- Clocker (Amtrak)
Clocker was an
Amtrak rail service operating between Philadelphia andNew York City on theNortheast Corridor . It was the first service to be officially operated by Amtrak, when train number 235 left New York's Penn Station at 12:05 AM onMay 1 ,1971 bound for Philadelphia. The last Clocker train ran onOctober 28 ,2005 . To replace the discontinued Clocker service,New Jersey Transit added four express trains onOctober 31 ,2005 between Trenton and New York City operating on approximately the same schedule as the former Clocker trains.Amtrak's Clockers were rush-hour trains, mainly serving the
commuter and day-trip market to New York City. New Jersey Transit (NJT) passholders could ride "Clockers", which were listed in the NJT timetable in addition to Amtrak's. They were popular with those who commuted to New York from Trenton and Princeton Junction, as they were faster and more comfortable than NJT trains.Clockers made all, or almost all, Amtrak stops between
30th Street Station in Philadelphia and Penn Station in New York, unlike Amtrak's "Regional" trains which often skipped less-busy stations. The trains were unreserved, coach class only, and usedAmfleet rolling stock.The term "Clocker" originated with the
Pennsylvania Railroad which had hourly train service between Penn Station in New York and Broad Street Station in Philadelphia. These were briefly rebranded as "Acela Commuter" in 2001 when Amtrak decided to use that moniker in conjunction with most trains along theNortheast Corridor . Following mass rider confusion between this service and the high-speedAcela Express service, the name was returned to "Clocker" in 2003.
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