WASHINGTON — Amtrak will begin restoration of Acela Express service on the Northeast Corridor as of June 1, with three Acela round trips between Washington and New York, as well as an increase of Northeast Regional service from eight to 10 frequencies daily.
Northbound Acela departures from Washington D.C. as of June 1 will be at 6:50 a.m., 1:50 p.m., and 3:50 p.m; the first two trains provide through service to Boston. Southbound, Acela service will depart Penn Station at 7 a.m., 1 p.m., and 5 p.m. From Boston, southbound trains will depart at 9 a.m. and 12:55 p.m. for through service to Washington, along with a 4:15 p.m. departure to New York. To Boston, trains will depart New York at 10:03 a.m., 12:03 p.m., and 5 p.m. Tickets are now on sale at the Amtrak website.
Amtrak suspended Acela service as of March 23, shortly after then-CEO Richard Anderson told an employee “Town Hall” session that Acela ridership had been down 99% one day during the previous week because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a more recent Town Hall meeting, Flynn had indicated the passenger railroad would begin increasing service ahead of demand [see “Amtrak executives look ahead to post-virus plans,” Trains News Wire, April 24, 2020].
Trains will operate under measures to address coronavirus concerns, including a new requirement that passengers wear facial coverings [see “Amtrak to require passengers to wear facial coverings,” Trains News Wire, May 7, 2020], ticket sales limited to 50% of train capacity, and station signage indicating safe social distancing. More information on Amtrak’s coronavirus measures is available here.
