Amtrak's most punctual routes, by on-time performance (OTP) 2017
Amtrak's flagship - Acela Express
The Acela Express is Amtrak’s most distinctive Northeast Corridor’s rail service, traveling between Washington, DC and Boston with 14 intermediate stops including Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York City’s busiest rail hub, New York Penn Station. The name originates from the combination of the words “acceleration” and “excellence".
The planning for a high-speed rail service started in the early 90’s with the manufacturing of 20 Acela Express high-speed trainsets for traveling over the Northeast Corridor (NEC) infrastructure. The trains reach a maximum speed of 150 mph on the 35 miles section between Boston and New Haven. The Acela Express made its first appearance on December 11, 2000, and since then more than 43 million passengers have traveled on one of Acela’s high-speed trains. In the fiscal year of 2016, Acela trains recorded close to 3.5 million passengers.
The fiscal year of 2017 (October 2016 to September 2017) was Amtrak’s seventh consecutive year with more than 30 million passengers traveling onboard its trains. That year, Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor (NEC) was one of the most-traveled segments in North America, with 12 million passengers (out of a total of 31.7 million).