Acela is Amtrak’s high-speed passenger train serving the Northeast Corridor.
The Acela connects major cities including Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. It operates on a route that combines dedicated high-speed sections with older infrastructure shared by commuter and freight trains. Because of those mixed conditions, its overall journey speed is lower than its highest permitted speed on selected sections.
The original Acela Express entered service in 2000. In 2021, Amtrak began introducing the next-generation Avelia Liberty trainsets, marketed as the new Acela. These trains were designed with tilting technology and improved passenger amenities, although their introduction and operating plans have developed over time.
Acela is a service brand, not the name of every train Amtrak runs in the Northeast. Northeast Regional trains also use much of the same corridor but make more stops and generally operate at lower speeds. The corridor’s infrastructure constraints explain why a high-speed train can still have a relatively modest end-to-end average speed.