Acela vs Northeast Regional

Acela is Amtrak’s high-speed route that travels between Washington D.C. and Boston. Trains stop at some of the same stations as the Northeast Regional, so you might have the option to choose between these two routes when booking your tickets. So how are they different?

The key thing to know is that Acela tickets are considerably more expensive and trains stop at fewer stations. Plus, Acela trains aren’t much faster than the Northeast Regional unless you are traveling a long distance.

Despite these drawbacks, there are a few Acela perks. Meals are included if you purchase a first-class ticket and seats are assigned (which you can change online or by calling Amtrak). Otherwise, it is open seating on the Northeast Regional trains, which can make it difficult to find multiple seats together if you are traveling with a group.

To learn more about Acela vs the Northeast Regional, see the chart below.

	Acela	Northeast Regional
Route Length	457 miles	~700 miles
Stops	13	55
Frequency	Multiple trains per day	Multiple trains per day
Cost	2x to 4x more expensive
Ticket Options	First class and business class (assigned seats)	Business and coach (no assigned seats)
Type of Train	High-speed	Amfleet
Quiet Car	Yes – seats must be reserved	Yes
Sleeper Car	No	Yes (when staff available)
Sightseer Lounge	No	No
Dining Options	Café (meals included for first-class)	Café
WiFi	Yes	Yes
States on the Route	MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, PA, DE, MD	Same as Acela + Virginia
End-of-the-Line Stations	Boston and Washington D.C.	Boston and Norfolk
NYC-Philadelphia Time	10 minutes faster	1 hours, 20 minutes
DC-Philadelphia Time	20 minutes faster	2 hours
DC-NYC Time	30 minutes faster	3 hours, 30 minutes
Boston-NYC Time	30 minutes faster	4 hours, 15 minutes
Boston-DC Time	1 hour faster	8 hours