Division of Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and Amtrak President Roger Harris hosted the official launch of the NextGen Acela, America’s new, premium high-speed rail service.
5 new Amtrak trains will start rolling out between Washington, D.C., New York and Boston at high speeds of 160 miles per hour beginning Thursday.
The inaugural NextGen Acela experience is taking off from Washington’s Union Station, the place the U.S. Division of Transportation is planning to reclaim administration to “restore this federal asset to its former glory,” to New York’s Penn Station.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy demanded Amtrak enhance public security on the prepare station earlier this yr, which aligns with President Donald Trump’s administration’s broader push to crack down on crime within the nation’s capital.
Amtrak’s NextGen Acela is taken into account a “premium ride” for vacationers, providing free high-speed Wi-Fi, particular person USB ports, energy retailers and studying lights. Fares for one-way enterprise class service between Washington and New York on Friday, Aug. 29, ran $498 per traveler, in keeping with Amtrak’s reserving web site.
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NextGen Acela at Wilmington Station. Picture supplied by Amtrak taken at an undisclosed date forward of the service launching in August 2025. (Amtrak)
“NextGen Acela is more than a new train—it’s an evolution of travel,” Amtrak President Roger Harris stated in an Aug. 7 assertion. “In just a few weeks, history will be made with the debut of NextGen Acela as we launch a new standard for American train travel.”
A complete of 28 trains will enter service by 2027. They provide 27% extra seats per departure and extra service, with expanded weekday and weekend schedules, Amtrak stated.
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“The NextGen Acela fleet was assembled at Alstom’s facility in Hornell, NY by skilled Machinists Union workers, using components from over 180 suppliers across 29 states—creating approximately 15,000 U.S. jobs,” Amtrak stated in a media launch.
Acela first launched on Dec, 11. 2000 in what Amtrak calls “the nation’s busiest rail corridor.” The primary-edition trains solely reached speeds of 150 miles per hour, which is 10 miles per hour lower than the brand new ones.
Members of the Nationwide Guard stand at Union Station after President Donald Trump deployed the Nationwide Guard and ordered an elevated presence of federal regulation enforcement to help in crime prevention, in Washington, D.C., Aug. 23, 2025. (REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez / Reuters Photographs)
Trump, throughout his first time period, repeatedly sought to chop funding to Amtrak, which acquired about $2.4 billion in annual federal assist in 2023. Congress in March authorised $2.42 billion for Amtrak by September 30 in annual funding.
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The railroad firm, which has been run since March by its president, Harris, has not named a brand new CEO. It set a brand new passenger report final yr.
FOX Enterprise’ Lydia Hu and Reuters contributed to this report.
