Dear Alan B,
As a loyal passenger of Amtrak®, your continued patronage is very important to us. On behalf of Amtrak, I want to reassure you that you can continue to count on us for your travel needs. As such, I am writing to you to provide you with an update of our efforts to provide you with safe, reliable service while we work to restore Acela Express® service.
First, we are returning our Metroliner® service in order to offer hourly premium service on weekdays from Washington to New York and to begin to offer premium service north of New York, as well. Here is a review of your service options over the next several weeks:
Washington to New York City
Effective Monday, April 25, Metroliner business and first class service will fill most of the Acela Washington to New York hourly time slots weekdays between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Metroliner service will be further expanded on May 2 covering all thirteen hourly departures. In addition, 20 Regional train round trips will be offered departing at five minutes past the hour from their origination point.
New York City to Boston
Effective April 25, nine weekday roundtrips will be offered on our Regional service. Beginning May 2, four daily weekday Metroliner departures will replace some of the Acela departures.
I also want to assure you that we are committed to our popular Acela Service. We are working diligently with the Acela manufacturer's consortium to develop a plan to safely restore the Acela train service. We are hopeful that a permanent resolution of the brake issue will allow for a gradual return of the service this summer. We will continue to keep you up to date on our progress.
In the meantime, when you choose to ride our Metroliner or Regional services, you will continue to earn Amtrak Guest Rewards® points, just as you had when you rode Acela Express. For instance, you will be awarded 500 or 750 points per trip based on service class for the duration of the time that Metroliner and Regional trains are replacing Acela trains. Regional trains between select city pairs will earn 500 points for coach and 750 points for business class. All other trips will remain at the standard earning structure.
Similarly, if you are registered to participate in our current Acela Express promotion, you will receive qualifying credit for your select city pair trips taken on Regional and Metroliner trains from April 15 through the end of the promotion. Qualifying trips paid for with any MasterCard® card will continue to earn double points. The free roundtrip voucher awards will now be valid on Metroliner and Regional trains, as well as Acela Express and may be used between June 15, 2005 and March 31, 2006.
Amtrak and Amtrak Guest Rewards would like to express our sincere apologies for any inconveniences you may have experienced. Rest assured, we are going to do everything we can to meet your travel needs. Thank you for your continued support and patronage.
Best Regards,
Barbara Richardson
Vice President, Marketing and Sales
