't worth it
15:12 Philly!!! #SEPTA
Better ride the Northeast Regional instead of the Acela. Who cares if you just stop at a couple of extra main stations and runs at 125 MPH, and is very affordable?
6:34 what is that, a fidget spinner for your Feet? haha
13:56 At least you got 0.5Mbps+ throughout your speed test! EMR in the UK are worse than this, with the Wi-Fi on their Class 22x trains hardly connecting at all.
but the fares on the Acela are usually very high.
@@connecticutmultimodaltrans8226 the fares on the Midland Mainline are high too, over £25 to travel half an hour (between a town and a city in the Midlands), a distance of approximately 35 miles. Or if going south to London, an anytime day return is over £100. So not exactly cheap!
@@TheSpotify95 It's about 5:30 PM here, an Acela NYC-DC at 6 PM is $263 for 225 miles. both countries' rail prices are absurd. here the long-distance services are MUCH cheaper but take a long time and are often very late.
Amtrak Acela
It seems to me that if there were more competition to Amtrak the Train service in this country would be compatible to services world wide.it's sad to see the amount of high speed train service here vs the rest of the world it can and someday way too late be a option to flying. thanks for taking the time to do the video Dylan and for sharing. ECF
No, it doesn't work, except the competitors built separate rail from Amtrak, if they share same track, it's just bring more congestion in American railroad
What your government should do is buying tracks from your private freight railroad and give it to Amtrak to operate and maintaining it, I still cannot believe in 51 years your government still choose to subsidize Amtrak rather than buying tracks for them
if you had sat on the right side of the train, you would have seen Gallaudet University!!
No worries.. on not being able to shoot first class. It's the EXACT same car (layout wise) only difference is service and they serve an inclusive menu. Passengers however, are clusters of self entitled NE elitists all on hour long conference calls all trying to be heard, so I stopped booking FC years ago- I prefer a normal car or even the quiet car and will never book FC again as it's way to annoying.
Dylan, you got to get on the newer amtrak train..
Doesn't start revenue service til at least fall 2023 😭😭
@@connecticutmultimodaltrans8226 but I am hearing it has started in a few places as test runs.
@@sherlocksteve9109 yes but the infrastructure is bad and the French designed train can't handle it
I haven't ride a high Speed Rail Train yet 😕 😫 😪 😩 😞 🤔
They should sell those trains to willing countries who can buy them
Their massive weight can be a barrier. Most other high-speed train sets are lighter.
@@dbclass4075 oh I never knew that!
@@george_kimani, they are have been used a lot, and are nearing the end of their lives.
Did that exact journey between DC and Wilmington DE ten years ago. Problem was the evening service on my return was running like an 1 and 1/2 hours late and I was sitting at a closed and virtually deserted Wilmington station at 10pm at night. Not a great feeling. And go back to DC well after midnight. Ruined my evening. I can see why people drive.
Just a quick observation - some of the station lights in Washington Union Station were glowing a weird turquoise/green color. That shouldn't be happening - those lights need replaced. ;)
Dylan, you're being so kind about the USA's broke down system of super speed travel! ☺️ We should be doing way better than we are actually doing. High speed travel at affordable rates has evolved way further in other countries!!
See, you can instantly tell who's never taken high speed intercity rail in other countries... very few cost significantly less than air travel. In fact, with low cost carriers, high speed rail can easily be 2-3x flying.
@@straightpipediesel Though European low cost carriers tend to land on airports nowhere near the associated city. Airfares may be cheap, but the resulting additional bus or train trip can add up. Besides, there are cheaper, slower trains to choose from. This can change as more competitors enter the market.
@@straightpipediesel 🤨I wasn't referring to plane travel...
#NotToday #BegoneWithThat
@@dbclass4075 Europe isn't the world. Japan has great airport connectivity and you can fly anywhere in Japan for 1/3 of the Shinkansen. Tokyo Haneda, the LCC airport, is actually 1/3 the distance to downtown as Narita, the international airport. China too, Shanghai Maglev is a perfect example, and Hong Kong's airport. (The Communists don't care about noise abatement, unlike European protesters)
@@straightpipediesel As already mentioned, slower cheaper trains is an option, or even a bus. Japan is no exception. Even with better flight connections, train stations still have advantage of being closer to destination; an extra cost (or time) worth the convinience.
OP clarified he wasn't referring to flying, so his main point is to make railways feasible alternative to driving. High-speed rail isn't even needed for that; just a reliable commuter and/or regional rail will do.
I used to travel regularly on Acela between Stamford and Boston and your video had a very familiar feel to it. The problem is those travels were 15-20 years ago and therein is the problem. Is this the quality that you would expect from the premier route in the richest nation on earth in 2022 in business? In reality the problem is too many politicians standing in the way of useful investment in Public transport dressing it up as unneeded use of public funds and/or a step towards Marxism.
I like the legroom but compared to a lot of European train providers the interior seems really outdated. Compare that to some of the french, spain, german or austrian intercity trains which are sometimes a few decades old as well but get regular refurbishments.
Seems like Amtrak only invests into their rolling stock once when they buy it and don't give them any overhauls.
Seems like America's fastest train is the slowest "high speed train" on the planet.
Not even close... Sweden, Denmark, Portugal, Norway, Denmark and various other countries have high-speed systems with lower top speeds. Even Japan has many high speed lines that are slower than the Acela Express.
@@ModernClassic Those are not high speed but rather "fast trains"
Hands up who got off at the wrong Penn Station and had to wait 1 hour for the next train. Why there are 2 so named so close together, who knows?
23rd!
Im not to impressed by the Acela service. I think its a bit of a scam that they only sell "business class" tickets and not coach, so that the fare is way higher than the regular Amtrack service. Now, this wouldnt be an issue if it was a true high speed train, but it of course isnt. On the route DC to NYC its only like 30 min faster on a 3 hour journey with a top speed of 135 mph on some stretches. Thats about the same speed, or only slightly above, as non-high speed regular European intercity trains and on most of the route the train goes much slower.
So why the upcharge? The coach seats are already pretty comfortable so the slightly bigger "business class" seat does not provide great value at 2 times the price of a coach seat. You got to ask, who is this for? Its not a great way to convince Americans that high speed trains are a good alternative to car and planes. Im happy to see the train is relatively full, but then again, the frequency is very low compared to European services.
There are now 150 mph sections between New York and Washington
@@FFred-us9tw Great to see that the service is improving.
Is smoking allowed ?
No.
It's quicker on the London underground!
Through-good? Really?
WTF that train goes through a road?what the hell trains run on tracks not on roads wtf is that journey? Also,i enjoyed the video btw
First class product is good, not great. Max Id pay is $250, definitely no more than $275. You’d get your moneys worth if your arrive early for lounge access specifically going from NY to DC, or if you’re doing DC to BOS or vice versa. Never got shamed or a dirty look for being in first class.
It's really not worth it.
72€ is way too expensive for a route like this its absurd. UK and US don’t know how to value their rail services
that's even a cheap fare. yes it's ridiculous
@@connecticutmultimodaltrans8226 19€ to do a 600 miles route on a full high speed line (300-320kmh) is a cheap fare. 72€ for 200 miles with an average speed of 130 km per hour is a damn steal from Amtrak, don’t know how Americans even tolerate that. UK has the same problem too, saw tickets sold at 120£ + on the same configuration
Just visite Europe and u’ll know what is a cheap fare. Amtrak litteraly steal you and you cheer them for it lol
@@fugf1623 dude I'm agreeing with you, I was trying to say that's the cheapest fare they offer on this segment NYC-Washington. I know the rail prices are ridiculous in this country. We only support Amtrak because it's all we have, but yes I agree they're a joke and a terribly run company.
@Fû GF, 72€ is a good enough sum for this service; you just want to be a stuck-up smugly European snob and put Acela down.
Yelled at? Just for walking in an area that’s a higher class? Well that’s a nice way for them to get punched in your mouth. You can’t just yell at somebody especially a full grown man without catching a right hook
Wow, you freely admit that you would resort to violence over the way someone talked to you? I feel bad for any woman who would be stupid enough to date you let alone children in your presence.
Such a shame a station and big and grand as union is wasted on a country so mongy at passenger railways
There's more to America than the Northeast corridor. Why doesn't America invest in real high speed trains? Acela is nice but it's hardly "high speed." I'm really tired of hearing lame excuses as to why America can't build a national real high speed rail network.!
Northeast Corridor is where high-speed rail made the most sense: enough density, high demand, ideal distance for trains. The bigger barrier to America's high speed railways are transport system downstream: metro, tram, bus, etc. While cars are still needed to get to and from the station, trains won't be seen as much convenient than flying nor driving.
To summarize: America needs to invest in mass transit system more. High-speed rail is just one component of it. It will be a tall order the more closer to the west coast due to car-oriented development.
America wont spend trillions on a system, that's way more expensive to operate, generally slower than flying, and would hardly have the ridership to support it.
Rick, there are no 'lame excuses', only truths (size of nation, costs of building new track and electric wiring, finding land to build said HSR railways on), and last but not least, other Americans not wanting said railways built for whatever reason and opposing president Obama when he wanted to build a nationwide HSR network (plus a huge military budget spent on [possible] kludges like the F-35 fighter jet) as well as distance between certain cities making a route between cities like, say, New York and Los Angeles impossible (unless its maglev that would be built for such long distance trips.)
Be glad that at least, you've got Acela (here in Canada, we _still_ have nothing like it, or any HSR system coming down the pike in the near future) and that you've got standard rail, with new trainsets coming from Siemens; in Mexico, there's no intercity passenger rail at all, only airline and bus travel (although the Mexicans have perfected bus travel to an art.)
@@dbclass4075,just to reiterate what you said ('It will be a tall order the more closer to the west coast due to car-oriented development') as said here by a blogger named Norbrook:
' *_The items that may seem to you to be part of “the progressive ideal,” and truly critical in your area may not matter in the least to - or be actively opposed by - progressives in another area_* ,
_or at best, be of “academic interest” only. I live in New York State. If I were to live in New York City, or any major urban center, mass transit would be a core issue. You’re going to be advocating strongly for public transportation, you probably want “walkable communities,” bike lanes, and so on. It’s a given, a part of being “progressive” and “environmentally concerned.” Leave the city, and move up to my area in the Adirondacks? No one cares about those things. We’re rural, sparsely populated, and there are long distances between small villages. We’re never going to have mass transit, our communities may be walkable, but our jobs and shopping are often far away. So if you’re making that a big centerpiece of what you think it means to be progressive, you’ll be upset that those of us who don’t live in urban/suburban environments are going to go “whatever.” We’re not necessarily against it, it’s just not anything that really concerns us*_ .
@@blackhole9961, HSR is *_NOT_* 'generally slower than flying', and can work between grouped city pairs (with Japanese style 'feeder lines' to small towns radiating from train stations), plus long-distance routes between non-grouped cities (e.g. New York to Los Angeles) can be built and run with maglev trains (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maglev) that are faster than standard steel rail HSR trains.
Love the relaxed pace in an Amtrak. Biden one day you will be as good as an authoritarian leaders, but not in your lifetime !
you took the dreaded METRO? "splendid Union station"? What a laugh.. it still needs renovations!
Nice video! I’ve taken this train, many a time with an occasional stop over in Philly.
As you pointed out it’s a fast convenient way to travel on the East Coast, especially between NYC and DC - beats flying.
By the way, Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station is quite nice! Not grand, but like a jewel box.
Amtrak Acela actually wins the market share of passengers Washington to New York City with the less than three hours train journey, but does not with the four hour train journey New York City to Boson market share war with the airlines. Acela loses badly with the market share battle with the Washington to Boston nearly seven hour train journey... As Amtrak numbers reveal, HSR fares well up to around a three hour train journey, but loses the market share beyond around three hours.., The sweet spot for competitive HSR is around three hours...NUMBERS DON'T LIE!
@@ronclark9724 Makes sense. This reminds me of the old Eastern Airlines Shuttle. I recall making a trip from LGA to DCA on Eastern - the fare was $30 o/w? It was great, no reservations and you could pay on board. Too many people? They would roll out another plane. Those hassle free days are gone.😏
Seems like if Amtrak has any failings, it's that it can often run late -- however you got lucky with only 5 minutes behind schedule.
$49 is quite a steal for this route, IMO. Looks like a very comfortable ride.
Thanks for the video, Dylan. See you on Monday!
I've heard it's not at all uncommon to be 30+mins late on this route, so I guess I did a bit. Seems like a good service overall though.
@@DylansTravelReports The NEC is very busy with a lot of regional trains and has a lot of aging infrastructure which causes delays
Acela ride is bumpy, wobbly and far from smooth especially when it hits top speed in Rhode Island where it feels like the train will derail at any moment. (Sam Jennings, retired Acela Express Conductor)
@@samtrak1204 Goes to show how underfunded Amtrak is relative to other forms of transit.
Of course, if you have a frozen pizza and a lousy Bud Light you can double that cost...
One of my most memorable journeys on Amtrak was taking an evening train, the Boston Banker from Penn station to Boston...thankfully it wasn't a very long journey, but boy did it shaked, rocked and rolled, and not in a good way! That was some years ago, so lets hope that they've improved the tracks.
12:58 your right, if you do it without the staff’s permission. Because the amtrak staff let me explore business class on the Pacific Surfliner after I asked them. Then again, the Acela is a “premium service” so I’m not sure that the same rules apply.
I live in Baltimore and take Amtrak every now and then. Nice to see Baltimore represented on your channel, even though the route through Btown is going through some very bleak neighborhoods.
With Amtrak you see America, both the front yards and the back yards, the good and the ugly...
I think the Acela is nice, but the upgrades are needed to make it a true high speed rail. The new trains will do just that. We need more high-speed rail like this. People need to realize that the US Can have a better rail system
True, but it's just not economical in the US. It's generally easier or cheaper (if not both) to fly between cities
@@somebody5332 have you heard of something called climate change
@@somebody5332 You don’t need the blanket the entire country with it. There are a number of regions where it would make plenty of sense, like the Texas Triangle.
@@somebody5332 It absolutely is economical in the US. There is a reason they are building it in the Northeast Corridor in the first place. America has several regions with cities pack closely together that are perfect for HSR, like Texas, California, Cascades, Florida, etc. Amtrak makes most of their money in the dense northeast.
New trains won’t magically fix issues with the NE corridor itself/make it a “true” high speed service, no matter how fast it could theoretically go, much more investment is needed such as a dedicated corridor like in Texas/California
Hmm, I was pleasantly surprised at that too. I also thought that America's rail network was more geared towards freight than passengers, so to have a line of even 200kmph is pretty decent in my opinion!
Also, those trains look quite respectable, at least compared to other trains I've seen, so if they were to be retired, I'd suggest re-using them elsewhere, or shipping them to another country - they're far too good for scrap.
The line between DC-NY-Boston is primarily for passenger rail, so delays are less common and speeds are higher. It is the exception, not the rule, when it comes to US passenger rail
These trains were ridden/used _a lot_ , and are at the end of their service life (also there probably are no new spare parts to keep them running, as the company that made it, Bombardier, is now Alstom.)
Simply put the only suitable electrified line capable of running Acela is the Keystone line from Philadelphia to Harrisburg... Unfortunately the regional trains run further to Pittsburgh, so it makes sense for Amtrak to upgrade this route with the new Siemens diesels and coaches similar to Florida's Brightline...
@@ronclark9724 I thought they were going to use some Charger derivative that runs off of catenary, no? The Chargers are just US-spec Siemens Vectrons with a Cummins engine providing traction electrical power instead of the wire. One would think that making them accept catenary power is trivial.
I took the Acela from Baltimore to New York last June and i say the Wi-Fi i actually quite fast and was even able to watch Disney+ on their with no problem. Also the ride is comparatively more rough compared to a airplane but it isn’t as loud as a jetliner.
Great video. I have only done this trip once in a very snowy February. It is nice to see the scenery in the warmer months. That being said, a nice benefit of travelling in the colder months is that there were very few people in the business class carriage and I manage to get one of the booths.
Great work. Makes me really want to take a trip here soon.
Thanks 😁
How is it 13 days ago when the video has been up for half a hour
@@ChetNotJet backers get early access
I remember this train from Microsoft Train Simulator. I rode this train once several years later. I loved every second of the ride; it was quite comfortable and I could remember some of the route details, MSTS seemed to be pretty accurate for its time.
When our daughter lived in downtown Manhattan, we took the Northeast Regional from Charlottesville, VA to New York Penn Station. I was always surprised by the big increase in price for the Acela service for only 30 minutes of time advantage from Washington to New York. Now that she lives on Staten Island, it is more convenient to drive since it is such a chore to get from Penn Station to Staten Island and parking is not a problem.
Now that the mandate is lifted
Personally, I think Acela is a waste of money in most cases. The Northeast Regional is fine on this route.
Tip: If going between New York and Washington, try to get the Palmetto (trains 89/90). This usually has more comfortable Amfleet II equipment and pricing is in line with the Regional trains.
The Pennsylvanian can also take you between New York and Philadelphia and it also has Amfleet II equipment, but be aware that between New York-Philadelphia (and vice-versa) the trains do essentially run backwards.
Is there a reason you took a left side seat? I find the right to be better because you don't see the tracks all the time, even though the right side is completely blocked by fences/trees/walls some of the time.
Lindo trem amtrak gostei 👍 Dylans bom acela
I will look forward if you complete the trip to Boston.America looks huge and different...like different countries all in one??????
Why does the whole experience looks like a flight? Like, boarding gates and conveyor belts in a train station? Overhead bins in a train?
Does it matter?
@@Neville60001 I’m asking lol. That’s not how it is in the rest of the world and it doesn’t seem normal
@@DimitrisSartzetakis, it matters not a whit that it looks like a flight, especially since (from my observation) nmost HSR is like a flight to begin with; that's just how (North) Americans are ('different strokes' and all that.)
@@Neville60001 It does, its impractical and inconvenient also very inefficient.
Where is the Moynihan Train Hall at 22:59, Dylan's Travel Reports ?
While the Acela engines are loosely based on the TGV, the carriages are derived from Via Rail's LRC system - a less impressive lineage, but it makes them (very distantly) related to the Super Voyager! (The new trains are, apparently a cross between the next-generation TGV and the Pendolino.)
Great video overall. I cannot wait to see your comparison between acela express and the traditional amtrack offer.
you might also consider reviewing your flight . As you must have taken a flight to the us from the uk I would be interesting to have your opinion on it.
Another fantastic video
Thanks!
13 days ago? Sus
@@rubenmc6347 have Patreon mate get 2 weeks early access
Thank you, for covering my bucket list as I'm disabled mot able to travel.
I lived in MA for about 7 years, Boston is a gorgeous city. Make sure to visit little Italy for amazing pizza.
I been to DC last month
Fantastic report! Welcome to old Sweden when passing Delaware, it belonged to Sweden 1638-1655.
Quite funny that the PA chime for the Acela is the same as that for the Pacific Surfliner!
It’s in pretty good shape considering it’s been in service since 2000. Ever since riding the Japanese Bullet train more times than I can count. I would take a high speed rail any day over flying, unless it’s like a 5 hours or longer as planes are usually faster for that distance.
Cost of living crisis clearley not affecting you.I struggle to afford a day return to York from Newcastle lol
It's a lot of saving up and finding cheap deals. It's not an abundance of wealth.
Amtrak being on time is interesting i always knew Amtraks time table being quite questionable but well they cant help it most of the track is owned by the freight companies
As you said, most of the track. The Northeast Corridor is an exception, as it is owned by Amtrak themselves.
"Mary Land" eh?
This thing is built like a tank lol - 565 tonnes! Hopefully the NE corridor gets dedicated high speed rail instead of rolling stock replacements and minor upgrades (looks pretty unlikely though)
The next generation Acela is already undergoing testing. It is more or less an off the shelf TGV with the Pendolino tilt system included. Look up Avelia Liberty and you'll find all kinds of info on it.
@@mj1234321 thats what i was referring to by investing in a dedicated high speed rail corridor like in Texas or California (not the greatest example lol) instead of just new trains/upgrades, as the limitations of the route itself remains, looks amazing though!
Yeah the reason the new Acela sets are taking so long is because the NEC is falling apart and the train can't take the old power system, catenary, and tracks.
No wonder they are retired so soon: heavy train + high speed = more tear. ICE 1, TGV Sud-Est, and X2000 are still in service.
@@connecticutmultimodaltrans8226, hence why the old Acela was built like a tank.
Neat vid! Nice to see the 'train arriving' platform lights still work in DC. You were rather fortunate station security didn't get excited at you filming in Union Stn... Curious: what GPS app do you use to check train speeds...?
wanted to ask about that app too!
It's called Speedometer, it's on Google Play
@@DylansTravelReports thanks, already installed! Ping me for a pint when passing by Austria or Slovakia :)
I would recommend that anyone riding from Washington northward, you should sit on the right side. Much better views!
Hi Dylan. I have been following you for a long time now, and wondered "of all of the thousands of stations you have been to, which is the most impressive"?
For me it has to be the cathedral known as St. Pancras.
I don't think I can pick a favourite! There are many beautiful stations but in different ways
Anyone who ever played the original Train Simulator from 2001 are experts at driving an Acela!
Was waiting for this!