Which Acela Trains Are Least Crowded

Hey!

Looking to take a trip in Late Sept-early Oct, and was from DC to NYC.

As a train nut, and quite fond of the Acela the only 2 times I rode (last was probably easily 6+ years ago).

I know the cost and time is not usually worth it for most, but I want to splurge, enjoy a nice trip

Though, I want to avoid the 'Acela' crowd so to speak. I figured normal rush hours was same as anything else, But was just curious if any frequent riders of DC to NY route would know the least crowded Acela up?

I figured the everything from the 5am - 9 am train is just packed with business suits.

10:55 good?

Also on way back, I take it the high noon train from NY to DC?

Only reason I ask is, well, I know Acela isn't all 1x2 seating and some 2x2 seating... and I can't stand it.. My anxiety just freaks me out just sitting across from someone for 3hrs on a train ride.. Least crowded, the better Get a nice seat on right side up, left side down, I remember that rule for the scenery (little there is!)

Would love a sunrise train or sun setting train, but it be both weekdays up and back, and I really don't want to deal with the mass business suits...

Cheers!

I think I got seating confused..

Images here... http://upgrd.com/mike/amtrak-acela-business-class-new-york-to-washington.html

Is 1x2 seating where there is two people facing each other face to face, (1 area x 2 people ) and 2x2 is Two Seats facing same direction? So what's the 2 seats facing 2 seats? Would that be 4 x 4 seating?

1x2 seating means that from the middle aisle, one side has 1 seat and the other side has 2 seats. 2x2 seating has 2 seats on either side of the aisle. There are some table se.ating where there is a table between facing seats but most are single or double seats (like a "regular" train car).

These should really be expressed as '1+2' rather than '1x2.'

unitedstatesfan said:

These should really be expressed as '1+2' rather than '1x2.'

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Talk to the rest is the word on that one. Every company/travel forum I have seen in this industry refers to their seating in the manner that was discussed here. 2x1 seating, 3x3x3 seating on widebody aircraft, etc.

Triley said:

unitedstatesfan said:

These should really be expressed as '1+2' rather than '1x2.'

Click to expand...

Talk to the rest is the word on that one. Every company/travel forum I have seen in this industry refers to their seating in the manner that was discussed here. 2x1 seating, 3x3x3 seating on widebody aircraft, etc.

Click to expand...

Indeed. The notation 2x1 to mean 2 seats aisle then one seat is almost universal. In some cases that is also represented as 2-1. but never 2+1.

In general 2+2 or 2+3 is used to denote 2 fronts seats and 2 or 3 rear seats in a car. So trying to re-purpose that notation for what is denoted as 2x1 now would be extremely confusing.

Holy crap on a cracker, I never thought my silly question would spiral into such a, discussion! Looking back it, and sleeping on a very long day.. my question of the seats was brain dead silly and obvious to me! But somehow, not when I wrote it earlier! Then it became this chat? Well, most interesting odd question I've ever asked turn into such a odd chat about the way seats are talked about Bravo internet! Learn something new every damn day!

Though question still remains boys for one..

Which Acela does one may frequent that is less crowded for a casual traveler as myself to avoid the business rush?

Cheers

The answer is the middle of the day weekday trains are less crowded as you surmised. A lot of the business crowd(salesmen in particular) work long 4 days weeks and take Friday off . The fewer week end trains are usually full.

We took an Acela trip last month and left MET for WAS on Sunday morning at around 9:30 AM. The train was not crowded. Our return trip was taken on Monday around 7 PM (WAS -MET) and again the train was not crowded. Sundays, mid day, and evening trains 7 or later are probably a good bet.

Take train 2110. You'll avoid crowds. Walk to the first car, which will not be the quiet car under normal circumstances.

One of the reasons I like First-Class travel is that it doesn't matter to my comfort if the car is full or not. I place a higher priority on things like time of day for best scenery.

Based on my scattershot experience (always in F...I've only been in BC on the Acela on one trip, period), the 0500 Acela (ok, 0455 right now...presumably due to trackwork) is usually pretty empty from NYP-PHL. At WIL/PHL it usually picks up a bunch of folks, both heading to NYP (the arrival at about 0745 isn't bad) and to NHV/BOS (this is the only train other than 150/190 to get you from WAS-BOS before noon, and 150/190 leaves at just after 0300).

The 0600 onwards trains are usually pretty packed, or so yield numbers would seem to indicate. With that said, if you find a train which is not running through to/from points beyond NYP (which is about half of them), you might get a less packed train since there's no "through NYP" traffic (e.g. PHL-NHV).

Edit: Two other points to consider:
(1) The last trains of the evening are usually pretty empty. 2175 empties out pretty well at NYP and EWR, and what's left usually clears down even more by PHL. I think on one occasion I had F all to myself after leaving Philly.

(2) Depending on exact pricing and time considerations, consider booking the Crescent (19) or Silver Meteor (97) to ALX (which is a short DC Metro ride back to WAS if need be...the walk from ALX to the King Street Metro station is shorter than the walk from the through-tracks at Union Station to the Metro station) in a room. Depending on when you book, etc., these can be cheaper than the relevant Acelas, and you get dinner in the diner thrown in (though no free booze vis-a-vis Acela First). For reference, on September 28th I get:

Star 91 (dep NYP 1102, arr ALX 1523): $141.90 roomette NARP/AAA

Acela 2159 (dep NYP 1300, arr WAS 1554): $163 BC/$291 FC

Acela 2161 (dep NYP 1400, arr WAS 1653): $220 BC/$408 FC

Crescent 19 (dep NYP 1415, arr ALX 1849): $157.90 roomette NARP/AAA

Acela 2163 (dep NYP 1500, arr WAS 1754): $220 BC/$408 FC

Meteor 97(dep NYP 1515, arr ALX 1944): $174.90 roomette NARP/AAA

Acela 2165 (dep NYP 1600, arr WAS 1853): $280 BC/$408 FC

Acela 2167 (dep NYP 1700, arr WAS 1955): $249 BC/$408 FC

Acela 2169 (dep NYP 1800, arr WAS 2053): $280 BC/$408 FC

Acela 2171 (dep NYP 1900, arr WAS 2155): $249 BC/$377 FC

Acela 2173 (dep NYP 2013, arr WAS 2305): $163 BC/$291 FC

Acela 2175 (dep NYP 2105, arr WAS 2358): $163 BC/$291 FC

NB: $163 is "low bucket" for Acela Business these days. Accommodation on the Star, Crescent, and Meteor presume a roomette for one.

NB: The Crescent and Meteor will usually arrive WAS at 1800 and 1900, respectively.

As you can see, the Crescent is cheaper than every Acela option available despite including what I would contend is a better meal than Acela First (though as noted, no booze) and a private room accommodation. The Meteor is cheaper than all but a few Acelas, but the same caveats apply. The Star is the cheapest option, but it does not include a meal. Still, $141.90 for a room versus $163 for a BC seat on the Acela (and indeed, a few bucks more for a BC seat on a Regional(!)) is not a bad deal. Look up "Stupid Roomette Tricks" for more on this topic.

Maglev said:

One of the reasons I like First-Class travel is that it doesn't matter to my comfort if the car is full or not. I place a higher priority on things like time of day for best scenery.

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I can't argue with having the best degree of service for comfort but we view NEC in a different way than we do LD service..

The trip to WAS from MET (Iselin, NJ) is about 2:30 .While its affordable its hard to justify spending nearly (or over) double the fare for Acela First Class.. We've rode them all but or future trips we are leaning towards Regional BC; about the same size as the Acela BC seat, usually less crowded and in many cases just 10-15 minutes longer and less than half the price. While its nice to go with the best, it may be good to consider the price vs value picture as well.