Amtrak Looking To Boost Acela Express Capacity, Speeds

 

Amtrak’s Acela Express service may not be true high-speed rail, but as ridership hits new records and trains consistently packed, Amtrak is looking to prepare  for the future by replacing its current rolling stock.

On Wednesday afternoon, Amtrak said it has issued a request for proposal to “acquire new trainsets to supplement and eventually replace its aging Acela Express.” Acela Express, which runs exclusively along the Northeast Corridor (NEC), is currently operating near capacity and frequently sells out before and after major holidays.

The RFP seeks up to 28 next-generation high-speed trainsets capable of meeting or exceeding current Acela trip-times on the existing NEC infrastructure. Aside from faster trains, Amtrak is also looking to boost the passenger capacity of each trainset by 40 percent, or 120 passengers. Just how Amtrak plans to do this is unknown, however.

I wonder how much of the 40% increase in pax on new Acela train sets will come from 10 car sets vs current 8 car, or denser config? @Amtrak

— Edward Russell (@e_russell) July 2, 2014

“The Northeast Corridor needs more high-speed rail capacity to help move the American economy forward,” said President and CEO Joseph Boardman. “More and more people are choosing Amtrak for travel between Washington, New York and Boston. New equipment means more seats and more frequent departures to help meet that growing demand.”

If Amtrak is taking cues from the commercial aviation industry, a denser configuration could very well be in the cards. Acela currently offers a seat pitch (the distance from one point on a seat to the same point in the forward seat) of 42 inches. In the airline industry, seat pitch has generally been reduced to around 30″-31″ over the past decade, with 34″ being considered roomy. Amtrak could shave a few inches off the seat pitch and still maintain a comfortable ride, while boosting the capacity of each car.

Dimensions of the Amtrak Acela Business Class seat. (Courtesy: Amtrak)

Alternatively, Amtrak could be looking to squeeze another seat into every row. Seat width is currently 21″ in Business Class (the lowest level of service offered on Acela), which is wider than just about any airline economy seat. Adding an additional seat to each row would mirror the actions of many airlines operating the Boeing 777 and Airbus A330, but puts serious dent in passenger comfort. Given Amtrak’s marketing of Acela as being a more comfortable ride than regular NEC trains and airlines, this option seems unlikely.

English: Acela Express business class interior with some overhead bins open at the end of a Boston-to-Washington run. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Of course, the simplest option may just be the most likely. Acela is configured in 8 car setup- two engines, four Business Class cars, one First Class car, and a cafe car. Amtrak could simply extend the trainsets to 10 cars and leave the passenger seating configuration as is. Adding two additional Business Class cars would boost the total passenger load of each trainset by 130, more than the 40 percent required. Also possible is the elimination of the First Class car, which only seats 44 passengers as opposed to 65 in Business Class, or the elimination the Cafe car.

An Amtrak spokesman tells Railway Age that responses to the RFP are due by October 1, 2014. Once the proposals are in, we should have a better idea of what the next generation of Acela will look like.

Concept rendering of a next generation Acela trainset (Source: Amtrak)

 

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