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newyorkqueen
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« on: March 22, 2007, 11:03:07 PM » |
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I am curious how forumites here think of Acela trains.
The one-way trip from New Haven to Boston costs 42 bucks, if I take one ordinary Amtrak.
The same trip costs 113 bucks, if I take one Acela.
I took Acela from New Haven to Boston today. I saved 30 min, but I spent a lot of cash. The trip itself certainly is more comfortable than that inside one ordinary Amtrak, but I do not know if I spent too much on the trip.
What do you think? Do you like Acela too?
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newyorkqueen
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« Reply #1 on: March 22, 2007, 11:21:50 PM » |
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I know Acela is lap-top-friendly.
(Amtrak trains are not-- they are too crowded)
But is Acela also wifi?
I am not sure.
I see so many passengers, obviously rich, using all the high-tech gadgets. Each passenger owns a Blackberry, except me.
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sibyl
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« Reply #2 on: March 23, 2007, 09:45:44 AM » |
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My time is not worth $142 an hour. I would not pay the extra price for Acela, even if there is wifi. Ordinary Amtrak is comfortable enough and fast enough.
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"I do not pretend to set people right, but I do see that they are often wrong." -- Jane Austen, Mansfield Park
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dr_prephd
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« Reply #3 on: March 25, 2007, 07:56:27 AM » |
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Never done Acela, but I do ride Amtrak several times a week. It's comfy, roomy, the seats recline, there are electric outlets at each seat, there are tables to pull down, there's a cafe car... really, it's a fine train. (But I guess I'm comparing it to regional commuter trains which really suck.)
I'm interested in knowing what makes Acela better... I hear they have seatside food service... is this the only difference, or are the seats better, too?
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Prephd, in all that black, you are like the anti-pink-me. Freewill is a beeyaaatch
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tee_bee
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« Reply #4 on: April 06, 2007, 08:06:18 PM » |
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Acela is worth it if you are sort of a train nut (I sort of am), and are curious about our feeble attempts to have high speed train service. I was in Sweden a month ago, and the contrast between Amtrak and the Swedish system (SJ) is stark--in SWE, the trains run on time (!) and when I mistakenly got on a wrong train I was rebooked in a flash--total lost time, about 30 minutes.
Acela's food is a bit better, but the time savings really isn't that great, and who rides for the food? WAS to NYP is only about 40 min faster. Acela makes a few less stops than the old metroliners, and the ride is quite nice. But "regular" Amtrak does have one 110v outlet per row of seats now, so laptops work fine, the seats are still bigger than airplanes, and if you don't like the food (they used to have a really good chicken salad sandwich on the train from Eugene to Seattle) bring your own. Acela is great if someone else is paying for it; not worth your own dime. And either Acela or a "regular" Amtrak express from WAS to NYP is still at least as fast as flying from DCA to LGA if you're going center city to center city.
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luke_cage
Junior member
Posts: 75
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« Reply #5 on: April 19, 2007, 12:56:41 PM » |
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Whenever I travel from DC to NYC on business I take Acela. I like the Acela. I should note, however, that when I do take the Acela someone else is always paying. If I had to come out of pocket I would take the cheaper train. There is no wifi on Acela. I am curious how forumites here think of Acela trains.
The one-way trip from New Haven to Boston costs 42 bucks, if I take one ordinary Amtrak.
The same trip costs 113 bucks, if I take one Acela.
I took Acela from New Haven to Boston today. I saved 30 min, but I spent a lot of cash. The trip itself certainly is more comfortable than that inside one ordinary Amtrak, but I do not know if I spent too much on the trip.
What do you think? Do you like Acela too?
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toshelle
Married feminist grad student who wants "early babies" and is still a
New member
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« Reply #6 on: April 19, 2007, 01:27:43 PM » |
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Acela is great if someone else is paying for it; not worth your own dime.
sums it up nicely. as a lowly grad student, i don't even splurge on amtrak at all - I take the chinatown bus. :-P Aside from that, back when my parents were paying for my trips home in undergrad, I took amtrak sometimes, and once when I needed to get back but I missed the regular train I took the Acela. I wasn't even spending my own money on it and I felt bad about the cost. It was comfy, but it's so much more expensive I can't see it being worth it unless $$ is just not a factor. |
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One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important.
~Bertrand Russell
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onlyanne
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« Reply #7 on: April 30, 2007, 03:53:49 PM » |
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The best part about my trip on Acela was the "Quiet Car" - people really didn't chat, went into the next car to use their cell phones, etc. I've heard that regular Amtrak trains have quiet cars now too, but I've never seen them.
I wish planes could have quiet rows.
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rara_avis
Junior member
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« Reply #8 on: May 01, 2007, 09:31:52 AM » |
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I've only taken Acela once, and that by accident - there was something wrong with the regular Amtrak that I was supposed to be on, so they put us all on the Acela that was leaving around the same time. It was wonderfully comfortable and fast, and I was lucky enough to be in the Quiet Car, too.
That said, I honestly don't think that Acela is worth it, unless you're taking a really long trip, like NY-DC. The extra cost is just too much to offset the savings in time that you'd get.
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Former member of the Lurkariate, current member of the job-seeking masses.
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