Amtrak announced today (Nov. 13) that it will operate eight extra trains between Chicago and downstate Illinois for the 2015 Thanksgiving travel period. Three other trains will operate on modified schedules on the heaviest holiday travel days.
Extra Lincoln Service trains will operate between Chicago and Bloomington/Normal on Wednesday (Nov. 25) and Sunday (Nov. 29)
No. 309 will depart Chicago at 10:30 a.m. and arrive in Bloomington/Normal at 12:58 p.m. with intermediate stops at Summit, Joliet, Dwight and Pontiac.
No. 308 will depart Bloomington/Normal at 1:15 p.m. and arrive in Chicago at 3:39 p.m., making the same intermediate stops as Train No. 309.
Lincoln Service train No. 300 will depart St. Louis 35 minutes earlier on Nov. 25 and 29 en route to Chicago.
The scheduled departure time for No. 300 is 4:35 a.m. but on Wednesday and Sunday it will depart at 4 a.m. The Chicago arrival time will be 9:25 a.m.
No. 301 will depart from Chicago 30 minutes later on Wednesday and Sunday at 7:30 a.m, with a scheduled St. Louis arrival time of 12:40 p.m.
Extra Carl Sandburg service will operate on Nov. 25 and 29. No. 385 will depart Chicago at 11:30 a.m. and make all regular stops en route to Quincy, Illinois, where it is scheduled to arrive at 3:53 p.m.
No. 384 will depart Quincy at 1 p.m. on Nov. 25 and 29 and is scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 5:23 p.m.
Intermediate stops served by Nos. 384 and 385 include LaGrange Road, Naperville, Plano, Mendota, Princeton, Kewanee, Galesburg and Macomb.
The Illinois Zephyr will operate from Quincy to Chicago on a later schedule on Nov. 25 and 29. No. 383 will depart Chicago at 6:15 p.m. and arrive in Quincy at 10:38 p.m.
The schedule of the Illinois Zephyr from Quincy to Chicago will not change during the Thanksgiving holiday period.
Amtrak said that it will operate every available passenger rail car in its fleet during the Thanksgiving period.
In 2014, Amtrak carried a record 772,211 passengers during the Thanksgiving travel period, the most ever for the holiday. The railroad said in a news release that it expects similar passenger counts this year.
The busiest travel days are the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after the holiday. Other than Thanksgiving Day, morning trains typically have more available seats than those in the afternoon or evening.
Tags: Amtrak, Amtrak extra sections, Amtrak's Lincoln Service, Lincoln Service, Thanksgiving holiday travel
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