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Atlantic City Express

An Atlantic City Express train at Atlantic City in 1989
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Status	Discontinued
Locale	New Jersey, New York City
Predecessor	Nellie Bly
First service	May 23, 1989
Last service	April 1, 1995
Successor	Atlantic City Line, Atlantic City Express Service
Former operator(s)	Amtrak
Route
Termini	Richmond, Harrisburg, Springfield Atlantic City
Train number(s)	653, 654, 660-668, 670, 682, 685, 693, 696
On-board services
Class(es)	Reserved coach
Disabled access	Yes
Catering facilities	On-board cafe
Baggage facilities	Luggage racks
Technical
Rolling stock	EMD F40PH Amfleet I coaches
Electrification	25 Hz, 12kV along NEC
Track owner(s)	Amtrak, NJ Transit
Route map Legend 293 mi 472 km Springfield 278 mi 447 km Windsor Locks 273 mi 439 km Windsor 267 mi 430 km Hartford 256 mi 412 km Berlin 249 mi 401 km Meriden 243 mi 391 km Wallingford Harrisburg 172 mi 277 km 235 mi 378 km New Haven Middletown 162 mi 261 km 218 mi 351 km Bridgeport Elizabethtown 154 mi 248 km 195 mi 314 km Stamford Lancaster 135 mi 217 km 179 mi 288 km New Rochelle Coatesville 106 mi 171 km 160 mi 257 km New York City Downingtown 100 mi 161 km 149 mi 240 km Newark Penn Paoli 87 mi 140 km 135 mi 217 km Metropark Ardmore 76 mi 122 km 102 mi 164 km Trenton Wilmington 93 mi 150 km 68 mi 109 km Philadelphia–30th Street Baltimore 162 mi 261 km 64 mi 103 km North Philadelphia BWI Airport 173 mi 278 km 53 mi 85 km Cherry Hill New Carrollton 193 mi 311 km Lindenwold Bypassed 1994 Washington, D.C. 202 mi 325 km 0 mi 0 km Atlantic City Alexandria 210 mi 338 km Woodbridge 227 mi 365 km Quantico 237 mi 381 km Fredericksburg 256 mi 412 km Ashland 301 mi 484 km Richmond Staples Mill Road 311 mi 501 km This diagram: view talk edit

The Atlantic City Express was an Amtrak train that ran from Harrisburg, New York City, Richmond, Springfield and Washington, D.C. to Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the Northeastern United States. The train operated on the Northeast Corridor to 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where it went east to Atlantic City.

History

The new service started service in May 1989, after Amtrak spent extra Northeast Corridor improvement funds to rehabilitate the 60.3 mile long Atlantic City Line from Philadelphia to Atlantic City. The train was designed to provide service to gamblers and vacationers. The train made a single local stop on the Atlantic City Line. Amtrak completely renovated the Lindenwold Station and it served as a stop until July 1994, when the local stop was changed to the new Cherry Hill station due to low ridership at Lindenwold.

Amtrak also operated some through services from Atlantic City to Richmond, Virginia and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In June 1990, Amtrak entered into a partnership with Midway Airlines to operate trains from Philadelphia International Airport to Atlantic City via SEPTA. However, the service was short-lived, as Midway Airlines went bankrupt in the summer of 1991.

The Amtrak service to Atlantic City never hit its expected ridership levels. In another effort to gain more riders, service was extended to Springfield, Massachusetts and New Haven, Connecticut. Even then, most passengers traveled between New York and Philadelphia rather than continue on to Atlantic City. Amtrak also had to compete with a number of bus lines offering discounted rates at casinos. Although the trains were moderately successful, Amtrak still deemed that the poor showing of riders was not enough to warrant train service, and plans were made to discontinue the line. All Amtrak service to Atlantic City was discontinued after April 1, 1995. The following day, New Jersey Transit extended all Atlantic City Line trains to Philadelphia; previously only a select few had run west of Lindenwold.

Atlantic City Express Service

A successor to the former Amtrak service, Atlantic City Express Service (ACES), began a weekend express train from New York Penn Station to Atlantic City on February 6, 2009. The service was sponsored by several casinos and was run by New Jersey Transit over the Northeast Corridor and the Atlantic City Lines, with a stop in Newark. The last train ran in September 2011, with the train formally discontinued in 2012.

References

1. Wittkowski, Donald (May 22, 1989). "First Gamblers' Express train arrives at new A.C. railroad station". Press of Atlantic City.
2. Henderson, Nell (May 23, 1989). "Amtrak Takes a Chance on 'Gamblers' Express'". Washington Post.
3. ^ Waltzer, Jim (October 6, 2005). "Waltz Through Time: An Express Derailed". Atlantic City Weekly. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011.
4. Salkin, Allen (December 15, 2008). "A Luxury Train, Bound for Atlantic City". The New York Times. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
5. "ACES rail line between Atlantic City and New York shuts down for fall and winter". Press of Atlantic City. September 15, 2011. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2012.
6. "Casinos end ACES express train to Atlantic City". nj.com. Associated Press. March 9, 2012. Retrieved September 21, 2015.

• Amtrak's Northeast Corridor Part 2: Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. (Videotape). Pasadena, CA: Pentrex. 1992.
• Barlas, Thomas (January 17, 2008). "N.Y.-Atlantic City casino train service running behind schedule". pressofAtlanticCity.com. Archived from the original on January 22, 2008. Retrieved February 12, 2008. ...Atlantic City Express service will not begin running until this summer...

External links

• Atlantic City Express — 1994 timetable
• Media related to Atlantic City Express at Wikimedia Commons

• Former Amtrak routes
• Railway services introduced in 1989
• Railway services discontinued in 1995
• Rail transportation in New Jersey
• Rail transportation in New York (state)
• Rail transportation in Pennsylvania
• Rail transportation in Washington, D.C.
• History of Atlantic City, New Jersey
• 1989 establishments in the United States
• 1989 establishments in New Jersey
• 1995 disestablishments in the United States
• 1995 disestablishments in New Jersey
• 1995 disestablishments in New York (state)
• 1995 disestablishments in Washington, D.C.