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I hate to be pedantic, but it's kph. 250 mph would make it the fastest intercity line in the world.
Someone got miles in place of km. Current intercity trains are 200-350 with most doing 200-300 km. Very few lines will see the top speed from end to end for that line,
 
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Since everyone is being overly pedantic, the Acela’s top speed is actually 150 miles per hour (241 km/h).
I believe the newer Acela trains can go 260 kmh, since we are being pedantic (I meant kmh in my first post, not mph) which would be the ones that Alstom would use up here on HFR

The new train sets, along with track and signaling improvements, will allow for an initial improvement in maximum regular service speed to 160 mph (260 km/h) on some portions of the route
 
I believe the newer Acela trains can go 260 kmh, since we are being pedantic (I meant kmh in my first post, not mph) which would be the ones that Alstom would use up here on HFR



Accept they can't because the line sucks...

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And actually the trains real top speed is 300-350 km/h, but those speeds are impossible on the line. You'd think the richest country on earth could afford to have high speed rail in its densest and richest corridor...
 
Accept they can't because the line sucks...

View attachment 478955

And actually the trains real top speed is 300-350 km/h, but those speeds are impossible on the line. You'd think the richest country on earth could afford to have high speed rail in its densest and richest corridor...
That is incorrect.

The Avelia Libertys have been tested at speeds approaching 275mph, yes. But once they enter service, they will be running at a top speed 10 mph higher than the current Acela trainsets, which now reach 150mph in a handful of spots.

This is why the testing for the new trains has gone on for so long. The FRA is requiring huge amounts of data on the trains in all sorts of different conditions and configurations prior to approving that operating scheme.

Dan
 
Accept they can't because the line sucks...

View attachment 478955

And actually the trains real top speed is 300-350 km/h, but those speeds are impossible on the line. You'd think the richest country on earth could afford to have high speed rail in its densest and richest corridor...

No, read again. Yes, they can go much faster, but the new trains CAN go 260 km/h on certain segments of the North East corridor.

The new Acela will operate at top speeds of 160 mph vs. today’s fleet, which operates at top speeds of 150 mph.

Amtrak’s new Acela fleet is scheduled to enter service on the NEC in late 2023.


The new trains can operate 10 km/h faster than the old ones on the same track, and will go that fast in service.
 
We should be clear here that what drives maximum commercial speeds are not the performance characteristics of individual rolling stock types, but whatever tiers the responsible regulator defines. As we’ve already discussed in February, the nominal increase in maximum operating speed for the Acela Express merely reflects that the FRA has increased the maximum allowable speed for its “Tier II” from 150 to 160 mph…


c5d2809b-8866-4cdb-88e4-e9fe0fcafecf-jpeg.453770

Source: FRA (2017)
 
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We should be clear here that what drives maximum commercial speeds are not the performance characteristics of individual rolling stock types, but whatever tiers the responsible regulator defines. As we’ve already discussed in February, the nominal increase in maximum operating speed for the Acela Express merely reflects that the FRA has increased the maximum allowable speed for its “Tier II” from 150 to 160 mph…


c5d2809b-8866-4cdb-88e4-e9fe0fcafecf-jpeg.453770

Source: FRA (2017)
While you are absolutely correct regarding the regulatory environment, sometimes there can also be a little bit of the tail wagging the dog. And that is definitely the case regarding the increase in maximum allowable speed for Tier II equipment, which is being spearheaded by Amtrak specifically to allow them to better utilize their new trainsets.

Dan
 

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