Starting Thursday, Aug. 28, customers can travel on Amtrak’s NextGen Acela – America’s high-speed train – connecting the Northeast Corridor between Washington, D.C., New York City, and Boston.
The trains in article are the new high speed Acela trains that run on the northeast corridor. The northeast corridor is an electrified high speed rail corridor owned jointly by Amtrak and various state DOTs.
What you describe is the case for over 90% of Amtrak’s network, but these trains are specifically made for the one section where that doesn’t happen.
Every source that I have found calls it a high speed rail. From checking openrailwaymap, the track speeds for most of the corridor are well above 100 mph. It is high speed rail. It’s one of the worst high speed rail corridors in need of improvement, but it’s still high speed rail.
According to the bog-standard UIC definition, HSR requires dedicated HSL running generally at 155+mph. UIC has a second definition that does allow for upgraded conventional lines running generally at 125mph in corridors without air competition. Acela meets neither of these metrics.
Even aside from the air competition issue, Acela’s general overall speed is not over 125mph or even 100mph due to all the slow sections. For example:
The trains in article are the new high speed Acela trains that run on the northeast corridor. The northeast corridor is an electrified high speed rail corridor owned jointly by Amtrak and various state DOTs.
What you describe is the case for over 90% of Amtrak’s network, but these trains are specifically made for the one section where that doesn’t happen.
NEC corridor is not high-speed. The end-end average speed is only 70mph, which is pretty middling even for conventional rail.
Every source that I have found calls it a high speed rail. From checking openrailwaymap, the track speeds for most of the corridor are well above 100 mph. It is high speed rail. It’s one of the worst high speed rail corridors in need of improvement, but it’s still high speed rail.
According to the bog-standard UIC definition, HSR requires dedicated HSL running generally at 155+mph. UIC has a second definition that does allow for upgraded conventional lines running generally at 125mph in corridors without air competition. Acela meets neither of these metrics.
Even aside from the air competition issue, Acela’s general overall speed is not over 125mph or even 100mph due to all the slow sections. For example:
aaahhh, okay; thank you! i am on the west cost where all trains go as fast as heavy freight, heh.