ACES Train

This weekend I went down to Atlantic City to hang out and do some gambling. One of the nice things about AC is the ability to get there completely via mass transit. My roommate Jay and I took Bolt Bus to and from NYC and stayed in the city with my friend, Will. I had taken Bolt Bus once before and I must say that although the buses are newer and nicer than other Boston-NYC buses, the seats are not more comfortable. I was never able to find a particularly comfortable sleeping position, which was definitely unfortunate on the 4+ hour ride.

The highlight of transit for the weekend was the Atlantic City Express Service train, or ACES, operated by Amtrak between New York and AC. It was just rolled out this year and features four double decker cars with coach, first class, and even lounge seating available. The brand new cars are very comfortable, and as an added bonus, you're never more than one car away from the beverage station.

The train is scheduled to take two and a half hours and makes one stop in Newark. It takes an interesting route in that you leave NYC going southwest along the Northeast Corridor until you almost reach Philadelphia. Then you switch over to New Jersey transit track and go southeast to NYC (this also requires changing from electric to diesel engine). This was the first time I got to travel on the NEC south of New York and the ride was very smooth. I estimate the train topped out at about 80-90 mph. At one point on the way down we were passed easily by an Acela train probably going 125 mph. It would certainly be nice if all of the track between Boston and NYC were as smooth as that we rode over.

Our trip was not without its problems, mainly a 25 minute delay leaving New York on Friday. The trip cost us $29 each way. The bus is cheaper and without traffic can take about the same amount of time, but I would recommend the train for its comfort, access to drinks, and more or less guaranteed travel times.