Acela Express First Class Seating

[Acela150]

Back in February Amtrak began a pilot program that would assign seating for First Class passengers on Acela Express trains.

Effective 11/12/18 ALL Acela Express trains will have assigned seating in First Class ONLY.

A link to a seating chart can be found on Amtrak's website. With seating charts reflecting the First Class car at the Rear and Head end of the train. https://www.amtrak.com/onboard/onboard- ... class.html

Seat assignments can be changed once you finalize your ticket purchase.

[benboston]

I think that this is a move in the right direction. I think it's smart to make it a perk for first class.

[Matt Johnson]

I think that this is a move in the right direction. I think it's smart to make it a perk for first class.

One thing I always liked about the train was that even if I had to settle for an aisle seat boarding a crowded train at an intermediate stop like Metropark, I could almost always snag a window seat once we got to a high turnover stop like New York or Philly. And on less crowded trains, I always liked to ability to switch seats if I had someone near me coughing, chewing loudly, or being generally annoying, or the seat cushion was loose or something. Anyway, it's a small battle when there are bigger battles being waged in the future of our passenger rail system, but I'm not sure I love the airline style assigned seating, even if it is common on European railways.

[n2cbo]

WHen the Acela first started running, it WAS assigned seating. Why they took that away, I don't know.

[ExCon90]

It's particularly useful for groups of two or more boarding at an intermediate station.

[pennstation]

WHen the Acela first started running, it WAS assigned seating. Why they took that away, I don't know.

Exactly. It was nice to be able to reserve a single seat if you were traveling solo, or two next to each other if traveling with a companion. Good move to bring it back. The only reason I can think of why they took it away was maybe it made too many seats unoccupied for parts of the run.

[Acela150]

WHen the Acela first started running, it WAS assigned seating. Why they took that away, I don't know.

They did away with it cause it didn't go over well. And the main issue was that you couldn't change seats when you booked. Also many conductors and LSA's did not enforce it.

This time around one can pick their seat after they purchase their tickets.

[benboston]

I think that this is a move in the right direction. I think it's smart to make it a perk for first class.

One thing I always liked about the train was that even if I had to settle for an aisle seat boarding a crowded train at an intermediate stop like Metropark, I could almost always snag a window seat once we got to a high turnover stop like New York or Philly. And on less crowded trains, I always liked to ability to switch seats if I had someone near me coughing, chewing loudly, or being generally annoying, or the seat cushion was loose or something. Anyway, it's a small battle when there are bigger battles being waged in the future of our passenger rail system, but I'm not sure I love the airline style assigned seating, even if it is common on European railways.

Yes, but, this is much better for people travelling together who were neglected by the old system.