2025-08-25T19:27:11Z
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I booked a business-class ticket on an Amtrak Acela prepare from Baltimore to New York Metropolis in 2022.
For $120, I sat in a business-class window seat with a tray desk, footrest, and a café automotive close by.
A ticket for the high-speed prepare price me greater than a daily Amtrak, however I would do it once more to save lots of time.
Amtrak’s high-speed Acela prepare is about to get an enormous improve. A brand new fleet launching on August 28 will probably be sooner and extra fashionable than the present vehicles. This information has me fascinated with the primary time I booked an Amtrak Acela ticket.Acela is an Amtrak categorical prepare on the East Coast with solely enterprise and first-class seating. I rode it for the primary time in 2022 from Baltimore to NYC. The journey took two hours and 25 minutes — about half-hour sooner than a daily Amtrak prepare.Two weeks earlier than my journey, I booked a typical, business-class Amtrak Acela ticket for $120. In line with a search on the corporate’s web site, a coach ticket on a daily prepare booked two weeks upfront may cost between $30 and $70.I believed reserving the Acela choice was value paying additional for a faster journey.
I obtained to Baltimore’s Penn Station at round 3 p.m. for my 4:29 p.m. prepare on a Tuesday.
Penn Station in Baltimore seen within the afternoon.
Joey Hadden/Enterprise Insider
It was my first time leaving from Baltimore’s Penn Station, and I could not discover any shops to cost my telephone, so I picked up a puzzle ebook from the newsstand inside to cross the time.
At 4:15 p.m., I descended to the platform to attend for my prepare.
The reporter’s prepare platform.
Joey Hadden/Enterprise Insider
The prepare arrived three minutes late at 4:32 p.m. I boarded instantly, making certain I used to be within the business-class automotive.
As I boarded the prepare, I observed that the seats appeared bigger than these on different trains I had been on.
Contained in the business-class automotive.
Joey Hadden/Enterprise Insider
A consultant for Amtrak informed Enterprise Insider that seats in enterprise class are 20 inches large and 26 toes deep.
I had loads of legroom and some facilities in my window seat.
The reporter’s business-class seat.
Joey Hadden/Enterprise Insider
The Amtrak rep mentioned that seat pitches in enterprise class are 42 inches.There was a studying gentle above me, a tray desk in entrance of me, and a footrest beneath me. There have been additionally two energy shops on the wall subsequent to my seat.
I obtained somewhat hungry, however there was no meals service in enterprise class, so I made my method to the café automotive.
The reporter ventured to the café automotive.
Joey Hadden/Enterprise Insider
The café had tables and stools, however I made a decision to take my meals again to my seat.
I spent about $6 on a plate of cheese and crackers.
The reporter’s snack.
Joey Hadden/Enterprise Insider
The café automotive menu had all kinds of choices, from salads and sandwiches to cheeseburgers and sizzling canine, however I wasn’t that hungry, so I obtained a cheese and cracker plate for $5.75.It was first rate and crammed me up for the value.
Total, my business-class expertise on an Amtrak Acela was first rate and reasonably priced.
A view out the reporter’s window.
Joey Hadden/Enterprise Insider
I am going to most likely take an Amtrak Acela subsequent time I journey across the Northeast as a result of I believe it is value paying somewhat additional to save lots of time.And I am unable to wait to strive the following era of Acela trains.
