When I saw how much a first-class ticket on the Amtrak Acela train cost, I had to book it.
This was in September 2025. At $450 for a three-hour trip up the East Coast, it was $50 more than the private cabin I booked for a 15-hour journey from Colorado to Utah in January 2025.
The steep price point would probably deter the average person. As a travel reporter and train enthusiast, though, I wanted to compare the first-class experience with a more affordable, more private overnight train.
First, I took a 15-hour train ride from Denver to Salt Lake City in a roomette for $400 in January 2025.
I took a sleeper train from Colorado to Utah in a roomette accommodation. My booking included a 23-square-foot private, enclosed space with two chairs, two beds, and perks like priority boarding, meals on board, a dedicated attendant, and access to lounges at select stations.
Then I booked a $450 first-class ticket for a three-hour ride from Washington, DC, to NYC in September 2025.
My ticket included a comfy, roomy seat, a meal, attendant service, priority boarding, and lounge access at some stations.
My first ride was aboard an Amtrak Superliner train.
The Superliner, which runs west of Chicago and New Orleans, looked like a typical Amtrak train with its boxy shape, silver exterior, and red-and-blue stripes.
Still, there was one huge difference. Unlike any other fleet I’ve ridden, the Amtrak Superliner was two stories tall.
The Superliner I took had recently upgraded interiors, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari told Business Insider.
The second ride was on Amtrak’s NextGen Acela train that launched in August.
The Amtrak Acela is a high-speed Northeast express train that runs from Massachusetts to Washington, DC. It’s the only Amtrak service with first-class seating.
The NextGen Acela, the new fleet’s flagship, launched in August 2025, boasting the highest top speed of any train in the US — 160 miles per hour. It looked more modern than any other Amtrak train I’ve seen. Its rounded shape and sleek front car reminded me of a spaceship.
On the Superliner train, I had a 23-square-foot private space to myself.
The roomette sleeps up to two passengers, with two comfortable chairs that flatten to form the bottom bunk, and another bed that lowers from the ceiling.
The room also packs in a tiny closet, a mirror, and a pullout table. It has amenities such as reading lights, power outlets, and room-temperature controls.
On the NextGen Acela, I had a spacious window seat in a row of two.
My seat was comfortable, and I had plenty of legroom. Each seat had a tray table with a cupholder and a reading light on the winged headrest.
I didn’t feel constrained to my roomette for 15 hours thanks to the Superliner’s communal dining and observation cars.
While I had the option to eat in my room, I chose to have meals in the dining car. I also spent some time in the top deck’s window-filled observation car when I was feeling cooped up in my room.
The Acela had a swanky new café car, but with limited seating, I spent most of the ride in my first-class seat.
I was impressed by the design of the sleek, modern café car. They had snacks, beverages, and refrigerated grab-and-go meals. Since the first-class ride was so short, I didn’t mind spending the trip in my seat.
My roomette booking included breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
A French toast breakfast, a Caesar salad with chicken for lunch, and a three-course dinner including Brie salad, flat iron steak, and a slice of cheesecake kept me full throughout my trip. Each meal was tastier than I expected for train food.
My first-class ticket came with an upscale lunch.
My Acela ticket included only one meal, which made sense given that the ride was only three hours long. It was the best meal I’ve had on an Amtrak train.
A charred chicken thigh paired with roasted acorn squash tasted fresh, and the flavors were complementary — especially when dipped in the verde sauce. The hard roll and Key-lime pie dessert finished the job of filling me up.
I also noticed that the presentation was elevated compared to the roomette meals, with plates and glassware instead of plastic dishes.
The bathroom in the roomette car looked like a standard train bathroom.
There were three bathrooms on my floor of the sleeping car. I thought they were all small and clean, and I didn’t have to wait in line once.
The first-class bathroom felt larger and more modern.
A curved sliding door opened to reveal a spacious bathroom with red accents. There was a small shelf next to the brightly lit mirror.
I appreciated the high-tech amenities, including touch-free water, soap, and dryer dispensers, as well as lights that indicated when the room was occupied.
Only the first-class ride had WiFi.
After my 15-hour trip on the Superliner, which had no WiFi, an unusual occurrence for an Amtrak train, I was grateful that I could stream videos on the Acela train. I watched YouTube videos of live music performances.
The Superliner took me farther than the Acela.
Using the Google Maps measurement tool, I found that the California Zephyr route from Denver to Salt Lake City is about 500 miles, while New York City and Washington, DC, are roughly 230 miles apart by train. I was shocked to find I had traveled more than twice as far on the cheaper ride.
With more space, privacy, a longer distance covered, and a lower price point, the roomette was undoubtedly a sweeter deal than first class.
“We dynamically revenue manage all departures per demand, regardless of the equipment type used for any given departure,” an Amtrak representative told Business Insider in an email.
Although the Acela was more modern, served a better meal, and provided WiFi, I didn’t think it was luxurious enough to be worth more than my tiny, moving hotel room on the overnight ride across the American Southwest.
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