Amtrak to overhaul Acela Express

Amtrak will make significant changes to its Acela Express service later this month in an effort to boost reliability and attract more high-paying business travelers, said the Associated Press. Several stops between Boston and Washington, D.C., will be curtailed or eliminated, weekend service will be halved to make more time for train maintenance and schedules will be revised to more accurately reflect actual trip times, said the AP. The changes will take effect Oct. 27 and will appear in new schedules to be made public Thursday. To attract more business travelers to its Acela service, Amtrak will add one roundtrip between New York and Washington, D.C., on weekdays, bringing the total to 13. However, the rail service will eliminate 10 Acela trips on the same route on weekends, giving crews more time for maintenance, said the news service. Other goals include boosting Acela's on-time performance above 90%--an achievement rail officials believe will result in greater customer satisfaction and a $1.3 million-a-year increase in revenue.