Initial launch of the first 5 next generation Acela trains along the Northeast Corridor was finally happened after 9 long years with multiple delays.

Since August 28 this year, Amtrak, the national rail operator of the USA, debuted the NextGen Acela train along the Northeast Corridor at 5:00 a.m. ET in Washington, DC, and at 6:00 a.m. ET in Boston, MA. It was the second generation of trains being debuted for the Acela flagship service, after 25 years since start of operations with the original Acela Express trainsets in 11 December 2000. Acela Express was rebranded to Acela since September 2019.

The proposal for new trains for the Acela service dates back to August 2016. As the current Acela trains are nearing the end of their useful service life, Amtrak decided to take up a $2.4 billion loan from the United States Department of Transportation for the purchase of new high-speed train sets from French manufacturer Alstom. Initial construction of car bodies and major components began at Alstom's Hornell factory in October 2017. 

After multiple delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic and incompatibility issues due to infrastructure dating back two centuries, the trainsets were finally approved by the Federal Railroad Administration for on-track testing between Washington and Boston on January 13, 2024 after thirteen previous failures. On December 4, 2024, it was announced that 14 of the 28 trainsets had been delivered and revenue service was expected to begin in spring 2025. 

The trains are based of the Avelia Horizon trainsets, which are known as Avelia Liberty by Alstom but are marketed by Amtrak as NextGen Acela or Acela II.

Malaysia's ETS between JB Sentral and KL Sentral to start operations this December after numerous delays

TLDR: The double tracking projects which entails signaling to allow the electric trains to ply between Segamat and JB Sentral have been delayed repeatedly over the years. It is expected to cut travel times between Kuala Lumpur and Woodlands, Singapore to 4.5 hours, with only a singular transfer at JB Sentral. Currently, it takes 11 hours to travel the same 371-km route and it requires changing at JB Sentral and Gemas, causing most to choose either flying or taking coaches between the 2 capitals.

France to start operating “private TGV” company Velvet Trains from Paris to southwestern France by 2028

 

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Japan's JR East to commerce new overnight service starting 2027

12 June 2025

Today, as I was reading the current news, I came across something that caught my eye. It turned out that JR East will be launching a new overnight train connecting Tokyo with northern Tohoku, adding a new method of travel between the region. 

Osaka Expo 2025 and related information regarding the event

UPDATE 24 AUG 25: The Osaka Kansai World Expo had started on 13th April and it's ticket sales exceeded the breaking even point with 18.09 million on 11th Aug tickets despite sluggish ticket sales before the opening and during the first few weeks. Source from the Japan Times and NHK. Also, beforehand, on 14th July, an air show was held as the Exposition hit its 10 millionth visitor mark.

UPDATE 19 JUL 25: The Nepal Pavilion was the last pavilion to finally opened after severe delays due to unpaid fees to the construction company.

Recently, the 2025 Osaka Expo opened on 13 April in a man-made island called Yumeshima, located in Osaka Bay. By the way, to those who are not aware, the World Expo is a large scale international exhibition held every 5 years that showcases the achievements, innovations, and cultures of the host country, as well as its participating nations. This year, the World Expo is held in Osaka, for the second time, from April 13 to October 13, after having previously hosted Expo 1970 55 years back.

China Railways CR450AF/BF EMU interior and facilities

Recently, China Railways launched a new generation of two CR450 bullet trains, known as CR450AF and CR450BF. Unlike earlier bullet trains in the Fuxing family, the CR450AF/BF trainsets comes with upgrades not found in the older CR400 family. The design improvements includes speed, safety, comfort, intelligence, and energy efficacy. On top of that, there are also larger wheelchair spaces as well as bicycle racks and adjustable luggage racks. In this blog post, I am going to show you what the train looks like based on several WeChat sources. To anyone not aware of the new CR450 bullet trains, please see my earlier blog post here.

To find out more about other recent happenings for China's extensive railway network, click on this link.

Recent railway happenings in China in past few months

In recent months, there are several new train services that had commenced operations in China. They include high speed train lines, as well as tramways and subway lines. Also, there are several innovations made to the technology of railways.

JR East unveiled new Shinkansen train for the Tohoku Shinkansen to operate by 2030

5 March 2025

Today, JR East just revealed that it started working on the development of the next-generation model  Shinkansen bullet train, the E10 Series. The new train will be used for the Tohoku Shinkansen and will be replacing the current E2 Series and E5 Series EMUs. This plan will be part of the "Transformation 2027" program corporate vision aimed at leveraging IT and data for maximum optimization for railway operations. The first trainsets are slated to complete by autumn 2027, which will be followed by testing and mass production before the planned 2030 entry to service.

Disney-themed Shinkansen trainset debuted on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line

21 February 2025

Continuing from the success of JR East's Disney Magical Journey Shinkansen, JR Central launched its "Wonderful Dreams Shinkansen" special train for a limited period from 21 February 2025 to mid-September 2025. This debut is done as part of commemorating the opening last June of Tokyo DisneySea’s “Fantasy Springs” area, as well as to promote Tokyo Disney Resort (TDR) as a tourist destination. 

This is the third time a Disney-themed Shinkansen is launched, as well as the first time a themed Shinkansen was launched, after the other two Disney-themed Shinkansen trainsets was launched earlier by JR East on their Tohoku Shinkansen. To know more, click on this link.

Revival of an idea of a hyper loop maglev line between Shanghai and Hangzhou

Today, I came across an article from Baidu published in the last few years saying that a hyper loop maglev is under planning between Shanghai and Hangzhou. If completed, it would take only 15 minutes to travel between the two cities at around 1000km/h, as compared to 45 minutes on the current high speed rail at around 350km/h or 2-3.5 hours via regular trains. The line will be slated for completion in 2035.