Northeast Regional

Northeast Regional

ACS-64 locomotive #600 leads a Northeast Regional through Maryland in 2014
Overview
Service type	Higher-speed rail
Status	Operating
Locale	Northeastern United States, Mid-Atlantic United States
Current operator(s)	Amtrak
Ridership	8,044,216 (FY13)[1]
Route
Start	Boston, Springfield, Massachusetts, or New York City
Stops	35 between Boston and Newport News, 7 on Springfield branch
End	Norfolk, Richmond, Newport News, Lynchburg, Virginia, or Washington D.C.
Distance travelled	664 mi (1,069 km)
Average journey time	12 hours 30 minutes
Service frequency	18 trains per day[2]
On-board services
Seating arrangements	Airline-style coach seating
Catering facilities	On-board café
Baggage facilities	Checked baggage available at selected stations
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Operating speed	max: 125 mph (201 km/h)
Route map Dist. Station 0 mi 0 km Boston South Station 1.2 mi 1.9 km Boston Back Bay 11.4 mi 18.3 km Route 128 Massachusetts Rhode Island 43.6 mi 70.2 km Providence 70 mi 113 km Kingston 87 mi 140 km Westerly Rhode Island Connecticut 96 mi 154 km Mystic 105 mi 169 km New London 123 mi 198 km Old Saybrook 94 mi 151 km Springfield Massachusetts Connecticut 109 mi 175 km Windsor Locks 114 mi 183 km Windsor 120 mi 193 km Hartford 131 mi 211 km Berlin 138 mi 222 km Meriden 144 mi 232 km Wallingford 156 mi 251 km New Haven 173 mi 278 km Bridgeport 195 mi 314 km Stamford Connecticut New York 212 mi 341 km New Rochelle 231 mi 372 km New York Penn Station New York New Jersey 241 mi 388 km Newark Penn Station 244 mi 393 km Newark Liberty Airport 255 mi 410 km Metropark 263 mi 423 km New Brunswick 279 mi 449 km Princeton Junction 289 mi 465 km Trenton New Jersey Pennsylvania 305 mi 491 km Cornwells Heights 318 mi 512 km North Philadelphia 322 mi 518 km Philadelphia Pennsylvania Delaware 347 mi 558 km Wilmington 359 mi 578 km Newark Delaware Maryland 386 mi 621 km Aberdeen 416 mi 669 km Baltimore Penn Station 427 mi 687 km BWI Marshall Airport 448 mi 721 km New Carrollton Maryland District of Columbia 457 mi 735 km Washington D.C. District of Columbia Virginia 465 mi 748 km Alexandria 471 mi 758 km Franconia-Springfield 481 mi 774 km Woodbridge 491 mi 790 km Quantico 511 mi 822 km Fredericksburg 555 mi 893 km Ashland 566 mi 911 km Richmond Staples Mill Road 573 mi 922 km Richmond Main Street 621 mi 999 km Williamsburg 644 mi 1036 km Newport News 594 mi 956 km Petersburg 679 mi 1093 km Norfolk Burke Centre 490 mi 789 km Manassas 525 mi 845 km Culpeper 569 mi 916 km Charlottesville 630 mi 1014 km Lynchburg 682 mi 1098 km Roanoke (beginning 2017)

The Northeast Regional is a higher-speed rail service operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. In the past it has been known as the NortheastDirect, Acela Regional, or Regional. It is the busiest Amtrak route, carrying 8.04 million passengers in fiscal year (FY) 2013, a 0.4% increase^[1] over the 8.01 million passengers in FY2012.^[3] The Northeast Regional service earned over $568.7 million in gross ticket revenue in FY2013, a 6.2% increase^[1] over the $536 million earned during FY2012.^[3]

There is daily all-reserved service about every hour during the day. Trains generally run between Boston, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C., with more between New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington. Extensions and branches extend to Springfield, Massachusetts, and Richmond, Newport News, Norfolk and Lynchburg, Virginia.

Travel times are about 4.5 hours between Norfolk or Newport News and Washington, 3.5 hours between Lynchburg and Washington, two hours between Washington and Philadelphia, 1.5 hours between Philadelphia and New York, 3.5 hours between New York and Springfield, and four hours between New York and Boston. Travel times between Washington and New York are typically slightly faster than the equivalent travel time by car.^[4]

Equipment

A typical Northeast Regional with an ACS-64 locomotive and Amfleet passenger cars at New London Union Station

Trains usually have 7 to 10 cars with one or two locomotives pulling, although they may be as long as 14 cars during peak travel periods.

The passenger cars are the rebuilt Amfleet I series passenger cars built by the Budd Company in the mid to late 1970s. Since May 2008, Northeast Regional trains have the cafe in the middle of the train. The Coach Class car adjacent to business class is designated the quiet car, where passengers are asked to refrain from loud talking and mobile phone conversations. If a second Café Car is present, it is only used for passenger seating. The overnight Northeast Regional trains numbered 65, 66, and 67 have a different configuration from the other Northeast Regional trains. These trains offer a limited number of business-class seats at the front of the Café Car, instead of having a dedicated Business Class car. The overnight trains have no quiet car, but do have a baggage car used for baggage service.

Between Boston and Washington, the service has overhead electric wires and largely travels over Amtrak-owned tracks. This segment reaches speeds of 125 mph (201 km/h) with ACS-64 electric locomotives built from 2012-2015. The ACS-64 locomotives replaced the AEM-7 locomotives in June 2016.^[5]

Northeast Regional trains in Virginia and along the route between Springfield and New Haven use GE P42DC diesel locomotives and have lower top speeds. Because the Virginian segments use freight railroad tracks, these trains are more likely to suffer delays due to congested tracks.

History

The NortheastDirect branding was used for most Northeast Regional services between 1995 and 2003

An HHP-8 locomotive in Acela Regional branding at South Station, Boston, in 2002

The services along the line, as inherited from Penn Central, once had their own names, such as the "Yankee Clipper" and the "Federal"; typically a name applied to at most one train and its "twin" in the opposite direction. Electrification ended at New Haven, Connecticut, requiring an engine change. On October 28, 1995 Amtrak introduced the "NortheastDirect" brand for all trains on the Northeast Corridor (and its extension to Newport News, Virginia) except for the express Metroliner and hourly Clocker services.^[6] The November 10, 1996, timetable restored the old names in addition to the NortheastDirect brand.^[7] The names (except the Twilight Shoreliner) were dropped with the May 16, 1999, schedule.^[8] In 2000 Amtrak completed electrifying the route from New Haven to Boston in preparation for the introduction of the Acela Express, eliminating the engine change at New Haven. The first two all-electric round-trips to and from Boston were branded Acela Regional and equipped with refurbished Amfleet cars painted in the Acela-like "Capstone" livery. All-electric service began on January 31, 2000.^[9] The NortheastDirect branding continued to be used for trains which changed from electric to diesel traction in New Haven.^[10]

Due to customer confusion with the Acela Express, the name was changed again on March 17, 2003, to "Regional".^[11] On April 7, 2008, with the release of their new timetable, the name was changed again to "Northeast Regional" and as a result, Amtrak has started adding the new Northeast Regional logo to their cafe cars.^[12][13]

On May 12, 2015, Northeast Regional Train 188, traveling from Washington, D.C., to New York City, derailed in the Port Richmond neighborhood of Philadelphia, killing eight people and injuring more than 200 people. The train derailed along a curve and was determined to have been traveling at a speed of about 100 mph, exceeding the limit of 50 mph on that curve.^[14] This speed limit was not posted; engineers on that route are expected to rely on memory to control the speed of the train. Additionally, the train was suspected to have been hit by a projectile, as was a commuter train in the area shortly before the derailment.^[15]

Virginia service

The Colonial at Fredericksburg in the 1980s

Some Northeast Regional trains continue into Virginia, serving Richmond, Norfolk, Newport News, Lynchburg, and points in between. These tracks are not electrified and are owned by freight railroads; some segments including tracks through Acca Yard in Richmond have severe speed restrictions.

After Amtrak took over intercity passenger service on May 1, 1971, rail service in Virginia was limited to a small number of long-distance trains, where they were often not suited to regional travel. Regional service south to Newport News via Alexandria, Richmond, and Williamsburg began on June 14, 1976, when Amtrak ended the Newport News section of the James Whitcomb Riley and the Colonial was added in its place. The long-standing service to Newport News, with two daily round trips, has sufficiently high farebox recovery that no subsidy from the Commonwealth of Virginia is required.

Map of Transdominion Express routes as proposed

A Virginian Northeast Regional crosses the James River near Lynchburg in 2011

From 1996 to 2007, six different studies were performed on the Transdominion Express project, which would have created two new intercity rail routes from Bristol to Richmond and Washington. The final study recommended against the full plan, citing high cost and low ridership, and instead proposed that any further action be focused on corridors with the highest ratio of demand to cost. Fully 70% of the predicted ridership was between Washington and Lynchburg (already served by the Crescent) and 96% between Washington and Bristol, while Richmond demand was largely for north-south service on the existing route.^[16]

The Commonwealth of Virginia and Amtrak partnered in 2009 under the brand Amtrak Virginia to expand passenger rail service within the Commonwealth, making Virginia the 15th state to fund state services in addition to federally funded routes.^[17] One daily Northeast Regional round trip was extended to from Washington to Lynchburg on October 1, 2009, supplementing the existing Crescent service.^[18] In the first month, ridership doubled expectations.^[19] On July 20, 2010, Amtrak added an additional Northeast Regional frequency from Washington to Richmond Staples Mill Road station, increasing the Washington-Richmond corridor to eight daily round trips with hourly northbound morning service.^[20]

A further extension^[21] south from Richmond to Norfolk along Norfolk Southern tracks was planned by the Department of Rail & Public Transportation (DRPT), and the Commonwealth of Virginia in cooperation with Amtrak. Certain track upgrades (e.g., passing sidings, replacing track to increase operating speeds) between Richmond and Norfolk that were necessary to enable this extension were funded jointly by Norfolk Southern and DRPT. Service started on December 12, 2012.^[22]

On August 9, 2013, it was announced that Amtrak hoped to complete track and infrastructure upgrades in order to bring train service to Roanoke, Virginia by 2016.^[23] The project encountered delays, and by late 2016 service was planned to begin in late 2017 with a single train extended from Lynchburg serving the city daily after construction of the Roanoke station platform, which was to begin in early 2017 and take most of the year.^[24]

Classes of service

• Coach class: Coach class cars have 2x2 seating with reading lamps, fold-out tray tables, and an electrical (120 V, 60 Hz AC) outlet at each seat. Reservations are required.
• Business Class: This is either a full business class car with 2x2 seats, reading lamps, fold-out tray tables, and at least 1 (120 V, 60 Hz) electrical outlet per seat, or this is a portion of the Cafe car with 1x2 reclining leather seats, with leg rests, reading lamps, fold-out-tray tables, and at least 1 (120 V, 60 Hz) electrical outlet per seat. Business Class passengers receive complimentary soft drinks. The Business Class car is normally supplied with a daily newspaper, often The New York Times, at its origin station. Regardless of car type, Business class has more legroom than coach, seats that recline further than those in coach, footrests, and window curtains.

Effective April 25, 2005, Amtrak abolished unreserved seating on these trains. Reservations may be made at any time up to eleven months in advance, either online or by phone. Tickets may also be purchased at a station ticket window or through a ticketing machine.

Route

Amtrak Northeast Regional (interactive map)

Most Northeast Regional trains operate over the Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington (via New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore). The corridor is owned, in part, by Amtrak, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), Metro-North Railroad (MNRR), and the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CDOT).

• MBTA Providence/Stoughton Line, Boston to Massachusetts/Rhode Island state line (dispatched and maintained by Amtrak)
• Amtrak Northeast Corridor, state line to New Haven
• Connecticut Department of Transportation, New Haven to New Rochelle
• Amtrak Northeast Corridor, New Rochelle to Washington

Trains that turn north at New Haven to serve Springfield, Massachusetts, operate over the New Haven-Springfield Line, wholly owned by Amtrak. Both Virginia extensions of the Northeast Regional (Newport News and Lynchburg) use the ex-Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad, now CSX, between Washington and Alexandria, Virginia. From Alexandria, the Lynchburg trains use the Norfolk Southern (ex-Southern Railway, ex-Virginia Midland Railway), while Newport News trains use the following CSX tracks:

• RF&P Subdivision
• Richmond Terminal Subdivision
• Bellwood Subdivision
• Peninsula Subdivision

There has been frequent service between Washington-New York and Washington-Boston through the day. There has been some service to Springfield, Massachusetts, either through to Washington or via a connection at New Haven, Connecticut. Trains between Springfield and New Haven run on Amtrak track but require a diesel locomotive there. Some trains travel as far south as Richmond, Norfolk, Newport News or Lynchburg, Virginia.

Until around 1999 some service to Springfield continued east to Boston, for an alternate Inland Route between New York and Boston. One weekend train stayed on this route until the November 1, 2004, schedule.

One train, the Federal (Twilight Shoreliner until 2004), formerly carried an overnight sleeper between Washington and Boston, giving the corridor 24-hour service; the Federal name (briefly resurrected in 2004) is no longer used, and an ordinary all-coach Northeast Regional runs in its place.

The Northeast Regional is primarily federally funded and receives federal funding for its operations between Boston and Washington DC. Northeast Regional operations south of Washington DC towards Lynchburg and Newport News are funded by the Commonwealth of Virginia. New Haven to Springfield, MA operations are funded by the State of Connecticut and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts including both the Northeast Regional through trains terminating at Springfield and the Shuttle trains.

Station stops

References

External links

Route map: Google

• Media related to Northeast Regional at Wikimedia Commons
• Amtrak – Northeast Regional