Amtrak is debuting its NextGen Acela. Here’s what you need to know

Amtrak rolled out its NextGen Acela trains on Thursday, marking the next phase for the U.S.’s attempt at high-speed rail.

Dubbing itself as “America’s only high-speed rail service,” the new trains will run between Washington, D.C., and Boston, with a top speed of 160 mph. It’s an extension of Amtrak’s existing Acela trains, which run through the busy Northeast corridor and operate at speeds up to 150 mph on certain sections of the route.

According to Amtrak, more than 69 million passengers have traveled on Acela trains since the service began at the end of 2000. In fiscal year 2024, Amtrak said customers rode more than 3 million Acela trips, generating nearly $530 million in ticket revenue.

The new trains, contracted with French manufacturer Alstom, will replace the current Acela equipment. Amtrak said the NextGen Acela trains will accommodate 27% more customers and have enhanced features like free, high-speed Wi-Fi, as well as wider seats, a tilt system that enables a smoother ride and more daily departures.

At its launch, Amtrak said it will begin with five new trains, aiming to deploy all 28 by 2027.

“I think America deserves high-speed rail,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a Wednesday event with Amtrak in Washington, D.C. “This is, at 160 miles an hour, one great step in that process.”

Like its predecessor, the Acela fleets offer only first class and business class seating. The rail company will operate both the older trains and newer models over the next few months as more of the NextGen trains are added.

“These trains are beautiful, they are fast, they are state-of-the-art, and they are American-made,” Amtrak President Roger Harris said at the Wednesday event. “There has never been a better way to travel by train in America.”

The parts for the new trains were manufactured in 29 states, with 95% produced within the U.S., Amtrak said, adding that the manufacturing generated more than 1,200 new jobs.

As of 2024, Amtrak owned 16 Acela trainsets.

The new trains are not without struggles. Amtrak originally planned on debuting them in 2022, but faced numerous delays.

In May, Amtrak said it was eliminating 450 roles to save $100 million in annual costs. That came after the White House reportedly forced CEO Stephen Gardner to resign in March as President Donald Trump called for changes. Amtrak has yet to name a new CEO.

The rail company has also lost money for years. In fiscal year 2024, Amtrak reported $3.6 billion in revenue compared with $8.8 billion in capital and operating expenses. It recovered 84% of its operating costs with ticket sales and other revenue, Amtrak added.

The new trains are also significantly slower than their high-speed counterparts in Europe and Asia, with Japanese bullet trains operating at a top speed of 200 mph.

It’s not America’s first attempt at the high-speed rail, either.

California has aimed for more than a decade to build a bullet train that can travel between Los Angeles and San Francisco in under three hours. That vision has since been trimmed, aiming to now connect just a 170-mile stretch of land with questions surrounding its viability.

Last month, Duffy formally terminated all of the California High-Speed Rail Association’s federal funding after a Federal Railroad Administration report determined that the project was unable to complete its goals, and on Tuesday, he pulled an additional $175 million from the project. The state of California has filed to sue the government for what it calls an “illegal” action with the canceled federal funding.

Private rail company Brightline has also attempted the high-speed rail formula in Florida. The company aims to privatize the rail system and has welcomed millions of passengers on its trains, which travel at 125 mph.

But Brightline has had its fair share of financial struggles. The company is facing looming debt and reported a net loss of roughly $549 million in 2024, marking an uncertain road ahead.