Starting September 23, Amtrak is introducing a non-stop Acela route that heads from New York City to Washington, D.C. each morning, and back to the Big Apple each night. Yes, it only shaves about 15 minutes off the usual Acela route between the two cities—but at just two hours and 35 minutes long, the high-speed ride sure beats fighting through TSA security lines, waiting in New York's crowded airports, and sitting in a cramped plane for an hour and a half. Beyond just speed, the train route also offers a consistency that air travel can't, Amtrak officials say. "There are days when we see large amounts of bookings coming simply because customers are worried about air traffic control or weather delays—and what we attribute that to is predictability," says Roger Harris, Amtrak's chief marketing officer. "Because even when we have hard days, which we do as well, our [reliability] is generally much higher than in the air."

For now, the non-stop routes will be limited to weekdays, with a southbound train leaving at 6:35 a.m. and a northbound train departing from D.C. at 4:30 p.m. While geared toward business travelers, it shouldn't stop you from using the new, faster route to take an easy long weekend in either city—in D.C. to stop by some stellar museums and eat an incredible meal without worrying about a line, or in New York to explore the outer boroughs or relax at one of the city's many rooftop bars.

You'll get everything you're used to on Acela here, too, like a quiet car for working on Amtrak's Wi-Fi, a café car, and a first-class cabin, which offers a two-by-one seat arrangement, delivered meal service, and individual outlets to charge up your devices.

Don't expect this to be the last non-stop, either: according to Harris, this route is potentially the first of many. "With this route, we're testing the waters of what we can do after we start taking delivery of the new Acela trains in 2021," he says. With top speeds of 160 miles per hour compared to the current Acela's 150 and a 30 percent increase in seats, the new trains will expand Acela frequency, non-stop or otherwise, between New York and D.C. and New York and Boston in the coming years. (Don't worry, that increase in passenger capacity won't interfere with Amtrak's 39 inches of legroom. "The trains are just designed more efficiently," Harris says.)

We're just rooting for Sunday night service to really make an easy day-trip or two-day vacation out of it.