N
NS VIA FAN
Guest
I travel between Halifax NS and Trenton NJ two or three times a year and the usual route is Continental non-stop to Newark then on to Trenton via NJ Transit.....but its been awhile since I experienced Acela First Class so a change of route this time: Halifax-Boston-New York-Trenton.
I arrived at YHZ, the Halifax International Airport about two hours before my flight to allow plenty of time for the usual formalities. YHZ has US Pre-Clearance which means you go through US CBP (US Customs and Immigration) in Halifax before boarding your flight. Not busy at all and I could have easily cut this by an hour but why take the chance. I was on an Air Canada Jazz Bombardier CRJ100 for the 1 1\2 hour flight. Departure was at 8:25am Atlantic.....arrival in BOS at 8:55am Eastern - on-time. The nice thing about pre-clearance is you arrive in the US at a domestic gate and just walk off the plane.....no further customs formalities. I was out of the airport in two minutes.
Easiest way to South Station is the Silver Line bus but I had nearly two hours before my train so over to the Airport Station and downtown on the subway. A couple of changes, a quick stop at North Station to see what was going on there then on to South Station. I picked up my ticket and waited in Club Acela…..very nice, larger than the other Acela Lounges Ive been in and the Attendant very helpful. This trip seams to be starting-off great. While waiting I had a complementary coffee and muffin and no problem connecting to the Wi-Fi. I remember my first trips to South Station in the 70s and a pretty run-down place but its certainly an impressive building today.
Acela #2163 boarded a few minutes before our 11:15am departure time. As everyone is walking to the train I get my mini HD video camera out for a few shots....."Hay! No Pictures" security yells. Im a foreigner and dont want this to go any further so quickly put the camera away. It makes me rather uncomfortable so I dont try for any more pictures the rest of the trip. I always like to take a least one picture of every train Im on for my travelogues and have never encountered this before.....thought that if you were a ticketed passenger on the public portion of the platform you were permitted to take a picture of the train you were about to board??
On board now I have a single seat next to a huge window (sure beats Amfleet!) and it puts me in a much better mood! And the attendant.....one of the best Ive ever encountered on Amtrak. A snack-mix and beverage service is offered and I start with a pop (guess thats called soda down here) and Im asked if I would like something a little stronger to go with it.....but I pass for now as I know I will have more than my fair-share later this weekend! After quick stops at BBY & RTE were into PVD in no time at all.
Out of Providence, the First Class car had pretty well filled up. Everything on the lunch menu looked good but I decided on the Asian Chicken which was excellent along with wine and followed by lemon cake for desert.
When I finished lunch it was nice to just sit back, relax, enjoy a beer and surf the net a bit (The connection was spotty but I was able to check e-mails).....this First Class travel is great.
After the impressive bursts of speed through Massachusetts and Rhode Island, it seamed as if we were almost crawling through several stretches in Connecticut. (Too bad Acela cant really show it potential between Boston and New York and then who would ever fly!) In the same length of time: 3 1\2 hours, VIA #57 a nearly all stops local in the corridor, using 55 year old rebuilt Budd equipment (some of it even xAmtrak Heritage cars) will cover the same distance and VIA fastest train would have gone 50 miles further down the track.
Riding the train at home, once outside the city, its mostly a rural landscape so Ive always enjoyed the urban views in the NEC and especially south of New Haven.....the constant meets and overtaking of trains on the adjacent tracks. And then the views of Manhattan as we wind up and over Hells Gate Bridge….down past Sunneyside and into the tunnel arriving NYP about 10 minutes late.
Other than the photo incident.....an almost perfect trip and one of the best Ive had on Amtrak in a long time. On most of my previous trips the equipment and timekeeping have been fine but its been a crew member that has ruined an otherwise good trip. But this time.....great Attendants and excellent service. Amtrak.....Ill give you 9 out of 10 this time!
Its the beginning of the afternoon rush and getting busy. I was meeting up with a friend before continuing onto Trenton so I spent some time looking around.....and there, in Penn Station, a Canadian icon.....a Tim Hortons! and I get a Double-Double (its been 10 hours since my last fix on the way to YHZ this morning)
Then I walked over to GCT and took the subway back. The view of the concourse from the balcony is always impressive at rush hour.....hopefully Penn Station will have a restored concourse level someday too.
Time now to continue to Trenton on NJ Transit and this train included the new Multi-Level cars built by Bombardier (thats Bom-bar-dee-a.....not Bom-bar-deer) Come to think of it.....everything Ive been on today (except the subways) was built by Bombardier.....the Regional Jet, Acela and now the NJ Transit Multi-levels. This was a packed local but we did manage to get a couple of seats together. Again, I enjoyed the ride through the urban landscape, especially at rush-hour and the numerous meets…..Secaucus…..PATH etc.
After the weekend in Trenton, it was time to head home and my usual route would have been TRE > EWR > YHZ on Continental Airlines. But US Airways now has a new non-stop service between Philadelphia and Halifax which gave me a chance to sample some SEPTA trains. So it was back to TRE at 10:45am for SEPTA #734 to 30th Street.....I had a few minutes there to soak up the atmosphere of another big restored station then onto PHL arriving at the Airport Station at 12:20pm. Quick check-in and time for a snack before departure at 1:35pm. I was on a US Airways CRJ 200 (another Bombardier product) for the 1 hr. 50 min. PHL >YHZ flight. It was a clear day and with a window seat on the left, a great view.....we basically followed above the NEC to BOS then Downeaster route to Portland before heading out over the Gulf of Maine and a direct shot into Halifax. Arrival was at 4:25pm (3:25 Eastern)
TRE > PHL to my car at YHZ: 4 hr. 55 minutes.....then an hour home.
A great trip and Im already planning to return to Trenton in November. United has a nonstop YHZ > WAS (Dullas) E-170 so I might do the corridor south to north and in Acela First Class again too.
I arrived at YHZ, the Halifax International Airport about two hours before my flight to allow plenty of time for the usual formalities. YHZ has US Pre-Clearance which means you go through US CBP (US Customs and Immigration) in Halifax before boarding your flight. Not busy at all and I could have easily cut this by an hour but why take the chance. I was on an Air Canada Jazz Bombardier CRJ100 for the 1 1\2 hour flight. Departure was at 8:25am Atlantic.....arrival in BOS at 8:55am Eastern - on-time. The nice thing about pre-clearance is you arrive in the US at a domestic gate and just walk off the plane.....no further customs formalities. I was out of the airport in two minutes.
Easiest way to South Station is the Silver Line bus but I had nearly two hours before my train so over to the Airport Station and downtown on the subway. A couple of changes, a quick stop at North Station to see what was going on there then on to South Station. I picked up my ticket and waited in Club Acela…..very nice, larger than the other Acela Lounges Ive been in and the Attendant very helpful. This trip seams to be starting-off great. While waiting I had a complementary coffee and muffin and no problem connecting to the Wi-Fi. I remember my first trips to South Station in the 70s and a pretty run-down place but its certainly an impressive building today.
Acela #2163 boarded a few minutes before our 11:15am departure time. As everyone is walking to the train I get my mini HD video camera out for a few shots....."Hay! No Pictures" security yells. Im a foreigner and dont want this to go any further so quickly put the camera away. It makes me rather uncomfortable so I dont try for any more pictures the rest of the trip. I always like to take a least one picture of every train Im on for my travelogues and have never encountered this before.....thought that if you were a ticketed passenger on the public portion of the platform you were permitted to take a picture of the train you were about to board??
On board now I have a single seat next to a huge window (sure beats Amfleet!) and it puts me in a much better mood! And the attendant.....one of the best Ive ever encountered on Amtrak. A snack-mix and beverage service is offered and I start with a pop (guess thats called soda down here) and Im asked if I would like something a little stronger to go with it.....but I pass for now as I know I will have more than my fair-share later this weekend! After quick stops at BBY & RTE were into PVD in no time at all.
Out of Providence, the First Class car had pretty well filled up. Everything on the lunch menu looked good but I decided on the Asian Chicken which was excellent along with wine and followed by lemon cake for desert.
When I finished lunch it was nice to just sit back, relax, enjoy a beer and surf the net a bit (The connection was spotty but I was able to check e-mails).....this First Class travel is great.
After the impressive bursts of speed through Massachusetts and Rhode Island, it seamed as if we were almost crawling through several stretches in Connecticut. (Too bad Acela cant really show it potential between Boston and New York and then who would ever fly!) In the same length of time: 3 1\2 hours, VIA #57 a nearly all stops local in the corridor, using 55 year old rebuilt Budd equipment (some of it even xAmtrak Heritage cars) will cover the same distance and VIA fastest train would have gone 50 miles further down the track.
Riding the train at home, once outside the city, its mostly a rural landscape so Ive always enjoyed the urban views in the NEC and especially south of New Haven.....the constant meets and overtaking of trains on the adjacent tracks. And then the views of Manhattan as we wind up and over Hells Gate Bridge….down past Sunneyside and into the tunnel arriving NYP about 10 minutes late.
Other than the photo incident.....an almost perfect trip and one of the best Ive had on Amtrak in a long time. On most of my previous trips the equipment and timekeeping have been fine but its been a crew member that has ruined an otherwise good trip. But this time.....great Attendants and excellent service. Amtrak.....Ill give you 9 out of 10 this time!
Its the beginning of the afternoon rush and getting busy. I was meeting up with a friend before continuing onto Trenton so I spent some time looking around.....and there, in Penn Station, a Canadian icon.....a Tim Hortons! and I get a Double-Double (its been 10 hours since my last fix on the way to YHZ this morning)
Then I walked over to GCT and took the subway back. The view of the concourse from the balcony is always impressive at rush hour.....hopefully Penn Station will have a restored concourse level someday too.
Time now to continue to Trenton on NJ Transit and this train included the new Multi-Level cars built by Bombardier (thats Bom-bar-dee-a.....not Bom-bar-deer) Come to think of it.....everything Ive been on today (except the subways) was built by Bombardier.....the Regional Jet, Acela and now the NJ Transit Multi-levels. This was a packed local but we did manage to get a couple of seats together. Again, I enjoyed the ride through the urban landscape, especially at rush-hour and the numerous meets…..Secaucus…..PATH etc.
After the weekend in Trenton, it was time to head home and my usual route would have been TRE > EWR > YHZ on Continental Airlines. But US Airways now has a new non-stop service between Philadelphia and Halifax which gave me a chance to sample some SEPTA trains. So it was back to TRE at 10:45am for SEPTA #734 to 30th Street.....I had a few minutes there to soak up the atmosphere of another big restored station then onto PHL arriving at the Airport Station at 12:20pm. Quick check-in and time for a snack before departure at 1:35pm. I was on a US Airways CRJ 200 (another Bombardier product) for the 1 hr. 50 min. PHL >YHZ flight. It was a clear day and with a window seat on the left, a great view.....we basically followed above the NEC to BOS then Downeaster route to Portland before heading out over the Gulf of Maine and a direct shot into Halifax. Arrival was at 4:25pm (3:25 Eastern)
TRE > PHL to my car at YHZ: 4 hr. 55 minutes.....then an hour home.
A great trip and Im already planning to return to Trenton in November. United has a nonstop YHZ > WAS (Dullas) E-170 so I might do the corridor south to north and in Acela First Class again too.
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