faucets, flush controls, and door locks.
The distance between seats remains the same as on
the current Acela: 39 inches in business class and 43
inches in Acela First (compared with airline seat pitch
averages in the 29-to-32-inch range). But the new
seats will have built-in reading lights, and headrest
“wings” to prevent a sleeping neighbor from inadver-
tently snoozing their way into your lap. The seat will
move forward when it reclines, rather than encroach-
ing on the passenger to the rear.
Amtrak’s Decker says the cafe cars will be similar
in design to the original Acela, but stools will be
removed from the high-top bars to create more room.
“We also intend on relaunching cart service that was
tried intermittently in the mid-2000s; a lot of people
are working and would prefer not to leave their seat
or belongings.”
Contemplating additional changes with the arrival
of the Next Generation Acelas, Decker tells Trains her
group is looking to fix other perceived shortcomings.
“For instance, we’re rethinking everything in-
volved with the boarding process and are looking at
introducing assigned seating on the entire train,” she
says. This could enable passengers at busy intermedi-
ate stops like Wilmington, Del., to position them-
selves at clearly designated platform boarding areas
(as Europeans, Japanese, and Chinese rail travelers do
routinely) and not scramble to find an empty seat.
“Every station is different,” Decker says, “so our chal-
lenge is to provide as much ease in the boarding pro-
cess as possible; we have a number of work streams in
place right now to determine how we do that.” The
first evidence at Hornell: a coach with a red door that
designates it as a first-class car.
She says Amtrak will roll out an assigned-seating
trial next January in Acela business class; Acela first
class is already assigned, but passengers who want to
change the seats they’re given must get an agent to do
it. “People traveling in groups — maybe customers
who have a preference for a window — it will give
them that option,” Decker says.WHAT’S AHEAD FOR ACELA
Yet expanded capacity and more frequency is the
biggest promise to be fulfilled by Acela 21, one that
prompted the late Amtrak President Joe Boardman to
push for the investment. New York-Boston still lacks
hourly Acela service, though that is in part because of
Connecticut bridge lift limitations and Metro-North
commuter railroad congestion. South and west of the
Big Apple, rush-hour Acelas are often sold out be-
cause so many passengers are attempting to book
overlapping city-pair trips, creating chokepoint-driv-
en sellouts, such as Philadelphia-New York.
“We’re looking at variability in scheduling — we’re
going to have more trainsets so we will have more
flexibility and options. Once all sets are delivered, we
are going to launch fully nonstop service on both the
north and south ends,” says Decker. Serious infra-
structure limitations exist, of course, typified by curvy
Baltimore tunnels, aging Maryland bridges, and
limited Penn Station track space. “You have a 21st-
century train on 19th-century infrastructure,” she
says. “But we’re going to get everything we can out of
these new trainsets.” 2TrainsMag.com 45ACELAS AT A GLANCE
Original Acela 21
Builder Bombardier/Alstom Alstom
Placed in service 2000 Est. 2021
Number of trainsets 20 28
Business class cars** 4 7
Seats per trainset 304 378
Crashworthiness standard Tier II Tier III
Weight 624 tons 544 tons
Total length 666 feet 698 feet
Power carbody stainless steel carbon steel
Coach carbody stainless steel aluminum
Articulated cars no yes
Continuous power (total) ^^9,200 kw ^^7,500 kw
Design top speed 165 mph 186 mph
Top speed allowed 150 mph 160 mph
**Per trainset. Both Acelas also have one first-class car and one
cafe car. Three additional coaches can be added per trainset if
future demand warrants
^^ Electricity consumption sum of both power carsAbove: A reflective
mirror hangs above
the power car to
avoid shop floor
equipment collisions.
This straight-on view
masks the sharply
slanted nose.Top left: Southbound
Acela No. 2151 from
Boston blasts
through Princeton
Junction, N.J., on
April 25, 2019.