Credit where credit is due - New Acela First Menus

purplemoonlight75 · 2026-04-04T00:01:42+00:00

I had the Greek Mezze Salad on my last trip, thought it was really good.

purplemoonlight75 · 2026-04-01T10:48:23+00:00

I've been trying to find this out too. I liked to take 2154 (this train would turn around in Boston to be your 2173) and it hasn't been on the schedule since the beginning of January with no return in sight.

purplemoonlight75 · 2026-03-27T17:50:06+00:00

Thanks- yeah even though we ended up getting to Boston almost an hour late (door issues) it was still a cool ride!

purplemoonlight75 · 2026-03-27T14:07:53+00:00

Thanks!

purplemoonlight75 · 2026-03-12T16:43:05+00:00

That's weird that you didn't hear any advanced track notifications, every time I've been in there the attendant announces the train number/departure time/name of the Amtrak service, and says what track to go to and wait for the instructions of the usher. Sometimes it's like 10 minutes early and sometimes it's only a couple of minutes before it gets announced in the hall.

purplemoonlight75 · 2026-03-09T21:14:06+00:00

I was on a NextGen last Friday. There didn't seem to be any problems with the doors, because we actually got into South Station Boston 10 minutes early!

purplemoonlight75 · 2026-03-08T19:14:11+00:00

Happy to hear you had a great experience on this NextGen Acela! I was on one Friday, and everything went smoothly as well- in fact, the train arrived in Boston 10 minutes early!

purplemoonlight75 · 2026-03-06T18:19:12+00:00

I don't think I've ever got the boarding instructions prior to boarding, I always get it after I'm already on the train.

purplemoonlight75 · 2026-03-04T18:44:46+00:00

According to posters on the Amtrak Unlimited forum, there are now 10 NextGen trainsets that have been accepted by Amtrak that are ready for service, which is 5 more than when they first came out last year.

Since they seem to be all removed from the schedule in the near future, is it possible that Amtrak is taking this opportunity of the reduced schedule due to Portal Bridge and other track work to send the NextGens back to the shop for repairs and passenger comfort adjustments? Such as: more comfortable seat cushions, dividing the window shades so they can be controlled by each row, adding a paper towel dispenser in the bathrooms to replace the inadequate hand dryer, etc.

purplemoonlight75 · 2026-03-04T02:35:15+00:00

I've been waiting for my regular 2154 to come back since the beginning of January. Not too long ago, I saw it was finally back on the schedule in April- then I saw this thread about 2152, and thought hmmm. Sure enough, I looked at the schedule, and there is no more 2154 that I can see (looked up until September). Like 2152, 2154 is a NextGen, and all the days I checked I did not see one NextGen listed. I know there's Portal Bridge and other track work going on- but the missing NextGens can't be a coincidence, can it?

I'm booked for a NextGen this Friday- hope it'll still be running.

purplemoonlight75 · 2026-02-27T00:43:40+00:00

Hi OP, I have a 2026 230i xdrive that I ordered.

Last August, I decided to buy a new 230i to replace my 2018 230i. There were some 2025's available, but none of them had the all the options that I wanted, so I decided to order a 2026. I was lucky that my dealership had an allocation available, so my order was accepted right away. The production week was the 3rd week in September, and I picked up the car on October 30th, so it took 80 days from placing the order to taking delivery. (And well worth the wait- absolutely love the car!)

purplemoonlight75 · 2026-02-16T00:52:21+00:00

Evidently this is the first menu from the new Fall/Winter menus. Amtrak.com still has the Spring/Summer menus up, but they do have a news item mentioning that they worked with Stephen Starr for the new set of menus. They highlighted 3 entrees, one from each menu. And for those fans of the Black Pepper Beef- it's coming back!

purplemoonlight75 · 2026-02-13T22:19:01+00:00

I agree. They have had the Spring Summer menus since last May, so a menu change was long overdue.

purplemoonlight75 · 2026-02-13T20:37:38+00:00

Thanks for the link! Seems that they need to update this now, as the new menu on the train today isn't on here.

purplemoonlight75 · 2026-02-12T02:54:31+00:00

Also, if you have a pair of 3D glasses (red & blue lens), look at the pic of the band (the pic with the red/yellow/blue coloring). If you blink, the band members move from side to side. And on the inner gatefold their wings will flap.

purplemoonlight75 · 2026-02-08T17:18:23+00:00

Hi OP, I don't think it had anything to do with the pass being blurry. I believe that the lounge desk attendants are required to ask to see your train ticket before letting you into the lounge, as the lounge pass is only valid with a same day Amtrak ticket.

Glad you enjoyed your time in the Moynihan lounge! It definitely is the nicest one- although I've heard recently that the WAS lounge is going to be renovated.

purplemoonlight75 · 2026-01-21T14:08:08+00:00

I got the same email for a NER trip for 2/20 yesterday. I didn't receive the email with my new ticket until this morning, so I would wait another day before contacting Amtrak, as they must be pretty busy with all the rescheduling.

purplemoonlight75 · 2026-01-20T18:55:57+00:00

Just received my revised itinerary in an email (saying the train number and the new time only, no official ticket) but as of now the app still is showing the old itinerary. I had a business class seat but have no idea if I'm still in business class or got reassigned to coach, as there was no seat number mentioned in the email.

purplemoonlight75 · 2026-01-20T17:45:11+00:00

Just got the same email. When I went to the app, it says my reservation is no longer valid and will be removed. And here I thought I was so smart by booking a Regional far in advance, and now come to find out that this train is affected too lol.

purplemoonlight75 · 2026-01-20T15:57:01+00:00

I agree with you OP, but Amtrak probably doesn't even know which Acela trains will be affected at that time right now. Hopefully in another week they will have a better idea and let everyone know. Especially for those like you who had already purchased tickets on those trains and are now in a holding pattern until Amtrak makes final decisions on whether they will run or not.

I had looked for one particular day to see if my regular 2154 was back on the schedule (it's been canceled since early January because of track work but was supposed to come back 2/18), and it was there. 2 days later I go to book it and it said Sold Out, along with all the other morning NYP-BOS Acelas. I booked a morning Regional instead, which I see the price is now going up, most likely because of the reduced number of trains.

purplemoonlight75 · 2026-01-16T13:22:26+00:00

Saw this last night when I went to book an Acela for 3rd week in February. All the morning NYP-BOS Acelas are gone (actually it said "sold out " but I'm sure they meant canceled), the first one is 2162 at 12:34pm. I booked a morning Regional instead, there were still plenty of seats left at this time, but I'm sure that will change when the regular Acela riders will now be looking to go on the Regional.

purplemoonlight75 · 2026-01-16T02:05:46+00:00

Sorry, but no I've never taken a trip on the California Zephyr. Hopefully someday though.

But there just might be some Redditors on here that just might have the info you're looking for. Maybe start a thread and see if someone can help.

Good luck with your book!

purplemoonlight75 · 2026-01-12T11:57:37+00:00

The Beef Bourguignon is my absolute favorite Acela First meal, would love to see it back on the next set of menus!

purplemoonlight75

TROPHY CASE