Sep 29, 2025 - Transit
Amtrak's new Acela promises more than it delivers
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
All aboard the NextGen Acela. Photo: Nicholas Johnston/Axios
I've been a regular rider of the old Acela for the past 25 years and just tried the new one. I was underwhelmed.
Why it matters: This is the premier train line in the United States of America. It should act like it!
The big picture: The general glow-up is a pleasant upgrade, but in the end, it feels like when they reupholstered the old Northeast Regionals.
- Evolutionary, not revolutionary, so a bit disappointing for an entirely new train.
Pros:
- It is nicer, being a new train and all.
- It seems a bit smoother and quieter (possibly too close to call — though still a level of bumpiness that would turn on a plane's seatbelt sign).
- The cafe car is a little nicer and spacious, but us old-timers will miss some of the bar-style seating.
- Seat firmness might be an upgrade (will take more trips to test).
- Individual tables fold downs — you don't have to make your seat partner move their laptop to adjust (but the way seats recline makes table seating more cramped).
- At-seat charging (though hasn't this been on some planes for decades?).
- The Wi-Fi displayed hints of actual functionality.
Cons:
- They've ruined overhead storage. Old Acela has HUGE bins. Now it's a rack like I'm on a bus. Big problem!
- Very bright. Why not dim the lights a bit on a night train?
- It felt a bit cramped, especially at the tables (see above!). Friends in regular seats had fewer complaints, though.
- As the Wall Street Journal has noted, it's not really faster. My train was 18 minutes late leaving NYC and 10 minutes late getting into D.C. for a 2:58-minute trip. That's compared to a scheduled 3 hours to NYC earlier in the week on an old Acela.
The bottom line: The Acela is still the only way to travel to NYC from points up and down the Eastern seaboard, but I won't go out of my way to ride the new train vs the old.