Amtrak to Begin Restoring Service From Chicago

Service on Amtrak’s Midwest corridor routes that radiate from Chicago will be canceled today (Jan. 31), but some long-distance trains will be reinstated.

All but one train will be restored by Friday Amtrak said in a service advisory.

Trains were canceled this week after a blast of arctic air sent temperatures plunging below zero and created dangerous wind chills.

Long-distance trains that will resume today include Chicago-Los Angeles (Southwest Chief), Chicago-San Francisco Bay (California Zephyr), Chicago-Seattle/Portland (Empire Builder), Chicago-New Orleans (City of New Orleans), Chicago-San Antonio/Los Angeles (Texas Eagle) and Chicago-Washington (Capitol Limited).

Long distance train that will not originate today include the Lake Shore Limited  (Chicago-New York/Boston) and the Cardinal (Chicago-New York)

On Friday all Midwest corridor services but one to and from Chicago will be restored.

The exception will be Carbondale to Chicago train No. 390 (Saluki), which will be restored on Saturday.

Amtrak Midwest corridor services to and from Chicago to be restored on Frida include Chicago-Milwaukee (Hiawatha Service), Chicago-Quincy (Carl Sandburg and Illinois Zephyr), Chicago-St. Louis (Lincoln Service), and Chicago-Carbondale (Illini and Saluki),Chicago and Indianapolis (Hooiser State), Chicago and Detroit [Pontiac] (Wolverine Service), Chicago and Port Huron (Blue Water), and Chicago and Grand Rapids (Pere Marquette).

Also resuming operation on Friday will be the Chicago-New York/Boston Lake Shore Limited and Chicago-New York Cardinal.

Passengers holding reservations on canceled trains will be rebooked on other trains without any additional fees.

Sunset in Rawlins

Amtrak’s westbound San Francisco Zephyr is making a service stop in Rawlins, Wyoming, which gave me time to get off the train and made a few images.

It is right before sunset on Oct. 25, 1981. I tried to work the sunset into a few angles with mixed results.

I was actually ticketed to Los Angeles via the Desert Wind, which ran combined with the SFZ east of Ogden, Utah.

The Wind is now long gone and the SFZ has been renamed California Zephyr and given a new route that bypasses Rawlins.

Although this trip was not my first experience with Superliner equipment, it was one of my earliest trips on the then-new cars.

Amtrak Cancels Most Midwest Service Due to Cold

Amtrak has canceled all trains that are scheduled to originate in Chicago today (Jan. 30) due to subzero temperatures in the Midwest.

This also includes trains that originate elsewhere today en route to Chicago.

Trains that originated on or before Jan. 29 will complete their trip to Chicago. Most of those are long-distance trains.

Amtrak said that all corridor trains will be canceled on Thursday, Jan. 31. Most long-distance trains originating in Chicago are also expected to be canceled on Thursday.

Also being canceled today and Thursday will be long-distance trains bound for Chicago that would be scheduled to arrive on Thursday and Friday.

One long-distance train, the Chicago to Seattle/Portland Empire Builder was canceled on Tuesday due to the severe cold.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari told Trains magazine that decision was made in consultation with host railroad BNSF, which handles the train for most of its route.

The only Amtrak trains that will originate in the Midwest today and Thursday will be the two Missouri River Runner round-trips between Kansas City and St. Louis.

Amtrak typically operates 55 trains daily to and from Chicago hub.

In a service advisory, Amtrak said passengers traveling on the affected trains will be able to change their travel to another date without an additional charge.

In a related development, intercity commuter carrier The South Shore Line suspended all service on Wednesday.

The carrier, which operates between Chicago and South Bend, Indiana, said a test train encountered “significant overnight wire problems.”

The South Shore said it will evaluate weather and operating conditions and determine later today if it will operate on Thursday.

The severe cold also prompted Chicago commuter railroad Metra to operate today on a modified schedule.

Minor Sked Changes Made in Keystone Corridor

Minor schedule changed took effect on Jan. 28 for Amtrak’s Keystone Service trains.

Train 664 will operate five minutes earlier between Harrisburg and Paoli, Pennsylvania, but arrive at its current scheduled time into Philadelphia.

Trains 605 and 663 will operate five minutes earlier from Philadelphia to Parkesburg, Pennsylvania.

Train 671 will operate 10 minutes earlier to Parkesburg, five minutes earlier from Lancaster to Middletown, and arrive in Harrisburg at its current scheduled time.

 

NTSB: Evidence Lost During Govt. Shutdown

The National Transportation Safety said this week that the partial government shutdown that recently ended may mean that some evidence may have lost that will not be able to be retrieved.

During the 35-day shutdown there were 22 accidents in which the agency did not send investigators to the scene.

“It is possible that perishable evidence may have been lost, which potentially could prevent determination of probable cause,” NTSB officials said in a statement.

Two of those 22 incidents involved fatalities on railroads. The NTSB did not gather evidence to determine if an investigation was warranted for one fatal railroad accident.

Of the 397 NTSB staff members, 367 were furloughed while 26 employees were excepted and remained on the job, albeit without being paid.

Four investigators were recalled to assist investigations of three international aviation accidents, the NTSB officials said in a news release.

The release also said the agency suspended work during the shutdown on 33 ongoing rail, pipeline and hazardous materials investigations.

It also delayed the launch of its 2019-20 Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements, which has been rescheduled to be released on Feb. 4.

Linking the Seventies With Today

There is much that has changed and much that has remained the same in this view of the southbound Shawnee leaving Mattoon, Illinois, during the summer of 1978.

Train No. 391 now operates under the name Saluki on approximately the same schedule that the Shawnee had. That means it is scheduled to depart Mattoon in late morning.

The tracks the Shawnee is using were at the time this image was made owned by Illinois Central Gulf, but today they are in the Canadian National system. Of course the heritage of this line is Illinois Central.

There are still two main tracks here but the tracks at the far left and far right are long gone. The mainline track to the left is now considered a siding.

Those tracks are relics of another era when the IC has branch line passenger service on its line between Peoria and Evansville, Indiana, that operated via Decatur and Mattoon.

Those trains were scheduled to operate between Mattoon and Evansville, and between Mattoon and Peoria. The Evansville passenger service ended in August 1939 while the Peoria passenger service was discontinued in March 1940. Somehow the tracks used by those trains at the Mattoon station survived for several more decades before being removed.

The bridge in the distance carries Charleston Avenue (U.S. Route 45 and Illinois routes 16 and 121) over the tracks. It has since been replaced.

Back in the late 1970s, the standard consist for the Shawnee was two Amfleet coaches and an Amcafe.

Amtrak still uses Amfleet equipment on Midwest corridor trains, but No. 391 today is a mixture of Amfleet and Horizon fleet cars.

Leading No. 391 is an F40PH. Amtrak years ago ceased using F40s to power its trains although a few remain on the roster as cab cars.

The equipment seen here will arrive in Carbondale, Illinois, in early to mid afternoon and be returned to return tonight to Chicago as train No. 392.

For those interested in such things, this photograph was made with Kodak Tri-x black and white negative film and scanned from the negative.

Bedford to Seek Grant for Amtrak Station

The Bedford, Virginia, town council is backing a bid by the Bedford/Franklin Regional Rail Initiative Committee to seek a $9.8 million grant from the state’s Department of Rail and Transportation to create an Amtrak station in Bedford.

The grant application also has received the support of the Bedford County Board of Supervisors.

Bedford interests are seeking a stop of an Amtrak Northeast Regional train that now terminates and originates in Roanoke, Virginia, to the west.

Bedford is located between Roanoke and Lynchburg, Virginia, both of which are served by Amtrak with Lynchburg also being served by the New York-New Orleans Crescent.

Amtrak began operating to Roanoke in October 2017.

“We have to apply for this grant in order to move forward on a feasibility study on a rail station,” Town Manager Bart Warner said. “This is not going to obligate us to anything, but is just part of the process.”

Officials estimate the station, expected to be located on Plunkett Street near Court Street, would be about $9 million, most of which would be paid for by the grant.

Bedford would have to pay for some site improvements with its own funds.

The BFRRI efforts began after the extension to Roanoke was announced but Bedford was not named as an intermediate stop.

Wende Gaylor, executive director for the Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce, said a meeting with Virginia Secretary of Transportation Shannon Valentine last November to discuss the station project went well.

Bedford previously was an Amtrak stop for the Hilltopper, which was discontinued in 1979.

Texas County Seeks Daily Sunset Limited

The Jefferson County Commissioners Court in Texas is trying to push for the tri-weekly Sunset Limited to operate daily.

The court voted unanimously to go on record as favoring daily operation of Nos. 1 and 2 in Southeast Texas.

Public officials in San Antonio, Houston and Tucson — all of which are served by the Sunset — have also expressed support for daily service.

The tri-weekly operation of the Sunset Limited has existed since the first day of Amtrak, a relic of less-than-daily service under Southern Pacific.

“I think if they want to make an appeal for more transportation-related opportunities for citizens along the Amtrak route, I’m certainly not going to stand in the way of that progress,” Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick said.

Those trying to get daily service by Nos. 1 and 2 have pointed to a growing population base in the states served by the train, including a 22 percent increase between 2000 and 2016.

However, a rail plan issued by the Texas Department of Transportation said that host railroad Union Pacific has told Amtrak it wants $750 million in track rehabilitation and other capital improvements before it will allow Nos. 1 and 2 to operate daily.

Huntley Wants to be Stop on Rockford Route

Officials in Huntley, Illinois, are pushing to be made a station stop for a proposed Amtrak route between Chicago and Rockford, Illinois.

They spoke at a Jan. 15 meeting in Rockford sponsored by the Rail Alliance Initiative for Northern Illinois that was attended by two Amtrak officials.

One of the potential routes that would be used for the service involves Union Pacific-owned tracks that pass through Huntley.

The other route passes to the south on tracks owned by Canadian National that were used by Amtrak’s Chicago-Dubuque, Iowa, Black Hawk, when it operated between 1974 and 1981.

That train stopped in Rockford.

Derrick James, senior manager of governmental affairs in Amtrak’s Chicago office, said Amtrak hopes to be able to make the trip between Chicago and Rockford in less than 90 minutes.

“One of the challenges I’ve had working with legislators is distinguishing between commuter rail and intercity passenger rail,” James said. “Amtrak’s charter is to run intercity trains . . . and our experience is that passenger service works between towns of good size. The train needs to get you as quickly as possible from Rockford to Chicago.”

There have been proposals in past years to link Huntley with Chicago by commuter rail agency Metra.

But Metra has been reluctant to build a connection at its Big Timber station in Elgin to the UP line that passes through Huntley.

The Midwest High Speed Rail Association has projected that it would cost $233 million to extend service beyond Elgin to Marengo, Huntley, Belvidere and Rockford by rebuilding the Union Pacific tracks and connecting them with the Metra Milwaukee West tracks at Big Timber Road.

James said having one stop between Chicago and Rockford would make the most sense for Amtrak and if that is the case it would likely be in Belvidere.

The push to revive Amtrak service to Rockford has been several years in the making.

In 2007 Amtrak conducted a feasibility that estimated the cost of reinstating the Black Hawk at $32 million to $55 million.

Glimpse of NYC’s Planned Metropolitan Lounge

Although its opening is two years away, some media outlets have been giving a glimpse at the plans for a new Metropolitan lounge for Amtrak passengers at New York’s Penn Station. The accounts are based on artist drawings that Amtrak has released.

The lounge is to be built in the Moynihan Train Hall, which expected to open in early 2021.

It will feature updated seating with USB ports and numerous electric outlets, a business center and dedicated customer service agents.

Passengers using the lounge will receive priority boarding. A rotating selection of hot and cold food items will be offered along with the availability of alcoholic beverages.

That would be an upgrade over the existing ClubAcela lounge located near Tracks 7 and 8 with its limited selection of snacks, soda and coffee.

The new lounge will be located 20 feet above the central hall, thus providing a prime people-watching spot.

Passengers entitled to use the lounge will include those holding Acela First Class or sleeping car tickets as well as Amtrak Guest Rewards Select Plus and Select Executive members.

The Moynihan hall will offer all passengers free Wi-Fi and a lactation lounge.