Transportation notes: NexGen Acelas, Frontier's expansion and WildPass

 The new trains from the French company Alstom are built in New York state and will gradually replace older Acela trains that have been in service for nearly a quarter of a century.

The new Acelas also feature comfortable seats, computer plug-ins, grab-and-go food, and other amenities for those on expense accounts or willing to pay the higher fares.

Stops in Wilmington will be limited in the early going, according to an Amtrak spokesperson.

Currently, the Northeast Corridor has two NextGen trains running in each direction.

However, 2170, one of the two southbound weekday trains in operation, will not stop at Wilmington. Several older Acela trains do not stop in Delaware on the route between Washington, DC, and New York City.

For now, a trip on the NextGen Acela to and from Wilmington will cost you approximately $580.. For $50 more, you could fly to and from San Francisco using American and its Landline service from Wilmington Airport.

Wilmington will see more NextGen trains with 28 new trains entering service between now and 2027.

The new trainsets are said to travel at speeds of up to 160 miles per hour and feature 20% more passenger capacity than their predecessors.

However, speeds are lower than those of Amtrak's Asian and European counterparts. The US never took that next step in straightening out curves and making other changes, and is now playing catch-up. 

Projects that include a new bridge west of the Delaware line over the Susquehanna River and a tunnel in Baltimore will allow slightly higher speeds in the coming years.

Acela and the slower Northeast Regional service have been adding passengers along the corridor, thanks in part to  heftier I-95 tolls,  aggressive pricing on the regional trains,  and the overall hassles at big airports.

A final note:  The pitch earlier in the year by Tesla's Elon Musk that Amtrak should be privatized may be on the back burner with the Trump Administration.

 At an event in Washington, D.C., Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was on hand to praise the new service and gave no indications that Amtrak is not on the sales block.

 Additionally, the Trump Administration appears to have a more socialist bent than its predecessors. It's taking a 10% interest in tech giant Intel and has not ruled out similar moves, much to the dismay of some Republicans.

But as we know, policies can change in a heartbeat.

Frontier beefs up service from BWI.

Frontier Airlines is adding flights from Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall Airport.

According to BWI officials, Frontier added the following routes:

• Fort Lauderdale to Houston, starting on Nov 20.
• Cancún (CUN), beginning on November 22.
• New Orleans, starting on Feb 12.

The BWI expansion was part of an overall announcement by Frontier of added service, which includes flights from Dallas, Houston, Detroit, and other cities.

The flights will put added pressure on Spirit Airlines, which has an 8% market share at BWI. The airport is dominated by Southwest, which has a 70% market share. Frontier currently has limited service out of BWI.

Spirit last week filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time, apparently with no suitor waiting in the wings in a prepackaged deal.

That has led to speculation that the airline will sell off some of its jets and emerge as a smaller company.  

Frontier could also snap up a weakened Spirit at a bargain price. Frontier dropped out of earlier bidding for Spirit. JetBlue topped Frontier with its offer, but was unable to get the deal past a federal judge.

Frontier has achieved some success in Philadelphia, offering flights to over two dozen destinations. However, competing head-to-head with American and Delta on some routes  led to mixed results. Frontier has not announced any major expansion of Philadelphia service in recent months.

Frontier doesn't have much patience with routes that don't attract passengers from the get-go. Its other issue is a bottom-tier customer service ranking. The low finish doesn't hurt as much in Philadelphia, thanks to American also ranking low in the J.D. Power and other surveys.

Still, Frontier has emerged as a distant No. 2 to American in the Philadelphia market share, surpassing United, Southwest, and Delta. None of the three has attempted to challenge American at its fortress hub.

WildPass deal

Update: Frontier has brought back a deep discount on its GoWild annual pass. The pass, which can cost $600, will drop to about $300 during a sale that ends on Sept. 5. Under this deal, the passenger can use the pass immediately, rather than waiting until May 2026.

The  pass, geared for retirees and those who can keep their bags packed, is offered when its jets have available seats. The passenger avoids the standard fare but still has to pay for baggage, seat assignments, and other charges.

The pass also has blackout dates that include the winter holidays and spring break.

Still, the pass may be a good deal for flexible travelers, since Frontier has a robust flight schedule from Philadelphia that may make it easier for a passenger to grab a seat to Orlando or Denver.

The pass also helps Frontier fill up its jets during a quiet travel period between now and Thanksgiving.