Gotta Act Fast on the Prairie

It is the early years of Amtrak operation on the Chicago-St. Louis corridor.

The trains are still pulled much of the time by former Gulf, Mobile & Ohio locomotives but the array of liveries and names on the letter boards gives testimony to the mish mash of equipment that Amtrak is operating.

To the south is the headlight of the northbound Abraham Lincoln.

It is coming fast, really fast. These two images were all that the photographer could manage to get as the train blasted through Lexington, Illinois.

That is U.S. Route 66 in the background in front of the locomotive nose in the top image.

Seemingly as fast as it came, the train was gone. All that was left was the rustle of the wind, traffic noise and a memory of something that would soon be vanishing into the annals of history.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

SB Illini to Run 30 Minutes Later Due to CN Track Work

Canadian National track work will result in temporary schedule changes for Amtrak’s Chicago to Carbondale, Illini, between Nov. 2 and 20.

Train 393 during that period will depart Chicago at 4:35 p.m., 30 minutes later than normally scheduled, on Monday through Friday.

Train arrival times will be 30 minutes later than scheduled at all stations to Carbondale.

The normal schedule will be in effect on Saturdays and Sundays.

Stations in Havre, Holdrege See Changes

Amtrak customer service representatives have begun staffing the station in Havre, Montana.

They will assist passengers in making reservations for travel on the Chicago-Seattle/Portland Empire Builder and with boarding and disembarking from trains.

The station waiting room will be open at all train times.

In a service advisory Amtrak reminded passengers that it is no longer accepting cash for ticket purchases.

Tickets can only be purchased with a credit card, reloadable credit or debit card, or Amtrak gift cards.

In other station news, work has been completed on building a new boarding platform in Holdrege, Nebraska, for the California Zephyr.

In a service advisory, Amtrak said parking arrangements at the station have changed.

Parking is now being provided the city parking lot north of the train station.

The lot can be reached from Third Avenue with an entrance west of East Avenue. The lot is free and has no time limit.

Amtrak Website Tweaked to Help With Reserving Travel on Long-Distance Trains

Amtrak has tweaked its website to better help passengers plan travel on long-distance trains now that all of them except the Auto Train are operating tri-weekly or quad-weekly.

The “next travel day” feature will advise passengers seeking to make a reservation on the Amtrak website or via the Amtrak app that the train they wish to ride does not operate on the they have selected.

A popup screen will direct them to the next available day of operation.

However, passengers will still receive the message that “at least one portion of your trip is unavailable. Please try a different date and time.”

Updated timetables for long-distance trains that show days of operation also are available on the Amtrak website although finding them is a somewhat cumbersome task.

They will not come up when clicking on the “schedules” tab as was the case until last spring.

Instead, site users must click the “Destinations” tab. That brings up a U.S. map and clicking on the region of the country in you wish to travel will bring a list of rains operating in that region.

Clicking on a specific train brings up a box offering route “map” and “schedule” buttons.

Schedules that show long-distance and corridor trains are still unavailable.

Some corridor schedules are available on route specific websites although some of those still show timetables that are out of date.

Amtrak IG Calls for Expanded Drug Testing

The Amtrak Office of Inspector General called this week for an expansion of the carrier’s random drug testing program as a way to improve its ability to detect and deter opioid abuse by employees.

 The recommendation was made after the IG’s office studied 11,356 prescription and medical claims from 2019 and found 113 that met Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicators of potential opioid use.

The review also found 1,157 employees or about 10 percent of those in safety-related positions, has filled an opioid prescription while on active status thus making them at higher risk for impairment while the job.

The IG report recommends testing more employees and testing for more drugs.

Reservations Needed for Capitol Corridor Thanksgiving Travel

Reservations wlll be required to ride all Amtrak Capitol Corridor trains during the Thanksgiving travel period of Nov. 23-30.

A service advisory announcing the rule said it was being implemented in order to manage capacity and maintain social distancing.

Passengers traveling on monthly, six-ride, or 10-ride tickets will need to use the RideReserve feature at the Amtrak website or smartphone app, or make a confirmation via an Amtrak agent prior to the trip.

Crossing Over

Amtrak’s westbound Lake Shore Limited had a lot of time to make up when it departed Waterloo, Indiana, on Oct. 8 more than five hours late.

The delay had largely occurred the night before due to a storm near Albany, New York, that left tree limbs on the rails.

The Norfolk Southern dispatcher brought No. 49 into the station on Track No. 2 of the Chicago Line, but crossed it over to Track 1 just west of the station platform.

The image was made shortly before the LSL shifted from daily to tri-weekly operation but it had already begun operating with a reduced consist.

Minnesota Legislature Decline to OK Funding for New Amtrak Service

The Minnesota legislature declined to appropriate funding this year to support new Amtrak service between Chicago and the Twin Cities.

Rail passenger advocates had lobbied lawmakers to approve $10 million in matching funds for a federal grant to be used toward launching the service.

The $31.8 million Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Grant was awarded in September and is contingent upon it being matched by Minnesota, Wisconsin and Amtrak.

Amtrak has pledged $5 million while the Wisconsin Department of Transportation has agreed to kick in $6.2 million.

The Great River Rail Commission, which represents 18 governmental bodies in Minnesota and Wisconsin, indicated it will try again next year to win legislative approval of the funding from Minnesota lawmakers.

The proposed service would extend one Chicago-Milwaukee Hiawatha Service train to the Twin Cities.

The route is also served by the Chicago-Seattle/Portland Empire Builder.

Revenue Loss One of Amtrak’s Greatest Challenges

Steep revenue losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are confronting Amtrak with one of the greatest challenges it has faced in its 49-year history, the carrier’s Office of Inspector General has concluded.

That assessment came in a biennial report by the office reviewing the passenger railroad’s top performance and management challenges.

The IG said Amtrak must find ways to protect its resources, including how it uses $3.1 billion in currently available cash, and its ability to manage projects after losing a significant number of managers from a voluntary buyout plan.

“This year, the challenge of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic supersedes and permeates the company’s ability to address all other challenges,” the report said in a summary.

However, the IG said Amtrak also has opportunities to imagine a future that takes a fresh, holistic view of its circumstances and the forces that affect it.

The report is available at https://amtrakoig.gov/reading-room-documents/management-challenges/amtrak-top-management-and-performance-challenges-2?utm_campaign=mgmt_challenges&utm_source=pr&utm_medium=email

Federal Grant Awarded to Improve Keystone Line

Amtrak and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation have received a $15.9 million federal State of Good Repair grant that will be used on the Keystone Line.

The project involves signal upgrades on the Amtrak-owned line that is used by the intercity passenger carrier’s Keystone Service and Pennsylvanian trains.

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority trains also use the line.

The work will occur between Paoli and Overbrook and allow for bidirectional train movement on all tracks and higher operating speeds.

The line is owned by Amtrak.