The Clocker was a passenger train service between Philadelphia and New York City on the Northeast Corridor at first by the Pennsylvania Railroad and later by Amtrak. The service was nicknamed the Clocker by riders as trains were scheduled to leave each terminal at the top of the hour. The name was eventually adopted into official use by Amtrak in 1981. The service was briefly renamed Acela Commuter in 1999 before the name reverted to Clocker in 2003.
A GG1 pulling a Clocker departing Philadelphia in 1976
An Amtrak Clocker train pulled by a NJ Transit locomotive at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station in 2003
The Northeast Regional is an intercity rail service operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. In the past it has been known as the NortheastDirect, Acela Regional, or Regional. It is Amtrak's busiest route, carrying 9,163,082 passengers in fiscal year (FY) 2023. The Northeast Regional service received more than $787.7 million in gross ticket revenue in FY 2023.
Northeast Regional in Madison, Connecticut, in April 2015
An HHP-8 locomotive and Amfleet I cars in Acela Regional branding at South Station in Boston, in March 2002
The NortheastDirect branding was used for most Northeast Regional services between 1995 and 2003
A Northeast Regional crosses the James River near Lynchburg, Virginia, in April 2011