Good morning from Washington D.C.! I traveled from D.C. to New York the other day on Amtrak’s Acela service, onboard the quiet car.
I’ve taken the Acela countless times, but usually only between New York and Boston. I boarded the train in Washington D.C. this time, which brought a slightly different experience regarding station experience and trip times.
I ended up taking this train after hitting a weather delay at Dulles Airport. You can read about all of that here.
At Washington Union Station
I walked over to Union Station from my hotel. The station features a gorgeous terminal building, which blends well with the rest of D.C.’s architecture.
I’ve been through here before, but I was impressed nonetheless.
My train was scheduled to depart at 7:50, and so I arrived 20 minutes prior at 7:30. This is the great thing about Amtrak travel; no need to arrive hours prior for your trip like you do when flying.
Boarding had already begun when I arrived. Each boarding lane is interestingly divided up by letters, not the track number.
I often hear complaints about the boarding system in D.C., and I did feel like there’s a simpler way of doing things here.
However, it all went smoothly since it was a quiet Sunday morning.
I headed to track 18.
I do wonder how much longer we have with this 1st gen Acela fleet. The Avelia Liberty, despite its delays, is making good progress (if I am not mistaken). Those should be entering service this year.
The Quiet Car is located in car 2. The Acela is all reserved seating, so there’s no need to worry about getting on the correct car to enjoy the quiet car, like you do on the Northeast Regional. Just make sure you choose a car 2 business class seat during booking. There’s no additional cost to these seats.
On the Train
Conversations are to be limited in the Quiet Car, and electronic devices are to be used with headphones. Phone calls are also not allowed in here. Those who wish to talk on the phone can go to the ends of the cars near the doors, or to the cafe car.
I don’t always select the quiet car when traveling, especially if I have work to do on the train. But since I wanted some extra sleep on this Sunday morning, this was a no brainer for me to grab a quiet car seat.
I’ve gone over this seat many times. They’re fairly comfortable, with enough legroom.
I had a rear-facing seat, which I typically don’t care about. You can see on the seat map during booking if you have a front or a rear seat.
They do dim the lights in the quiet car, but it’s not very noticeable during daylight hours. If you have an early morning or a late night train and want a darker environment to get sleep, this is something to consider.
The train quickly hit 200kmh after departing D.C.
I did find that the average speed on this D.C. to New York route was much faster than the average speed between New York and Boston. We hovered around 200kmh for most of the trip, and hit the Acela’s top speed of 240kmh in New Jersey.
The total travel time was about 2 hours 50 minutes.
I got a light breakfast at the cafe car. I was also the only idiot doing work on a Sunday morning.
The cafe car can get busy during the week with all of the business travelers. It was very quiet on this Sunday morning, though.
Considering we’re on a moving train, I don’t think the cafe car prices are bad. Here’s their full menu on their website.
Back to the quiet car.
Philadelphia is a major station on this D.C. to New York route. Many passengers go on and off here.
With that said, this train wasn’t that busy at this time of day on a Sunday. I had an open seat next to me, and saw several other open seats around me.
Speaking from experience, the quiet car does seem to be less busy compared to the regular business class cars. In addition, front-facing seats seem to be much more popular compared to rear-facing seats. Grabbing one of these may boost your chances of having an empty seat next to you.
We arrived in New York City about 5 minutes early.
Concluding Thoughts
It was very nice that I could wake up at my hotel, walk 5 minutes to Union Station, take the Acela to New York in less than 3 hours, and take the subway to the apartment. This was convenience at its max.
This was my first time in a few months taking the quiet car, and I was reminded of how nice the experience is. The guaranteed peace and quiet in car number 2 is great for both focusing on work and relaxing. I highly recommend grabbing a quiet car seat if you’re traveling alone on Amtrak.
All photos taken by the author.
