Boston-Washington D.C.: New high-speed trains run more smoothly but are still slow

New high-speed trains are now running on the Northeast Corridor, between Boston, MA, and Washington, DC. The new Acela trains will be able to travel up to 160 miles an hour (mph), or just under 260 kilometers per hour. This is 10 mph faster than first-generation Acela Express trains that are more than 25 years old. Amtrak has officially named the new trains NextGen Acela. They are based on Alstom’s Avelia Liberty Platform. As usual, they will have two power cars at both the front and back. The two car ends share a bogie known as Jacobs bogies (19459063) are used, and this means that trains can be shortened or extended only with great effort. This is not common in high-speed rail.

New Acelas will improve service. There are 27% more seats in each trainset, which includes eight spaces for wheelchairs. Seats now have USB ports, but only USB-A. The new train has an improved tilting mechanism. The train will still be able to lean into curves like its predecessor, but it should travel more smoothly with the new 160 mph speed limit. This allows for higher speeds along the Northeast Corridor which is mostly winding and only has a maximum speed of 160 mph. Very short sections can be traveled at high speedAs of now, only 70 mph (112 km/hr) is the maximum speed. Amtrak, however, has not announced any improvements in time. Amtrak has now more rolling stock, so more express trains could be used to achieve these goals. More information about the new Acela should be available before August 28th.

The trains will not be very fast. In the US, high-speed rail has a different definition. Just under 180 km/h or about 110 mphwill suffice. The International Union of Railways High speed rail is defined as 255 km/h but certain circumstances allow for 200 km/h exceptions. South Korea has a minimum speed of 300 km/h. Amtrak, however, sees things differently. In its own 2020 marketing, the company described the train as the fastest in the Western Hemisphere. This is a very idiosyncratic description, especially considering that Morocco had already reached speeds of 320 km/h.

I’ve been involved in the IT business for over 20 years, first as a Sysadmin (Mac & PC; 2000-2014) and then as a journalist (2005 onwards). I have attended many industry events, such as IDF, Displayweek, Computex, CES, and IFA, to cover subjects like mobile and local networks, Bluetooth standards, and developments in the mobile sector. Since 2017 I have also worked as an aviation journalist, which involves traveling around the world reporting about both planes and trains.

Translator: Jacob Fisher – Translator – 2014 articles on Notebookcheck published since 2022

I was a teenager growing up in regional Australia when I first encountered computers. A broken leg sustained in a soccer match had temporarily forced me to live a largely indoor lifestyle. Soon after, I began building my own systems. After moving to Germany in 2014, I now study philosophy and anthropology. I am fascinated by the way computer technology has fundamentally reshaped culture and continues to do so.

Andreas Sebayang, 2025-08-10 (Update: 2025-08-10)