After months of serving prepackaged food with disposable service items as part of its COVID-19 safety protocols, Amtrak has brought back proper plates and serviceware to its meal service in Acela first-class cars.
Choosing first-class Acela typically costs between $100 and $160 more each way than Acela business class, depending on length of the trip, but you get what you pay for, and meal service is included.
The Acela first-class car menu has also changed. The rotating breakfast menu includes omelets, huevos rancheros, eggs benedict and fresh fruit. Lunch and dinner entrees include chicken tandoori, lobster crab cakes, Spanish pork stew and Cobb salad.
Also included with a first class Acela ticket is access to Amtrak’s Metropolitan Lounges in the stations in D.C., Philadelphia, Boston and New York.
Acela trains running between D.C. and Boston have one first-class car, with a capacity of 44 passengers.
Amtrak’s ridership on the Northeast Corridor is currently running at about 65% of pre-pandemic levels, performing better than its overall national network, with ridership above 50%.
