Amtrak’s NextGen Acela.
With kind permission: Amtrak
Amtrak was deployed His Nextgen Acela training on Thursday, marking the next phase of the United States attempt at high speed railway.
Export the “only high -speed American rail service”, the new trains will take place between Washington, DC and Boston, with a top speed of 160 MPH. It is an extension of the existing Acela trains of Amtrak, which cross the occupied northeast corridor and operate at speeds of up to 150 mph on certain sections of the route.
According to Amtrak, more than 69 million passengers have traveled in Acela trains since the start of the service at the end of 2000. During the year 2024, Amtrak said that customers had traveled more than 3 million Acela trips, generating nearly $ 530 million in tickets.
The new trains, under contract with the French manufacturer Alstom, will replace the current ACELA equipment. Amtrak said that NextGen Acela trains will accommodate 27% additional customers and have improved features such as free and high-speed Wi-Fi, as well as wider seats, a tilt system that allows more fluid driving and more daily departures.
When it was launched, Amtrak said that it would start with five new trains, aimed at deploying 28 by 2027.
Inside the NextGen Acela train from Amtrak.
With kind permission: Amtrak
“I think America deserves a high -speed rail,” said Sean Duffy transport secretary during an event on Wednesday with Amtrak in Washington, DC “, it is, at 160 miles per hour, an excellent step in this process.”
Like its predecessor, Acela’s fleets offer only first class and business class seats. The railway company will exploit both older trains and new models in the coming months, because more Nextgen trains are added.
“These trains are magnificent, they are fast, they are at the forefront of technology and they are of American manufacture,” said Amtrak president Roger Harris during the event on Wednesday. “There has never been a better way to travel by train to America.”
The parts of the new trains were manufactured in 29 states, with 95% of the United States, said Amtrak, adding that manufacturing has generated more than 1,200 new jobs.
In 2024, Amtrak had 16 Acela trains.
A rocky history
Amtrak employees pass in front of Amtrak Nextgen Acela, a brand new high -speed train between Washington, DC and Boston, before the inaugural departure of the Union Station train to Washington, DC, August 27, 2025.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty images
New trains are not without difficulty. Amtrak was originally predicted to make them his debut in 2022, but faced many delays.
In May, Amtrak said that it eliminated 450 roles to save $ 100 million in annual costs. This came after the White House forced CEO Stephen Gardner to resign in March when President Donald Trump called for changes. Amtrak has not yet appointed a new CEO.
The railway company has also lost money for years. During the year 2024, Amtrak said $ 3.6 billion in revenue, compared to $ 8.8 billion in capital and operating expenses. He recovered 84% of his operating costs with the sale of tickets and other income, added Amtrak.
The new trains are also considerably slower than their high -speed counterparts in Europe and Asia, with Japanese ball trains operating at a maximum speed of 200 MPH.
It is not the first American attempt at high speed rail either.
California has targeted more than a decade to build a high -speed train that can travel between Los Angeles and San Francisco in less than three hours. This vision has since been cut, now aimed at connecting only a 170 -mile land with questions surrounding its viability.
Last month, Duffy officially ended all the federal funding of California High-Speed Rail Association after a federal railway administration report determined that the project was unable to achieve its objectives, and Tuesday, it pulled an additional $ 175 million in the project. The state of California has submitted a file to pursue the government for what it calls “illegal” action with canceled federal funding.
Private rail company Brightline also attempted the high -speed railway formula in Florida. The company aims to privatize the rail system and welcomed millions of passengers in its trains, who travel to 125 MPH.
But Brightline had its fair share of financial difficulties. The company faced an imminent debt and declared a net loss of approximately $ 549 million in 2024, marking an upcoming uncertain road.