Acela & Amtrak NEC (HSR BOS-NYP-WAS and branches only)

F-Line to Dudley said:
It wouldn't happen until the dual-mode Charger 42E's are in-service, so they'd change from electric to diesel at HAROLD interlocking where the third rail -only LIRR tracks split off. All Northeast Regional equipment would be capable of making the power change by that point.
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Nothing to get excited about anytime too soon then!
 
AndrewOnTheMBTA said:
Nothing to get excited about anytime too soon then!
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The equipment should be fully available within 3 years. I think that'll be lots sooner than the haggling process with Long Island. There are lots of traffic management difficulties with meshing an intercity super-express with crush-load LIRR local traffic, and the community input process is sure to be tortured because it's Long Island. Right now the pols are solidly behind it so it stands a good chance, but it also wouldn't surprise me if that support proves fickle over time and ultimately collapses.
 
Justbuildit said:
I happen to have a Google alert set up for that exact question. Newest info I could find indicates "late" 2024, so expect something like an 11:50PM departure on 12/31/24. Not an obviously top tier site, but they reference an email they received directly from Amtrak after an inquiry.

A spokesman for Amtrak, Jason Abrams, said in an email this week that the new units are on presently track for a public launch in "late" 2024, based on the latest information from the train’s manufacturer, Alstom.

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I wonder if there will be any immediate timetable adjustments once all the rolling stock has been replaced? The higher top speed would maybe take ~5 mins off the BOS <> NYP run?
 
uk.news.yahoo.com

Tugboats Ferry Bridge Section Destined for $1.7 Billion Commuter Rail Upgrade

A section of the new bridge that will carry New Jersey Transit and Amtrak passengers over the Hackensack River was transported down the Hudson River on Tuesday, November 19.The steel structure is part of the $1.7 billion Portal North Bridge project that will replace the century-old rotating...
uk.news.yahoo.com uk.news.yahoo.com
According to Amtrak, the old Portal Bridge, which opened in 1910 and connects Kearny and Secaucus, carried more than 450 daily Amtrak and NJ Transit trains with more than 200,000 daily passengers at the height of its use prior to COVID-era reductions.

Footage filmed by Jon Williams shows one of the three planned sections of the bridge being ferried down the Hudson River near Hudson, New York, by tugboats on Tuesday morning.
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400-foot-long bridge arch floats through N.J. river. This is where it’s headed.​

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https://www.nj.com/news/2024/11/400...hrough-nj-river-this-is-where-its-headed.html

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https://x.com/amtrak/status/1817228472655245597?s=46

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https://x.com/varun_vish/status/1834948778807201865?s=46
 
www.trains.com

Fire damages Amtrak equipment at Washington yard - Trains

WASHINGTON — At least one locomotive appears to have suffered significant damage in a fire late Monday night at Amtrak’s Ivy City Maintenance Facility in Washington, D.C. DC Fire and EMS Department, in posts on X.com, reported responding with units including foam equipment to a fire possibly...
www.trains.com www.trains.com
 
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Hate to be the barer of bad news for anyone like me who has been eagerly awaiting the new trainsets but Amtrak has updated their website to indicate they are only coming into revenue service in "Spring 2025," not by end of this year as planned. Talk about stupid long delay!! :mad:

media.amtrak.com

Acela Media Kit - Amtrak Media

NextGen Acela is the all-new, premium ride from Amtrak, running between major city centers from Washington, DC, to New York to Boston and destinations in between.
media.amtrak.com media.amtrak.com
 
media.amtrak.com

Amtrak Awards Key Contracts to Advance Sawtooth Bridges Replacement Project - Amtrak Media

This important state-of-good-repair investment will construct multiple bridge structures with four total tracks, replacing the existing aging asset and significantly enhancing capacity, reliability, and speed along the most heavily traveled segment of the Northeast Corridor (NEC).
media.amtrak.com media.amtrak.com
Planning for enabling construction is advancing, with major construction slated to begin in 2026.
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Bet that the new Airo trains will be frigging delayed also when it's time for their revenue service to go into effect as well!!!! :eek:
 
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www.railwaygazette.com

Amtrak track renewals train ready for delivery

USA: Swiss plant manufacturer Matisa is ready to deliver a novel track renewals train to Amtrak to support work to modernise the US national passenger operator's upgrading of the 735 km Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington DC. Matisa says the diesel-powered P95 machine will be ...
www.railwaygazette.com www.railwaygazette.com
The train works in a highly mechanised fashion to remove life expired rails, sleepers and fastenings. The ballast underneath is then tamped and levelled, before new or refurnished sleepers, rails and fastenings are laid by the rear portion of the train. Longitudinal gantries move the sleepers using guides mounted on the side of the train. The machine’s working speed is up to 600 m/h, which the supplier says is well-suited to increasingly short overnight track possessions. The train is 118 m long, weighs 375 tonnes and its diesel powerpacks meet US Tier 4 emissions regulations.
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patch.com

Milford Rail Bridge Project Anticipated To Begin This Summer

Work to rehabilitate a Metro North rail bridge is scheduled for this summer, DOT officials said.
patch.com patch.com
The DOT hosted a virtual public information meeting on the rehabilitation of the Devon Railroad Bridge last week. The bridge carries the Metro North New Haven Line over the Housatonic River.

The project is expected to cost $110 million and will covered by 80 percent federal funds and 20 percent state funds, according to a DOT statement. No right-of-way impacts are anticipated.
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Anyone know if they're testing the new Acela trainsets along the NEC (or if they're in revenue service and I just completely whiffed on the news)? I took NE Regional 175 home from Boston to Providence today (around 3:50) and I swear as we were pulling in to PVD, one of the new Acelas was pulling out, heading northbound. Sexy red, white, and blue livery, sharp red doors and all. But I couldn't find it on the tracker, nor have I found much in my quick google searches.
 
Per a release in December the new trainsets are being tested along the NEC but not in service yet (first link). Spring 2025 rollout is still the stated goal (second link).

media.amtrak.com

Amtrak Sets All-Time Ridership Record in Fiscal Year 2024 - Amtrak Media

Invests more than $4.5 billion in major infrastructure projects to support future growth WASHINGTON – Amtrak achieved an all-time ridership record in
media.amtrak.com media.amtrak.com


🚅
RESTORING, UPGRADING, AND INTRODUCING NEW TRAINS
  • Completed qualification testing on the NextGen Acela with Alstom and will submit results to the Federal Railroad Administration soon
    • Successfully conducted more than 900 test runs and clocked over 90,000 miles of testing on the Northeast Corridor

www.amtrak.com

NextGen Acela | Amtrak

Discover NextGen Acela, Amtrak’s all-new, high-speed trains. Enjoy modern, premium features and book your travel today.
www.amtrak.com www.amtrak.com
 
Thanks. I’ve been doing this commute near daily for the last year, and this is the first of the new sets that I’ve seen.
 
Justbuildit said:
Per a release in December the new trainsets are being tested along the NEC but not in service yet (first link). Spring 2025 rollout is still the stated goal (second link).

media.amtrak.com

Amtrak Sets All-Time Ridership Record in Fiscal Year 2024 - Amtrak Media

Invests more than $4.5 billion in major infrastructure projects to support future growth WASHINGTON – Amtrak achieved an all-time ridership record in
media.amtrak.com media.amtrak.com


🚅
RESTORING, UPGRADING, AND INTRODUCING NEW TRAINS
  • Completed qualification testing on the NextGen Acela with Alstom and will submit results to the Federal Railroad Administration soon
    • Successfully conducted more than 900 test runs and clocked over 90,000 miles of testing on the Northeast Corridor

www.amtrak.com

NextGen Acela | Amtrak

Discover NextGen Acela, Amtrak’s all-new, high-speed trains. Enjoy modern, premium features and book your travel today.
www.amtrak.com www.amtrak.com
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The Amtrak employees on RR.net have been saying a tentative mid-to-late April for start of first revenue service if the FRA signoff happens on-time.
 
The sooner the better. Per the same Amtrak/NEC employees on RR.net, the Acela 1's have such poor uptime right now that the service has gotten very cancellation-prone when working trainsets are simply not available. They're down to no reserves, as several trainsets are in storage completely inoperable and the shops are working overtime to band-aid the rest of the fleet into another day/week/month of halfway passable service.
 
JeffDowntown said:
I am travelling on Acela from NYP to BOS on March 31. I just got a "change of seat configuration" notice from Amtrak -- on airlines this means change of equipment!

I believe that means Acela II is moving into service by then! :love:
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I thought this might be a story, so I reached out to Amtrak's press office to see if it was true.

Unfortunately, they told me that this is *not* because the new trainsets are starting operations:
"As of March 24, 2025, all Acela trains will be transitioning to permanent fixed and backward seating in preparation for the introduction of NextGen Acela trainsets later this Spring. This seating arrangement reduces maintenance time between trips and already exists on several trains across the National Network and Northeast Corridor, including the Northeast Regional and Keystone Service. All Acela customers have the option to change their assigned seat (subject to availability) in advance of their travel via Amtrak.com or the Amtrak app."
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So I won't be doing a story on this after all – but thought y'all would appreciate this update.
 
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