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.
