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.[3]
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.[3]
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.[4] The last train ran in September 2011,[5] with the train formally discontinued in 2012.[6]
References
- ^ Wittkowski, Donald (May 22, 1989). "First Gamblers' Express train arrives at new A.C. railroad station". Press of Atlantic City.
- ^ Henderson, Nell (May 23, 1989). "Amtrak Takes a Chance on 'Gamblers' Express'". Washington Post.
- ^ a b Waltzer, Jim (October 6, 2005). "Waltz Through Time: An Express Derailed". Atlantic City Weekly. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011.
- ^ Salkin, Allen (December 15, 2008). "A Luxury Train, Bound for Atlantic City". The New York Times. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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
