I was in New York that Friday for a publishing conference and needed to get to Atlantic City that evening. It sounded like the perfect opportunity to check out ACES again. But my plan hit the first snag when I looked at the ACES schedule. Only two trains run out of New York on Fridays—at 2:28 pm and 8:17 pm. I’d either need to cut out of the conference early or get into Atlantic City at 11 pm—not exactly conducive to dinner and a night out.
While ACES is a direct route to Atlantic City from NYC and Newark Penn Station, it’s at the mercy of Amtrak and New Jersey Transit since ACES didn’t build its own tracks. So they get whatever those two lines don’t want, like 2:28 pm and 8:17 pm departure times on Fridays. (Newark departure times are about 15-20 minutes after the NYC departures.) There are three southbound trains on Saturday and four on Sunday. Heading north, ACES runs once on Friday, and four times on Saturday and Sunday.
My car in coach class on the 2:28 pm Friday train was about half full. Most of the trip was smooth—I slept from NYC to Philadelphia, which is where the train switches tracks from Amtrak to NJ Transit. And that’s where the trouble began.
The train stopped six times, one time announced as “mechanical failure,” the others— when they were announced—as stop signals to let other trains through. I could have run faster than the train as it passed through Cherry Hill and Haddonfield—my home turf.
ACES is also outfitted with private lounges that you can rent for your group. Midway through the trip, four gentlemen (two in sunglasses and faux straw cowboy hats) opted to rent out the lounge in my car. When I first toured ACES, I thought the lounges were a great idea—a way to get your Atlantic City party started on the ride down, all in the privacy of your own booth with food service and iPod hook up.
What I didn’t realize, though, is that the only thing separating the lounge from the rest of the car is a thin curtain, which did little to block the sound of a drunken cowboy stomping his feet while singing over Rolling Stones songs. The car was not amused.
I arrived in Atlantic City 45 minutes late, and grumpy. The late arrival forced me to change my dinner plans—and I didn’t so much as drop a cent in the penny slots of any of the three casinos that subsidize the train.
Do I recommend it to folks in northern New Jersey? Yes. It’s the easiest way to get to AC in the summer—plus, they’ve dropped the coach prices down to $29 until July 5. Just make sure you can get out of work early—and avoid sunglass-wearing faux cowboys.