Yesterday, we got the exciting news that Amtrak’s new Acela train, the Avelia Liberty, will enter service on August 28, 2025. Amtrak had to wait out delays with certification, but it’s finally here. As a frequent Acela rider between New York and Boston, I can’t wait to ride these new trains.
As I talked about in that post, I unfortunately won’t be able to make the inaugural service that day. I’ll still be in Japan with a severe case of FOMO as I see friends and fellow Acela riders board the new trains. 😅
However, I do expect to have a lot of chances to ride the new Acelas between New York and Boston in September. I’m planning to review both business and first class, so stay tuned!
In the meantime, Amtrak has photos online of the interiors of these new Acela trains, including a new set of images recently. Let’s take a look at what to expect, and I’ll give some insight on how I feel about the initial looks to them, while I compare them to the current offering on the 1st ten Acela fleet.
Business Class
Starting off with business class, since this is where most of us will spend our time…
The overall layout of business class seems to be largely the same. It’s a 2-2 configuration, with some of the seats with a table.
I’m personally not a fan of the 4-seater table seats, but whatever.
The windows, ceiling, and lighting remind me a little bit of China’s CR400 Fuxing trains.
Overall, I love how these interiors look. It looks up-to-date with current offerings around the world.
Space-wise, these new trains seem similar to the current fleet. I originally thought that the legroom seemed small in these photos, but after looking at photos of the current seats, I actually think it appears pretty similar. It’s just hard to judge from an image; I’ll have to wait until I get to see them in person.
The seats themselves seem well cushioned and appear more accommodating to the human back, compared to the current Acela seats, which are basically just one big slab of cushion. Again, seat comfort is something I’ll only be able to truly see in person.
The tray table folds down (instead of the pull up type on the current trains), and has enough space for a MacBook.
A cup holder can be accessed when the tray table is in the stored position.
I personally cannot stand the current Acela’s tray table build, so this will be a much-needed improvement on the new ones.
The seats come with winged headrests, which provide privacy and something to lean your head on when resting.
A reading light is also available, which I like. I think this will come in handy on the quiet car, where conductors often dim the lights.
Multiple digital screens like above will be located in the cars, providing train information. The current fleet does not have anything close to this; I think this should be nice for first-time or infrequent Acela riders, so they know that they’re on the correct train.
First Class
First class comes in a 1-2 configuration, so you’ll have the option of sitting alone. The seats themselves seem to be the same as business, aside from them presumably being a bit larger.
The overall layout will most likely stay similar, with a few seats facing each other with a table in the middle.
Cafe Car
The cafe car seems spacious, with a new grab-and-go section for passengers to pick up refrigerated foods and snacks. This reminds me of my high school cafeteria, where we had a grab-and-go window like that with snacks.
My understanding is that there is little or no seating at all in the cafe car. I’m personally not bothered by it, as I usually prefer to eat back at my seat anyway.
Bottom Line
The actual comfort of the seats will have to be judged when I actually sit on them onboard. It’s hard to tell what the legroom is like and how cushiony the seats are from these images. Either way, I’m really excited to finally try these new Acela trains out. Passenger rail in the US has its faults, but I feel blessed to live in one of the few places in the country to board a modern train from Europe.
All photos by Amtrak unless otherwise noted.
