Amtrak New Acela 21 (Alstom Avelia Liberty) 165 MPH Test Trains @ Princeton Junction (1/26/24)

READ:
Yea, you read that right; test trains, as in, plural! TS08 makes its way back to Philly from NYC mid morning at the usual 90 mph ferry move speed. Later at night, TS02 comes out for two round trip high-speed test runs reaching speeds upwards of 165 mph. The second trip is interrupted by an unscheduled stop in the station to inspect some of the test equipment mounted onto the side of the trainset. Enjoy =)
Full Princeton Junction video: • A Drizzly Day On Amtra...

[@WH_Railfan84]

Hopefully they ironed out all of the problems this go around. Awesome catches.

[@Daniel-hj8el]

Hopefully this Year with Caltraun emus entering service

[@GeneralLiuofBoston1911]

I hope so too. They look promising.

[@thefateofslate9095]

Never

[@KDapple]

Hopefully we get to see these trains in service this year and not pushed back _yet again_

[@brybryguy6314]

Maybe. Reading that most of the train sets need to be redone due to passenger cars windows cracking, something with the under carriage isn't working right or some have broke during testing ect not 100 percent sure but I think we might be looking at 2025 at the earliest.

[@TheRailwayDrone]

@@brybryguy6314 The IG report didn't state most of the sets needed to be redone. They just need to fix the problems they already have.

[@himbourbanist]

I've been seeing more test trains again here at the end of 2024, even saw one at the platform at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia last time I went through there. I suspect that Amtrak is aiming for Q1 or Q2 2025.

[@tsepheletseka5115]

In Europe these Alstom trains can reach well over 200mph. But due to the nature of the tracks on the Northeast Corridor, the Acela versions will only manage a maximum of 165mph and like the previous version, they'll only be able to achieve that top speed in a small part of the line that has been modified to accommodate those speeds. But there are high speed being planned in other parts of the country that will be true high speed on the level of the ones in Europe and Asia, like California High Speed train, if it's ever completed, the Brightline West line between Los Angeles and Las Vegas which has already begun construction and the Texas High Speed line between Dallas and Houston which is still in the planning stages. All are projected to use trains that will reach over 200mph. I do hope all them succeed, including the California High Speed, as slow it is progressing. I believe the Americans deserve to have their own high speed trains. It's long overdue.

[@portcybertryx222]

Nice to see they are slowly increasing the speed back up again

[@mrxman581]

That's awesome. Finally, a true HSR run in the USA. Hopefully, one of many more to come on both the East and West coasts.

[@Linkbetweenus27]

And even more of the country than that!

[@dugenpippenger4811]

The Acela was a HSR. . .

[@at19pct21]

yeah, all 20 miles of it around Princeton Junction in NJ and another 20 around MA/RI border. Penn RR had 2.5 hr NYC-DC service in mid 60s, the best Amtrak can do 55 years later.

[@TheRailwayDrone]

@@at19pct21 You mean the best America can do. Amtrak can't help we continually put politicians in office who didn't fund Amtrak correctly over 55 years.

[@muhammadrahman4481]

This train is part of the TGV Family of trains in the US (United States) / USA (United States of America) but it's mainly part of the Avelia-TGV Family of trains in America. This train is operated by Amtrak with Acela Logo on 2 Power-Cars so first one with 2 Acela Logos and second one with two as well.

[@Iconic_maya9]

WOOOOO THEY SOUND BEAUTIFUL THE FRONT LOOKS SO SICK PROPULSION IS AMAZING LIKE A R143 subway car

[@temen9742]

Alstom OniX Palix Same as Tgv euroduplex and Prima famillly motor cars. Hi from france

[@ceceliagray-alsay8212]

It sound like r188 r142 NYC the nasty places

[@TheRailwayDrone]

This train is gonna be awesome to ride when it finally comes into service. I can't wait.

[@atomsmash100]

Wow, great catch of the Avelia at what looks like top speed! I like the horn, I think they should keep it. It makes it stand out!

[@jayywayne2279]

@the horn part. Please tell me you’re joking 😂😂😂😂😂

[@mrxman581]

It needs a better horn. One that says, "get the hell out of my way or else." 😅

[@fcjose31]

@@mrxman581 Esta? con el Pato Loco, kzbin.info/www/bejne/i3fVfo2cnsyLhassi=LTRvqpeLikT39AIZ&t=1

[@1492chris]

Fun to see the train station I always use on KZbin. When the Amtrak trains blow through you 'Feel The Power' and sensible people cover their ears.

[@Bylkuuus]

Greetings from France ! I love so much this American mix of the French TGV M and the italian Pendolino

[@RLTtizME]

Yes...those dishes are hard to prepare at home...but just wonderful at an authentic restaurant. Pendolino is great on a pizza too.

[@Kelvin_Trekker]

Le Alstom Avelia Liberty 🗽 😍

[@MichaelfromtheGraves]

at 0:14, does the red light on the 2nd to last passenger car mean the door is open?

[@thelorax4236]

We are SO BACK

[@nolantherailfan5048]

One old acela powercar must be donated to the railroad museum of Pennsylvania

[@Perich29]

the powercar and the 3 cars that has first class, economy class and snack cars so people could see whats inside these train.

[@KiingOfFlipz]

Or just an entire set

[@maas1208]

What about the IRM?

[@kevinwong6588]

Metroliner and Acela side by side.

[@voidjavelin23]

​@@maas1208 i think it needs more electricity

[@realight_]

Those are so fast! they are my favorite trains, Hopefully they get to max speed (220MPH)

[@FanRailer]

That will likely never happen.

[@mrxman581]

​@FanRailer It will in California, but not clear what trainset they will get. Many people think it will be by Siemens since they have a plant in California. The talk is that BLW and CAHSR will agree to use the same trainset. That would make sense. Could facilitate a seamless connection with shared tracks in the future.

[@pizzajona]

@@mrxman581even if Alstom is chosen, the train would have to be modified as the tilting variation can’t go over 200 mph (I think the limit is 186 mph but I’m leaving myself some wiggle room). So it wouldn’t be the same exact train.

[@johnmascaro3403]

I imagine that maybe in 20 years with continuous upgrades some sections could hit 200.​@FanRailer

[@Lodai974]

@@mrxman581 a factory on French av......🤣 Sacramento ,CA

[@muhammadrahman4481]

This train sounds like the TGV Duplex/Dasye/Dasye-Duplex/Euroduplex and it does make squeaky noise because it's braking to stop at this station for break.

[@TheRealJamoruKun]

1:33 it sounds like the Green line From MBTA

[@WesternRailways]

Beautiful Coverage!

[@edwardmiller3471]

I Love the European Highllow Hogh Low Whistle Sound having been on many while in Europe myself

[@crowmob-yo6ry]

Can't wait for Brightline West!

[@yaboiisam24]

Omg so ready for them too go into service fr can’t wait any longer

[@maciekkra539]

The "Reptile" back at it again😀. That horn is deffinitely Euro. Nice catch👍

[@aaronthefriendlyroblox5733]

Oh yea my dad actually caught that train at Metropark, but he nearly almost missed it cuz now it came at 11:00 Am, btw how do you know when it will pass a station, isn’t there a schedule for that?

[@FanRailer]

Not one available to the public, anyway.

[@aaronthefriendlyroblox5733]

Oh, but do you know when another one will past again sometime soon cuz I don’t know when it will pass by if it’s at Metropark

[@FanRailer]

No. There are no moves planned at this moment in time.

[@aaronthefriendlyroblox5733]

@@FanRailer ouch, and yes I forgot, they only test on the week I have school, not on the weekends, but thanks though, if you can let me know if there is another one because I have got one Acela and It may be time I need to get new acelas other than the older one

[@FanRailer]

They generally don’t make moves over the weekend, so you’re SOL probably until they go into service later this year.

[@thomasmccauley9174]

I’m going to take a ride in this train very soon!!!🎉🎉🎉

[@paulmatulavich7321]

Will film the Avelia when I return to PJ this summer.

[@pgchase4578043026]

Seems like a lot of catenary arcing in an area recently upgraded.

[@TheRailwayDrone]

What causes that?

[@voidjavelin23]

​@@TheRailwayDrone highspeed move

[@ethancampbell6076]

2:10 I’m getting TGV vibes for new Acela Express.

[@aramisjdd6387]

it's funny that our new TGV set, the "TGV M" share the same power car but doesn't produce the same sound, yours sound like how previous sets the "TGV 2N2"

[@triplethreatpodcasts]

Because they are. SNCF ordered the same rolling stock for their new fleet and it's manufactured by the company that makes the current ones, Alstom

[@Lodai974]

@@aramisjdd6387 The TGV-M will use new asynchronous motors and a different modulation for the control system. This explains the different sound.

[@larailfan1714]

What is that horn I hear in the beginning?

[@voidjavelin23]

a wabco AA2 from a NJT arrow unit

[@AWSmith1955]

World's fastest dolphin

[@trainsdestinations3960]

So much arcing.

[@ItzTrains_Productions]

Do you know when there Running? I would like to see one in testing phase?

[@ItzTrains_Productions]

Or are they old videos?

[@FanRailer]

As per the date in the video title, this was quite literally yesterday.

[@ItzTrains_Productions]

@@FanRailerOh shoot I did not even see that lol, Im gonna try to see em. Thanks

[@FanRailer]

Your best bet is between 9pm and 11pm at Princeton junction on weeknights. They won’t test every night there, so it’s hit or miss.

[@ItzTrains_Productions]

@@FanRailer Great thanks I'm gonna try next time I have off from school I will also check the cams to see if there running, tho They might not come down from CT

[@NMC21887]

Just release the damn train already, Amtrak!!

[@JoeyLovesTrains]

I wonder if they raised both pantographs if they’d be able to hit 186mph

[@FanRailer]

lol

[@StefanWithTrains]

It wouldn't do a thing and may even make the catenary ustable like the classic Acela, which makes it not able to pick up all power. All HST's in Europe only use 1 pantograph at 25Kv 50Hz AC to reduce wire disturbance. So what I an trying to say is that 1 pantograph is enough to generate all power it can produce.

[@FanRailer]

I’m pretty sure Joey was being facetious.

[@StefanWithTrains]

@FanRailer Sorry for the inconvenience, Dutch people are direct about what they are talking about, so I thought he was serious.

[@TheBeagle58]

Sweet!! Nice work

[@Emilien-hy3sy]

Is that a french TGV?

[@Lodai974]

Avelia family so yes french TGV. Same sound as our TGV Duplex/Euroduplex.

[@SergeantTeabag]

Great catch! I hate the horn though. Stick a K5LA on there and I'm totally sold lol

[@brettheeley3836]

Those breaks sound awful. Is that why the train isn't running? Break issues?

[@FanRailer]

No. That’s how those brakes are supposed to sound.

[@ml66b]

I'm surprised that they have UIC horns!

[@FanRailer]

Amtrak wanted stock, they got stock lol. The chimes may be American ones from Nathan, but the setup is entirely European.

[@ml66b]

I get that but the Acelas were European too and had chime horns. This must be the first train in the USA where I have heard them fitted with two tone UIC hors. @@FanRailer

[@FanRailer]

The original Acelas are nowhere near stock European. That design was heavily modified to conform to the FRA standards at the time.

[@ml66b]

Have the FRA standards changed to allow UIC horns? @@FanRailer

[@FanRailer]

The only FRA guidance for horns is for them to meet a certain decibel requirement at a certain distance.

[@derrickgoodman8434]

Yep,keep blowing that horn so we can get used to hearing that European sounding horn.

[@crazyboutferrets]

They sound like British trains

[@thierrybidault5837]

Seems like the French TGV because Alstom is a French company.

[@Lodai974]

Avelia base.....Motor cars are the same (visually except pantograph )

[@Kelvin_Trekker]

Very handsome train 🚆

[@wurm90125]

Are these EVER going to go into revenue service? This has been going on for years now.

[@FanRailer]

Sounds like they’re targeting Q4 2024 now.

[@Perich29]

Amtrak new toy.

[@christianc9894]

We have had this type of trend in France since 1981, a little behind the USA? The ACELA is also built in France by ALSTOM.

[@Nderak]

dat horn sqauller tho

Love the Euro horn!

[@diddy5678]

Sounded like a flat spot to me.

[@Zergcerebrates]

Should have just bought the trains from CRRC, China. Indonesia started its highspeed rail development later than this Amtrak project and even they finished their highspeed rail network and operated the Chinese bullet trains without issue.

[@FanRailer]

None of those trains meet the requirements for Acela service on the Northeast Corridor; ie, none of them tilt.

[@growingup15]

I love the European horn. I hope they keep it.

[@Busboss1811]

Why don’t I stop and pick up passengers cheese?

[@rocsocom3166]

I feel sorry for any animal in the way of high speed trains.

[@nickcook2775]

WTF is a cable secured using using painter's tape and the tears of small children doing on a 165 mph high speed test vehicle

[@ceceliagray-alsay8212]

P934 aslea hige speed train

[@PghDon]

Holy shit!

[@ElaborateTiger]

Why are these still in a rail yard in Philadelphia? They should be in service by now.

[@TheRailwayDrone]

Because they've had problems that were outlined in an IG report back in October, I think.

[@ВиталийЛисенков-е4т]

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@nixcails]

That doesn't look like 165 mph (266km/h) looks barely faster than the IEP Class 800/801/802 trains on GB's LNER and GWR mainline. And the premium charged for this basically provides an apartheid rail system between the wealthy bankers and politicos and the working person. Nice idea now give it an LGV (Ligne á Grande Vitesse) to run on and affordable comfort 2/ 2nd-Standard Class coaches for the mass market. Then you can empty the skies like France has with domestic flights.

[@FanRailer]

What you *think* it looks like is irrelevant. Based on the time the train takes to pass a singular point in the frame, speeds here are 160-165 mph.

[@nixcails]

@@FanRailer are you sure you don't mean km/h?? I worked on the TGV Atlantique from Brest,Breizh into Paris Montparnasse for 20 years and they are selling you a lie if that's 165mph. The TGV Atlantique was the world record breaker at 515.5km/h for many years. Although the service speed on the LGV was limited to 300km/h Got to hand it to the French though they're good at Trains á Grande Vitesse having sold amtrak 1990's technology 30 years later.

[@FanRailer]

Miles per hour. The trainset length is known. Do the math, the numbers don’t lie.

[@Lodai974]

France has not emptied its sky, far from it...the lines parallel to the TGV links still exist. There are a little less of them.

[@TaylorMMontgomery]

3 years later... Stilllll testing. This is a joke. So embarrassing

[@FFred-us9tw]

Alstom absolutely failed with this train. Horribly engineered.

[@TheRailwayDrone]

@@FFred-us9tw The NEC railway also failed this train. We knew since 2016 we were getting new trains, but most of the railway is JUST NOW getting upgraded.

[@rolandpokorny2813]

new Acela is fast

[@brettheeley3836]

That horn is AWFUL!!