Trains.com reports that although it has been reported that Amtrak President and CEO David Gunn wants to drop the name “Acela” from everything but the high-speed Acela Express trains, an Amtrak spokeswoman says that’s news to her.
“Unfortunately, that appears to be just a rumor,” Amtrak spokeswoman Karen Dunn said yesterday. “If that’s something he plans to do, he hasn’t told anyone within the company.”
Gunn reportedly has not yet made up his mind, although he’s said to be no fan of the Acela name.
Many observers have been critical of Amtrak’s Acela rebranding program, which restructured Northeast Corridor trains under three different levels of “Acela” service: Acela Express; Acela Regional, which replaced NortheastDirect service; and Acela Commuter, a term that never really replaced the Philadelphia-New York Clocker service, as intended.
Some travelers have been confused by the terminology and have walked away disappointed when their ticket on the “Acela” landed them on a conventional Northeast Corridor Acela Regional train, rather than the Acela Express.