Amtrak Acela
(http://www.trainweb.com/acela)

Photographs, travelogues, accommodations, and other information about train travel on Amtrak's Acela Express.

Click here for Acela Regional service.

Ray Burns of TrainWeb was a passenger on the Amtrak Acela Express Inaugural Revenue Run from Washington, D.C. to Boston, Massachusetts on Monday, December 11, 2000. Below you will find Ray's travelogue and photos as well as travelogues and photos from others of that Inaugural Revenue Run. Links are also provided to additional photos and information on the Amtrak Acela Express!

Acela Photos:

• Acela Express Locomotive - Inside and Outside!
• Acela Express Inaugural Revenue Run - Passengers & Crew!
• Raw photo rolls from Acela Express Inaugural Revenue Run on Dec. 11, 2000!
• Interior shots of Acela Express Inaugural Run from NYCSubway.org!
• Amtrak Video, including Acela, from Oaks Model Railroad Club!
• Amtrak Acela Express Inaugural Run Slide Show from Railpix!
• Stan's Railpix Acela Page 1 of 3.
• Stan's Railpix Acela Page 2 of 3.
• Stan's Railpix Acela Page 3 of 3.
• Johnny Knoxville's Acela Photo Tour #1
• Johnny Knoxville's Acela Photo Tour #2

Acela Express Travelogues:

• 07/24/01: Matt Melzer: Acela Express Travelogue!
• 03/16/01: Jack Halquist's Long Journey to Acela!
• 12/27/00: Adam Otsuka: Acela Express Trip Report!
• 12/11/00: Ray Burns: Acela Express Inaugural Revenue Run Travelogue & Photos!
• 12/11/00: Skip Howard: Acela Express Inaugural Revenue Run Travelogue!
• 12/11/00: Daniel Chazin: Acela Express Inaugural Revenue Run Travelogue!

Links of Interest:

• RAILnews.net - Extensive railroad news from the TrainWeb Railroad News Network!
• 01/04/01: Acela? Decela? Posts and discussion at Boston.com.
• 12/12/00: Raw photo rolls from Acela Express Inaugural Revenue Run!
• 12/12/00: Talk about a Pyrrhic victory for the airline industry (Boston Globe)
• 12/12/00: Shuttle: This time the hare beat the tortoise (Boston Globe)
• 12/11/00: The Great Race: Air shuttle beats Acela by 2 minutes! (Boston Globe)
• 12/11/00: High-Speed Train Begins Service (Last updated: 12/11/00 9:06 PM ET)
• 12/11/00: Acela Makes First Regular Run (Washington Post)
• 12/11/00: High-Speed Train To Begin Service
• 12/11/00: Acela Uses LonWorks Technology to Monitor Key Systems
• 12/10/00: New Acela Express Train Schedule
• 12/10/00: Amtrak hopes Acela puts it on a fast track
• 12/04/00: Inside Amtrak's Acela (Click CONTINUE on next page).
• 11/24/00: Acela Might Work Best for Business Trips
• 11/17/00: Bullet Train Gets Rave Reviews! (Article #14)
• 11/17/00: Amtrak's Bullet Train Makes Debut! (Article #13)
• 11/16/00: Amtrak's Bullet Train Debuts! (Article #12)
• 11/16/00: Amtrak's Bullet Train Debuts! (Article #11)
• 11/16/00: Amtrak's Bullet Train Debuts! (Article #10)
• 11/16/00: Amtrak's Bullet Train Debuts! (Article #9)
• 11/16/00: Amtrak's Bullet Train Debuts! (Article #8)
• 11/16/00: Amtrak's Bullet Train Debuts! (Article #7)
• 11/16/00: Amtrak's Bullet Train Soon En Route! (Article #6)
• 11/16/00: Amtrak Plays Catch-Up to World. (Article #5)
• 11/16/00: Amtrak Launches Long-Awaited High-Speed Acela Express! (Reuters)
• 11/15/00: Amtrak Debuts First Bullet Train! (Article #4)
• 11/15/00: High Speed Rail Glance. (Article #3)
• 11/15/00: High Speed Rail Glance (Article #2)
• 11/15/00: Amtrak Debuts First Bullet Train! (Article #1)
• 11/15/00: Amtrak Is Putting Its Hope on a Successful Acela Express.
• 11/15/00: Delegation of Mayors on Amtrak's Inaugural Run of Acela.
• 11/15/00: Bombardier's high speed train makes its debut in the United States.
• 11/12/00: Road Test: Amtrak's New Acela.

Which Inaugural Run? Amtrak has labeled the November 16, 2000 run of the Acela as its inaugural run. TrainWeb, along with many railfans and many other rail passengers, considers the inaugural run to be the actual first day of regular passenger service. If the train does not operate on its next scheduled day of service, then has the service really been inaugurated? The Acela not only did not operate on the day after its "inaugural" run, but it did not run at all for almost a month after its "inaugural" run! The November 16, 2000 Acela trip was not so much an "inaugural" run as a V.I.P. run. The passengers on that trip were not paying passengers but were special V.I.P. invited guests and members of the media. The actual start of service on the Acela was on Monday, December 11, 2000, leaving at 5 A.M. Eastern Time, scheduled to arrive into Boston, Massachusettes at 11:30 A.M. This is the first day on which the Acela has gone into scheduled service and the first day that the public could ride the train by just purchasing a ticket. Rick Remington, Amtrak's spokesman, even said: "This is really the day that counts, because it's the start of revenue service." To differential this date from the V.I.P. inaugural run, the actual first day of scheduled passenger service is called by many the "Inaugural Revenue Run" since it is the first run for which tickets are sold. Sometimes TrainWeb is invited to the V.I.P. runs and sometimes we are not. TrainWeb attends the V.I.P. runs to which we are invited, but even when we are present at the V.I.P. runs, we also strive to be on the "Inaugural Revenue Run" since that is the run that we consider to be the historical first day of actual service for that train.