Clocker (Amtrak)
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| Amtrak Northeast Corridor services |
|---|
| The Acela brand |
| Acela Express |
| Northeast Regional (including Virginia and NHV-SPG) |
| Former services: Clocker - Metroliner |
| Other Amtrak trains on the NEC: Cardinal - Carolinian - Crescent Keystone - Palmetto - Pennsylvanian Silver Meteor - Silver Star - Vermonter |
| Commuter services on the NEC: MBTA Providence/Stoughton Line - SLE MNRR New Haven Line - NJT NEC Line SEPTA R7 - SEPTA R2 - MARC Penn Line |
Clocker was an Amtrak rail service operating between Philadelphia and New York City on the Northeast Corridor. It was the first service to be officially operated by Amtrak, when train number 235 left New York's Penn Station at 12:05 AM on May 1, 1971 bound for Philadelphia. The last Clocker train ran on October 28, 2005. To replace the discontinued Clocker service, New Jersey Transit added four express trains on October 31, 2005 between Trenton and New York City operating on approximately the same schedule as the former Clocker trains.
Amtrak's Clockers were rush hour trains, mainly serving the commuter and day trip market to New York City. New Jersey Transit (NJT) passholders could ride Clockers, which were listed in the NJT timetable. They were popular with those who commuted to New York from Trenton and Princeton Junction, as they were faster and more comfortable than NJT trains.
Clockers made all, or almost all, Amtrak stops between 30th Street Station in Philadelphia and Penn Station in New York, unlike Amtrak's Regional trains which often skipped less-busy stations. The trains were unreserved, coach class only, and used Amfleet rolling stock.
The term Clocker originated with the Pennsylvania Railroad which had hourly train service between Penn Station in New York and Broad Street Station in Philadelphia. These were briefly rebranded as Acela Commuter in 2001 when Amtrak decided to use that moniker in conjunction with most trains along the Northeast Corridor. Following mass rider confusion between this service and the high-speed Acela Express service, the name was returned to Clocker in 2003.
