User:MNW-NYC-2021/Atlantic City Express Service (ACES)

Atlantic City Express Service
GE Genesis P40DC #4800 runs in diesel under wire pulling Atlantic City Express Service (ACES) train #7163 through Elizabeth express down the Northeast Corridor to Atlantic City.
Overview
Locale	New York City to Newark to Atlantic City using Northeast Corridor and Atlantic City Line
Termini	Pennsylvania Station (New York City) Atlantic City Rail Terminal
Stations	3
Service
Type	Regional rail
System	New Jersey Transit rail operations
Operator(s)	New Jersey Transit
Technical
Character	Surface
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)

The Atlantic City Express Service (ACES) is run by New Jersey Transit between New York, New York and Atlantic City, New Jersey, operating along the Northeast Corridor and Atlantic City Line. It runs over trackage that was controlled by both the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines. It shares trackage with SEPTA and Amtrak on the Northeast Corridor until it crosses the Delaware River on its own Delair Bridge into New Jersey. The Atlantic City Line also shares the right-of-way with the PATCO Speedline between Haddonfield and Lindenwold, NJ. There are 14 departures each day in both directions. Conrail also uses the line for freight movements (which are segregated) on small sections, including the NEC-Delair Bridge section to its main freight yard in Camden, New Jersey. However, the line does not have a "peak period" of additional fares during a weekday. [2]

History

In June 2006, the board of New Jersey Transit accepted a plan for Express service between Atlantic City, New Jersey and Pennsylvania Station in Midtown Manhattan, for a three year trial to begin in 2007.

Service will be provided with station stops at New York Penn Station and Newark Penn Station, then directly to Atlantic City in about two and one-half hours. New train cars will be provided by Amtrak and service will be partially funded by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (MGM Mirage) and Atlantic City Express Service, LLC (ACES) (Boyd Gaming Corporation), which are the companies that own Bally's, Harrah's, Showboat, Caesars, Borgata, Resorts, and Tropicana casinos in Atlantic City.

The service will bypass Philadelphia and enter the Atlantic City Line directly from the Northeast Corridor Line. Only 25% of the seats are slated for sale to the general public, with the rest reserved for the casinos backing the new train service.

At first it was said that the new express train service will initially have no stops in New Jersey, and run directly from Penn Station New York to Atlantic City. However, as of March 16th, 2008, casino officials and NJ Transit have agreed that there will be a stop in New Jersey at Newark's Penn Station.

The new service will have the nickname of "ACES" which stands for Atlantic City Express Service and is also a play on the aces card found in a deck of playing cards used in Atlantic City casinos.

Station listing

The trains serve the following stations:

City	Station	Operator	Connections
New York, New York	Penn Station	NJT	Amtrak, LIRR, MTA Subway, MTA Buses
Newark, New Jersey	Penn Station	NJT	Amtrak, Newark Subway
Atlantic City, New Jersey	Rail Terminal	NJT	Atlantic City Bus Terminal (2 blocks east of the station): NJT 501, 502, 504, 505, 507, 508, 509, 551, 552, 553, 554, 559 buses NOTE: The 552 stops directly at the rail terminal.