PF Cheng's Law Blog

Rode the Acela Express to New York today, and as comfortable as it is, I must say it is a royal waste of money. 

For those not familiar with the Acela Express, it is the fastest passenger train currently offered by Amtrak.  Available only on the east coast between Boston and Washington DC, the Acela is loosely based on the French TGV, but modified to run on existing US tracks (the French TGV runs on specially built high speed tracks), thus restricting its top speed to about 150 mph.

As the top of the line train in the Amtrak inventory, the Acela Express certainly gets high marks for its appearance.  Unlike the square, boxy looking locomotives used by other trains, the Acela power car has a sloped front not unlike the German ICE, giving it a very lean and sporty look!  The interior is just as appealing; with bright and airy cabins, large picture windows, and clean, modern styling.

Unfortunately, that is about all the good things I have to say about the train, and the positives are just not enough to overcome the negatives.  The most glaring fault with the Aclea Express is the price, which is freaking expensive!  I paid about 110 dollars for a one way ride from Philadelphia to New York, and that is with a 20 percent discount.  Without the discount code, the price will be 140 dollars!  That is more than twice as expensive as a regular Amtrak train, and almost a hundred times more expensive than taking the Megabus!

Now I am sure some people are willing to pay top dollars for the convenience and the speed, but herein lies the second problem with the Acela Express – it is neither convenient nor fast!  A regular Amtrak train such as the Northeast Regional will take you from Philly to New York in about 1 hour and 20 minutes; the Aclea Express on the other hand takes 1 hour 8 minutes to cover that same distance.  In case you are wondering, that is a difference of only 12 minutes!  I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t consider paying more than double the regular ticket price to save 12 minutes to be a good use of my hard earned money.

In conclusion, I will stick to taking the Megabus for most occassions.  If I am in a hurry, I may take the Amtrak regular trains.  I will take the Acela Express only if I have an expense account (which is what happened today), or someone else is paying for it.