“We are making progress on our new high-speed Acela trainsets that will redefine the customer experience on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor when they enter service in 2021,” the statement said.

The image shows an Acela train stretched across tracks in Hornell, N.Y., outside Alstom Transport, where the trains are being built, Amtrak said in a statement.

Amtrak released a photo Thursday of the first prototype of the new Acela Express train fleets set to go into service in 2021.

Amtrak announced in 2016 that Alstom would build 28 new trainsets as one of the upgrades funded by a $2.45 billion loan from the US Department of Transportation. The money will fund projects to improve service along Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor.


The new trains will travel as fast as 160 miles per hour, said Jason Abrams, a spokesman for Amtrak. The current trains reach up to 150 miles per hour when traveling between Boston and New Haven, and up to 135 miles between New York City and Washington, D.C., according to Amtrak.

The upgraded trains will have a modernized interior, including LED screens and accessible restrooms, Amtrak said in a statement in August 2018. The trains will hold about 30 percent more passengers than the current trains.

The Acela Express runs between Boston, New York City, and Washington, D.C., according to Amtrak. The first Acela trains ran in December 2000.

Globe Correspondents Breanne Kovatch and Olivia Quintana contributed to this report. Alyssa Lukpat can be reached at alyssa.lukpat@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @AlyssaLukpat.