Posts Tagged “acela”

I’m not sure that I’ve geeked out on this train thing quite fully enough. I’m no train otaku, but I did look up the details of the Acela’s speeds. It’s actually much faster than I thought, but only operates at its fullest potential in short stretches in the northeast corridor. According to wikipedia,

The highest speed attained by Acela Express is 150 mph (241 km/h) on two sections of track in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, which total 18 miles (29 km). There are also many miles of track, especially east of New Haven, that have been upgraded to 110 mph and 125 mph (177 km/h and 201 km/h). … The slowest section of the electrified NEC is the portion owned by Metro-North Railroad and the Connecticut Department of Transportation between New Haven and New Rochelle. Trains here are limited to only 90 mph (145 km/h) on a four mile (6 km) stretch in New York State, and to 75 mph (121 km/h) between the New York state line and New Haven. Additionally, tilting is not allowed anywhere on Metro-North or ConnDOT property. At maximum tilt, the built-too-wide Acela Express trainset would pass other trains on parallel tracks only 10 inches (25 cm) away. CONNDOT has a number of projects either planned or underway that will upgrade the catenary system, replace outdated bridges, and straighten certain sections of the New Haven Line to eventually enable the Acela trains to run at their 150 mph (240 km/h) top speed.

150 mph! Who knew? Now we do. I wonder what other services we pay good money for operate at full potential less than 10% of the time. Here’s a map snagged from the above wiki article and annotated (green lines) with the stretches covered in the photo projects in the previous chunks of this thread. See them on flickr, southbound and northbound. I wonder if the superfast section is included in those pictures.

Almost as interesting as the mechanics of high-speed train travel, here’s the contents of the first class menu on the 2166:

White Wine: Columbia Crest Sauvignon Blanc 2003
Red Wine: Avila Syrah 2004

Starter: savory cocktail snack [that's mixed nuts, folks]; cheese plate

Entrees:
Small bites [spinach & artichoke dip, hummus, cheese, crackers, olives]
72 hour braised short rib
Four cheese lasagna

Sweet: Ghirardelli chocolate [that's one square of milk with caramel]

The menu also notes, “Thank you for traveling with Amtrak, and remember that as a first class passenger, you are welcome to relax in Club Acela before or after your trip.” After your trip? Why would you ever want to hang out in the train station once you’ve arrived where you’re going?

Greg pointed out in the comments for American Shinkansen part 1 that Amtrak is aiming their service levels too low by trying to be like the airlines. That might be, but unlike the airlines, Amtrak has managed to get me pay extra for their premium service. I pretty much never take the “regional” train now that the “express” is available, and sometime even spring for first class, especially northbound from New York in order to take advantage of the lounge rather than wait in the pit of Penn station.

First class includes priority boarding, slightly larger seats, and hot food and free drinks. But business class has one thing that first class doesn’t: the Quiet Car, where cell phones and loud conversations are prohibited. So are radios, according to the sign, but it’s been 20 years since I’ve seen somebody shouldering a boom box on a train. Anyway, the cell phone chatter in first class can be annoying at best, and frightening in its careless airing of business and personal secrets at worst. I think I could make back the fare with a few well-placed insider trades based on what I’ve overheard on some journeys. On good quiet car trips, parents stretch the truth and tell their children that it’s actually the silent car. I saw one family passing notes rather than chatting. Who was I to harsh their mellow?

On the photo side, I decided to sit coast side, and tried out the intervalometer. The camera clicked every 15 seconds between Providence and Route 128 while I did my best to hold it steady and in the same place. You can see the safety glass label I used for registration.

Click the montage below to go to flickr and see the full set. Not full size, but big enough.

I’ve been wanting to write a post or do something with that title for a while.  I just like the sound of it.  Almost any comparison of the high speed trains in Asia, Europe and the USA leaves the Americans looking like amateurs, but the Acela Express has cut the NYC-Boston run down by more than half an hour, and that’s with pretty much the same tracks. 200+ miles in 3 and a half hours isn’t bad. The average speed of almost 60 miles an hour including stops means that it must be going over 70 in some stretches.

Taking the train between Boston and New York City - South Station and Penn Station - usually provides for some needed downtime for thinking and relaxing. This time it brought a minor creative breakthrough. I was playing around with the intervalometer and continuous shooting modes on my new digital camera (I’m sure it’ll get a whole post of its own soon enough) and started shooting out the window. I like the variable motion blur and the general randomness of the scenes. This collage is not in chronological order but is arranged vaguely thematically. I sat on the inland side of the train (usually I prefer the coastal side for the scenery) which also meant that arranging the photos in chronological order would put them in reverse journey order. Maybe I’ll get it right on the return trip.

In other news, I posted this image to the PRC’s new Flickr Pool, New England Survey, which coincides with the gallery show of the same name.  Check them both out at your earliest convenience.