Lake Shore Limited dining car In profiling a train for Trains’ 1,000th issue whose New York and Boston sections average just under 1,000 miles, it isn’t possible to relate more than a fraction of what has made trips aboard the Lake Shore Limited so memorable through the years. [See “Lake Shore Limited: A Survivor,” Trains, […]
Railroad: Amtrak
New Acelas pass computer modeling test, New York Times reports
WASHINGTON — Amtrak’s new Acela trainsets have finally cleared a computer-modeling hurdle that has stalled testing, the New York Times reports. The trains passed computer modeling tests on the 14th try and have been cleared by the Federal Railroad Administration to begin test runs between Washington and Boston, Amtrak officials told the Times on Friday. […]
Amtrak announces another round of weather cancellations (corrected)
CHICAGO — Amtrak has announced a significant number of cancellations beginning Thursday, Jan. 11, for long-distance and state-supported trains serving Chicago in anticipation of a major winter storm expected to hit the Midwest Friday and Saturday. The majority of cancellations are Friday and Saturday. Also affected are St. Louis-Kansas City trains and, on the West […]
Amtrak thins out Northeast departures in response to winter storm forecast
WASHINGTON — As the next mix of high winds, rain, and snow moved up the East Coast, Amtrak cancelled frequencies for trains departing late today (Tuesday, Jan. 9) and early Wednesday but managed to preserve some service on all Northeast routes. This was the same scenario the company used earlier in the week when some […]
Amtrak corridors, Brightline offer winter fare sales (updated)
Discounts have been announced on regional corridors throughout the U.S. for winter coach-class rail travel. As expected, there are restrictions, and in certain cases booking codes need to be input to take advantage of lower fares. Such discounts help establish a ridership base on departures where demand is light, allowing carriers to raise prices as […]
Amtrak’s move to Miami airport station still in limbo
MIAMI—South Florida commuter operator Tri-Rail will begin expanding its ridership base by initiating service to Brightline’s center-city Miami terminal next Saturday, Jan. 13, but Amtrak continues to delay moving its long-distance Silver Star and Silver Meteor from an isolated facility 80 blocks north of downtown at Hialeah to a modern Miami International Airport station that […]
On the ‘Lake Shore Limited,’ a diner debut, and a flamboyant waiter
Lake Shore Limited Oct. 3, 2011, wasn’t just another day in the life of the Lake Shore Limited. That’s because just ahead of two New York Viewliner sleeping cars on eastbound train 48 out of Chicago was dining car No. 8400, on its first revenue run after a top-to-bottom refurbishment at Amtrak’s Beech Grove Heavy […]
Man killed in Coast Starlight shooting was disabled, had mental health issues
MT. SHASTA, Calif. — The man killed in a Christmas Day shooting by a police office on board Amtrak’s Coast Starlight was disabled and suffered from mental health issues, his mother told the Redding Record Searchlight. Nicholas Detweiler Haritoudis, 32, was a train passenger, traveling from Klamath Falls, Ore., to California’s Sonoma County, when was […]
Amtrak announces service changes, cancellations in advance of winter storm forecasts
NEW YORK — Amtrak has cancelled or modified service for a number of trains in the Northeast beginning on Saturday, and taken similar steps for services in and around the Midwest beginning Sunday, according to a service advisory posted this evening (Friday, Jan. 5) on the Amtrak website and the Amtrak Alerts feed on social […]
Survey launched for Chicago Union Station customers
CHICAGO — Two architectural design companies and Amtrak are soliciting input from people who frequent Chicago Union Station before embarking on a renovation project at the busy facility. The outreach is part of a process to determine the latest round of improvements being funded in part by a recent Federal-State Partnership grant [see “Chicago Union […]
Northeast Corridor service restored after Amtrak computer issues (updated)
NEW YORK — Amtrak has fully restored service on the Northeast Corridor following computer and signal issues earlier today (Dec. 31, 2023), the company said in a post on the social media site X at 11 a.m. ET. NJ Transit and SEPTA, which were also affected, report their service has also resumed. Amtrak initially reported […]
Top 10 stories of 2023, No. 4: Amtrak’s ongoing capacity issues
WASHINGTON — Amtrak touted across-the-board gains compared with 2022 in each of its three business units in its recap of results for fiscal 2023. But less equipment available for long-distance trains triggered near constant sellouts on portions of those routes throughout the year. As a result, ridership and revenue growth for the inter-regional segment was […]