Amtrak's Acela pulled out of Washington D.C.'s Union Station on time Thursday morning carrying the long-term hopes for high-speed rail service in the United States.
"The snub-nosed Acela Express made the Washington-to-New York trip in two hours, 26 minutes, arriving two minutes ahead of schedule and setting an Amtrak speed record when it hit 135 mph in New Jersey. The old record was 125 mph. The train was expected to reach its top speed of 150 mph later in day on the trip from New York to Boston." . . . "When regular passenger service in the Northeast begins Dec. 11, America finally will have a rail line comparable to the high-speed train service common in Europe and Japan. Amtrak officials and rail enthusiasts hope favorable publicity will increase the demand for similar high-speed lines elsewhere in the country."
Thanks to Christian Peralta
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