I rode Amtrak’s new Acela train, the fastest in the US. The 6 most surprising parts had nothing to do with speed.

• Amtrak launched its new Acela fleet in August. At 160 miles per hour, it’s the fastest US train.
• Known as the NextGen Acela, the train has two classes — business and first.
• I recently traveled in both classes, and my journey was full of surprises.

I had no business in Washington, DC, when I traveled there on a rainy day in September. I was just in it for the ride.

I took Amtrak’s NextGen Acela train — a brand-new fleet for the express service between Boston and Washington, DC, that launched in late August. It has a max speed of 160 miles per hour, making it the fastest train in the US.

The Acela has two classes: business and first. I wanted to try both, so I took the new train from my home in NYC to Washington, DC, in business class for $180. Less than an hour after I arrived in the US capital, I traveled home in first class for $450.

Each ride was three hours long. Although the travel time was pretty similar to Acela trains I’ve taken in the past, my trip was full of unexpected details that had nothing to do with speed.

Amtrak and I have a history.

My interest in the new Acela fleet wasn’t random.

Whether in the US, Canada, or Europe, I prefer to ride the rails. I’ve spent 100 hours on Amtrak trains in classes ranging from coach to a private bedroom.

In 2022, I took the older Acela train between NYC and Baltimore in business and first class. So I was curious to see what the new cars were like.

Compared to a standard business-class ticket, the first-class booking included perks like lounge access at some stations, a meal on board, attendant service, and a bigger seat with more legroom.

I didn’t expect the new Acela train to look like a spaceship.

Most Amtrak trains look similar to me. They have plain, metal exteriors with subtle red and blue accents and a bulky, boxy shape.

So I was surprised when I saw the new Acela’s bold red, white, and blue exterior. It had a rounded roof, and the front was as sleek as a sports car. It reminded me of a rocket ship.

Next to the older Acela model on an adjacent platform, my ride looked like it was from the future.

It was surprisingly easy to tell if I was in the correct train car.

Whenever I hop on a train, I ask myself the same question: Am I in the right car?

It can be tough to tell what class you’re in when you board a train you’ve never been on before.

The new Acela train had a clever solution to my typical confusion. The business-class cars had pops of blue coloring the headrests, signage, and even the bathroom doors. The single first-class car was full of red accents.

I thought the new cupholders were genius.

One of the classic predicaments of train travel is where to put your drink when you’re not sipping it. The rails are bumpy, and I’ve found that the shallow, concave circle on your average tray table isn’t always supportive enough to keep a beverage from falling.

It was a nice surprise that the new Acela had pull-out cupholders on the back of the tray tables in both classes.

I was pleasantly surprised that the WiFi was fast enough to stream videos without skipping a beat.

Not every Amtrak train I’ve been on has had WiFi, and those that did lacked a strong, consistent connection. However, the new Acela had 5G WiFi, and I was able to stream music videos on YouTube in crisp detail without any lag.

My first-class ticket included dinner, and I didn’t expect to find a special on the menu.

Ordering a special at a restaurant always makes me feel a little lavish. So when I saw a single dish framed in the center of the menu in my first-class seatback pocket, I was excited and surprised. I’d never seen a special on an Amtrak menu before.

The dish was charred Bobo chicken with roasted acorn squash, a verde sauce, and a hard roll. The marinated chicken was flavorful and paired well with the sweet squash.

It was the best meal I’ve had on an Amtrak train.

The most unexpected part of my trip was finding that even after spending 100 hours on Amtrak rides, the train line still managed to surprise me.

This ultimate surprise was a testament to Amtrak’s commitment to upgrading train travel in the US. And I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.

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