WASHINGTON — Three significant issues remain to address concerns by operators of Amtrak’s state-supported services over cost-allocation practices by the national passenger operator, according to a new report from the Amtrak Office of Inspector General. Concerns over these issues “affect [state agencies’] trust in Amtrak, with about one third telling the OIG they have low […]
CHICAGO — “Give yourself a big round of applause,” conductor Erik Newsom enthusiastically announced over the public address system of Amtrak train No. 303 as it left Chicago for St. Louis on Tuesday morning. “You’re the very first to ride Amtrak’s new Midwest cars!” Clapping followed, but that was the extent of the morning’s fanfare […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has set details for its upcoming hearing on Amtrak’s effort to launch passenger service on the Gulf Coast. The initial phase, public comments, is set for Feb. 15, with the hearing on Amtrak’s request to begin on March 9. Public comment will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 15. […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak has announced a new series of cancellations because of a winter storm, this time for today (Wednesday, Feb. 2) and Thursday, Feb. 3, on Midwest state-supported routes and some long-distance trains beginning or ending in Chicago. Trains affected today include City of New Orleans departures from Chicago and New Orleans; the westbound […]
Second of two parts Two veteran Amtrak employees retired last year after lengthy tours of duty on the New York-Washington-Indianapolis Chicago Cardinal, and a regular on the train reached out to suggest their stories were worth telling. Previously, we spent time with sleeping-car attendant Janice Adams [see “Two ‘Cardinal’ veterans look back …,” Trains.com, Jan. […]
JOLIET, Ill. — More than a year after making their first test runs, the Siemens Venture equipment built for state-supported Amtrak service in the Midwest made their first revenue trip Tuesday morning on Lincoln Service train No. 303 from Chicago to St. Louis. The equipment is scheduled to return this evening on train No. 306, […]
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Some may take the physical presence of a station agent for granted, especially in a world that has learned to do more with less interaction. But the story of how West Virginia regained its only agent back helps underpin the importance of humanizing the passenger railroad experience. In April 2018, before the […]
WASHINGTON — The spike in COVID-19 infections and quarantines among Class I railroad employees has continued this month and hit a pandemic high in the week ending Jan. 22, according to the most recent data from the Federal Railroad Administration. Overall, 2,275 Class I employees contracted the virus, including 1,374 in the East and 901 […]
Amtrak has extended some of its service cancellations and modifications in the Northeast into today (Sunday, Jan. 30) in the wake of Saturday’s major winter storm. Most trains are running, as are most of the region’s rail transit systems. Cancelled today, according to an advisory on the Amtrak website, are Northeast Regional trains 150, 160, […]
WASHINGTON — With a major winter storm predicted, Amtrak has cancelled all service on Saturday, Jan. 29, between New York and Boston, as well as all New Haven-Springfield, Mass., shuttles and the Vermonter. Forecasts call for up to 2 feet of snowfall for the Boston area and lesser but uncertain amounts further south through Rhode […]
Union Pacific has earned a 100% score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index, earning it a place on the foundation’s “Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality list, the railroad has announced. Union Pacific was the only railroad to earn a 100% score. Amtrak and BNSF Railway also scored well, at 90% […]
ORLANDO, Fla. — Travelers planning to take Amtrak between Washington, D.C., and Florida now have two choices: The Miami-New York Silver Star, which also serves Tampa and Orlando, and Auto Train, operating from Sanford, Fla. (near Orlando), and Lorton, Va., just south of the Nation’s Capital. A third choice, the Miami-New York Silver Meteor, has been […]
