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This article is about the use of ''Acela'' is a Brand applied by Amtrak to its High-speed Train s along the Northeast Corridor in the Northeast U.S. , called '' Acela Express ''. Prior to 2003 , the '' Acela Regional '' name was applied to most local trains on the corridor, now simply called '' Regional '' to avoid confusion. The ''Acela Commuter'' name was proposed but never used for the '' Clocker s'', and ''Acela Regional'' was planned for all trains on the Empire Corridor and Keystone Corridor in addition to the Northeast Corridor. In Fiscal Year 2006 , a total of 2,668,174 passengers rode Acela, an 8.8% year-over-year increase. http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2006-11-28-amtrak-ridership_x.htm at 150mph, one of only three sections where maximum speed is allowed.]] HISTORY On March 9 , 1999 , Amtrak unveiled its design for its new high-speed service, and announced that most services in the Northeast would be branded ''Acela''. The name was a Portmanteau of "excellence" and "acceleration", pronounced "ah-cel-la" (though a great many riders and staff call it "ack-cel-la" [ək'sɛlə , in keeping with the name's derivation). At that time, there were three classes of trains on the Northeast Corridor (and its extension south to Newport News, Virginia ) — the hourly Philadelphia - New York '' Clocker s'', the express '' Metroliner s'', and the Umbrella Term '' NortheastDirect '', applied to all other local trains on the corridor (in addition to unique names assigned to each departure). '' Empire Service '' trains used the Empire Corridor from New York City to Niagara Falls , and '' Keystone Service '' ran along the Keystone Corridor from Philadelphia to Harrisburg . Other named trains also used the corridors, branching off or continuing beyond their termini. As announced, the original plan was to rebrand all services but those continuing beyond the termini as ''Acela''. The '' Metroliner s'' would be replaced with '' Acela Express ''. All '' NortheastDirect '', '' Empire Service '' and '' Keystone Service '' trains would become '' Acela Regional ''. Finally, the '' Clocker s'' would be '' Acela Commuter ''.Amtrak: News Release - March 9, 1999: Amtrak Rolls Out 'Acela' Service, High-speed Trains for Northeast In reality, the '' Acela Regional '' name was first applied to '' NortheastDirect '' trains 130-133 on January 31 , 2000 . Those trains, 130 and 131 running weekdays only and 132 and 133 running every day, were the first Electrified trains to run on the full Northeast Corridor.Bob Johnston, Amtrak opens Boston electrification, '' Trains '' April 2000Ron Newman, Acela Regional starts Jan 31, 2000 , misc.transport.rail.americas January 27, 2000 As more trains were electrified, they too were rebranded. Regular '' Acela Express '' service began December 11 , 2000 ; at the time there were still part- Diesel ''NortheastDirect'' trains.Bob Johnston, Acela Express begins; NEC schedules revamped, '' Trains '' January 2001 On March 17 , 2003 the ''Acela'' name was dropped from the '' Acela Regional '', with the trains simply being called '' Regional ''. Technical difficulties have led to a joke about Acela standing for "Amtrak Customers Extremely Late Again" trains. Rail Travel News - News Posting March 23, 2003 The ''Acela Commuter'' service never appeared. It simply remained known as the ''Clocker'' service up until October 28 , 2005 , when it was discontinued and New Jersey Transit introduced four new express trains between Trenton, NJ and New York City to make up for the lost service. EXTERNAL LINKS
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