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The Atlantic City Express Service (ACES) was an
inter-city train Inter-city rail services are express passenger train services that run services that connect cities over longer distances than commuter or regional trains. There is no precise definition of inter-city rail; its meaning may vary from country ...
service offered by the
Borgata Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa is a hotel, casino, and spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International. The casino hotel features 2,798 rooms and is the largest hotel in New Jersey. Borgata ...
,
Caesars Atlantic City Caesars Atlantic City is a luxury hotel, casino, and spa resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Like Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, it has an ancient Roman and ancient Greek theme. Atlantic City's second casino, it opened in 1979 as the Boardwalk Re ...
, and
Harrah's Atlantic City Harrah's Resort Atlantic City is a casino hotel in the marina district of Atlantic City, New Jersey, owned by Vici Properties and operated by Caesars Entertainment. Harrah's is one of the largest hotels in New Jersey. The casino is one of three i ...
, operating from February 2009 until September 2011. It was operated by
New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...
under contract, and funded by the
Casino Reinvestment Development Authority The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority or CRDA is a New Jersey state governmental agency that was founded in 1984 and is responsible for directing the spending of casino reinvestment funds in public and private projects to benefit Atlantic ...
. The train provided summer seasonal service between
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and
Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...
three days a week, operating along the
Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, a ...
and
Atlantic City Line The Atlantic City Line (ACL) is a commuter rail line operated by NJ Transit (NJT) in the United States between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Atlantic City, New Jersey, operating along the corridor of the White Horse Pike. It runs over trackage ...
. The train was formally discontinued on March 9, 2012.


Background

With the success of NJT's commuter service to Atlantic City, talks about direct service to New York were discussed. In June 2006, the board of New Jersey Transit accepted a plan for an express service between
Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.
and
Pennsylvania Station Pennsylvania Station (often abbreviated Penn Station) is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) to several of its grand passenger terminals. Several are still in active use by Amtrak and other transportation services; others have been ...
in
Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...
, for a three-year trial initially slated to begin in 2007 (
Newark Penn Pennsylvania Station (also known as Newark Penn Station) is an intermodal passenger station in Newark, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, Newark Penn Station is served by multiple rail and bus carriers, ...
was not initially intended as a stop, but it would be added during the planning stages). Because of delays in acquiring the cars and preparing the needed motive power (the 8 cars for this service are part of a larger 329-car order, and the four diesel locomotives were acquired from Amtrak), the service did not begin until February 2009. The fleet was composed of eight bilevel rail cars carrying both ACES and NJ Transit markings, with service funded by the
Casino Reinvestment Development Authority The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority or CRDA is a New Jersey state governmental agency that was founded in 1984 and is responsible for directing the spending of casino reinvestment funds in public and private projects to benefit Atlantic ...
and three casinos, Caesars,
Harrah's Harrah's Entertainment (later named Caesars Entertainment Corporation, previously The Promus Companies) was an American casino and hotel company founded in Reno, Nevada, and based in Paradise, Nevada, that operated over 50 properties and seven go ...
, and the
Borgata Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa is a hotel, casino, and spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International. The casino hotel features 2,798 rooms and is the largest hotel in New Jersey. Borgata ...
. Each train contained 300 seats with 4 cars per train. The multi-level cars' interior was customized for the ACES service, adding first class seating sections and lounge facilities. The cars were dedicated to ACES service and were never used for regular passenger service by NJ Transit. In January 2011, service was suspended until May, citing low ridership and a $6 million loss in the first year of operations. Service resumed May 13, 2011 and ended September 18, 2011. The formal discontinuation of the route was announced on March 9, 2012. The ACES passenger cars were converted to regular NJT cars by Bombardier from 2013 until 2014. They re-entered NJT service in mid-2014. The dual-powered locomotives are used to provide service from the Raritan Valley Line into New York City Penn Station.


ACES fares

Tickets for the ACES service were priced on a
dynamic pricing Dynamic pricing, also referred to as surge pricing, demand pricing, or time-based pricing, is a pricing strategy in which businesses set flexible prices for products or services based on current market demands. Businesses are able to change prices ...
scale, with tickets varying between $29 and $69 for one-way coach travel, first-class service available for a $20 upgrade from the coach fare, and lounge rental available for a $200 to $300 upgrade from the coach fare.


Route

Trains picked up passengers at
New York Penn Station Pennsylvania Station, also known as New York Penn Station or simply Penn Station, is the main inter-city rail, intercity railroad station in New York City and the List of busiest railway stations in North America, busiest transportation facilit ...
and
Newark Penn Station Pennsylvania Station (also known as Newark Penn Station) is an intermodal passenger station in Newark, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, Newark Penn Station is served by multiple rail and bus carriers, ...
, then ran non-stop to/from the
Atlantic City Rail Terminal The Atlantic City Rail Terminal is Atlantic City, New Jersey's train station, located inside of the Atlantic City Convention Center. It has five tracks served by three platforms and functions as the easternmost terminus of the NJ Transit Atlantic ...
in about two-and-a-half to three hours. Trains departed New York pushed by an
ALP-44 The ABB ALP-44 was an electric locomotive which was built by Asea Brown Boveri of Sweden between 1989 and 1997 for the New Jersey Transit and SEPTA railway lines. Service New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit acquired 32 ALP-44s for use on its ...
electric locomotive An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers, such as diesel engines or gas ...
and led by a dormant
GE P40DC General Electric Genesis (officially trademarked GENESIS) is a series of passenger diesel locomotives produced by GE Transportation, then a subsidiary of General Electric. Between 1992 and 2001, a total of 321 units were built for Amtrak, Metro- ...
diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...
until
Frankford Junction Frankford Junction is a railroad junction, and former junction station, located on the border between the Harrowgate neighborhood of Philadelphia and Frankford, Philadelphia. At the junction, the 4-track Northeast Corridor line from Trenton ...
in North Philadelphia. At this junction in North Philadelphia, the train reversed direction and was pushed by the P40DC along the
Atlantic City Line The Atlantic City Line (ACL) is a commuter rail line operated by NJ Transit (NJT) in the United States between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Atlantic City, New Jersey, operating along the corridor of the White Horse Pike. It runs over trackage ...
. Northbound, the P40DC pulled the train to Frankford Junction, and then the ALP-44 pulled the train up the Northeast Corridor to New York. Sometimes, trains would switch between electric and diesel power at Newark, depending on operational conditions.Atlantic City Express Service schedule
/ref>


Station listing

ACES trains made the following station stops:


See also

* ''Atlantic City Express'' (Amtrak) * ''
Blue Comet The ''Blue Comet'' was a named passenger train operated by Central Railroad of New Jersey from 1929 to 1941 between the New York metropolitan area and Atlantic City. Designed by Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) president R.B. White in 19 ...
'' *
Pennsylvania–Reading Seashore Lines The Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines was a railroad that operated in South Jersey in the 20th century. It was created in 1933 as a joint consolidation venture between two competing railroads in the region: the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Rea ...
* CapeFlyer *
Cannonball (LIRR train) The ''Cannonball'' is a seasonal named train operated by the Long Island Rail Road between Penn Station and Montauk. The train operates from May through October, running Fridays to Montauk and Sundays to New York. Route The ''Cannonball'' ut ...


References

{{New Jersey Transit Rail NJ Transit Rail Operations Harrah's Entertainment MGM Resorts International Boyd Gaming Passenger rail transportation in New Jersey Railway services introduced in 2009 Railway services discontinued in 2012 2009 establishments in New Jersey 2012 disestablishments in New Jersey