Atlantic City Express (Amtrak train)

Atlantic City Express

An Atlantic City Express train at Atlantic City in 1989
Overview
Service type Inter-city rail
Status Discontinued
Locale New Jersey, New York City
Predecessor Blue Comet
First service May 21, 1989
Last service April 1, 1995
Successor Atlantic City Express Service
Former operator(s) Amtrak
Route
Start Richmond, Harrisburg, Springfield
End Atlantic City
Train number(s) 653, 654, 660-668, 670, 682, 685, 693, 696
On-board services
Class(es) Reserved coach
Disabled access Yes
Catering facilities On-board cafe
Baggage facilities Luggage racks
Technical
Rolling stock EMD F40PH (locomotive)
Comet (passenger car)
Electrification 25 Hz, 12kV along NEC
Track owner(s) Amtrak, NJ Transit

The Atlantic City Express was an Amtrak train that ran from both New York City and Washington, D.C. to Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the Northeastern United States. The train operated on the Northeast Corridor from New York City and Washington, D.C. to 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where it went east to Atlantic City.

History

The new service started service in May 1989, after Amtrak spent extra Northeast Corridor improvement funds to rehabilitate the 60.3 mile long Atlantic City Line from Philadelphia to Atlantic City. The train was designed to provide service to gamblers and vacationers. The train made a single local stop on the Atlantic City Line. Amtrak completely renovated the Lindenwold Station and it served as a stop until July 1994, when the local stop was changed to the new Cherry Hill station due to low ridership at Lindenwold.[1]

Amtrak also operated some through services from Atlantic City to Richmond, Virginia and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In June 1990, Amtrak entered into a partnership with Midway Airlines to operate trains from Philadelphia International Airport to Atlantic City via SEPTA. However, the service was short-lived, as Midway Airlines went bankrupt in the summer of 1991.

The Amtrak service to Atlantic City never hit its expected ridership levels. In another effort to gain more riders, service was extended to Springfield, Massachusetts and New Haven, Connecticut. Although the trains were moderately successful, Amtrak still deemed that the poor showing of riders was not enough to warrant train service, and plans were made to discontinue the line. All Amtrak service to Atlantic City was discontinued after April 1, 1995. The following day, New Jersey Transit extended all Atlantic City Line trains to Philadelphia; previously only a select few had run west of Lindenwold.[1]

ACES

A variant of the former Amtrak service, Atlantic City Express Service, began a weekend express train from New York Penn Station to Atlantic City on February 6, 2009. The service was sponsored by several casinos and was run by New Jersey Transit over the Northeast Corridor and the Atlantic City Lines, with a stop in Newark.[2] The last train ran in September 2011,[3] with the train formally discontinued in 2012.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 Waltzer, Jim (October 6, 2005). "Waltz Through Time: An Express Derailed". Atlantic City Weekly. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011.
  2. ↑ Salkin, Allen (December 15, 2008). "A Luxury Train, Bound for Atlantic City". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  3. ↑ "ACES rail line between Atlantic City and New York shuts down for fall and winter". Press of Atlantic City. September 15, 2011. Archived from the original on March 14, 2012. Retrieved March 14, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Casinos end ACES express train to Atlantic City". nj.com. Associated Press. March 9, 2012. Retrieved September 21, 2015.


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