LSL, Midwest Corridor Trains Back on Track

Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited returned to service on Wednesday and no Midwest Corridor trains have been cancelled for Thursday.

Some services remain suspended in New York State and a handful of Midwest trains were cancelled on Wednesday.

Trains that did not operate on Wednesday included Woverine Service Nos. 351 and 353 between Chicago and Detroit (Pontiac); Lincoln Service No. 300 from St. Louis to Chicago; Blue Water No. 365 from Port Huron, Michigan, to Chicago; and Illinois Zephyr No. 382 from Quincy, Illinois, to Chicago.

In New York State, cancellations for Thursday include the New York-Toronto Maple Leaf between Toronto and Rochester; Empire Service No. 250 between Niagara Falls and Albany -Rensselaer; and Empire Service Trains 281, 281 and 284 between Niagara Falls and Syracuse.

The Empire Service trains will operate to and from New York City east of Rochester and Syracuse.

Amtrak’s Empire Builder has resumed operating between Chicago and St. Paul, Minnesota, for remains suspended west of St. Paul.

Lincoln Service Roundtrip to be Restored

Amtrak was expected to restore this week one Lincoln Service roundtrip that had been suspended since mid-September.

No. 300 departs St. Louis at 4:30 a.m. and is scheduled to arrive at Chicago Union Station at 9:39 a.m. No. 305 departs Chicago at 5:20 p.m. and is scheduled to arrive in St. Louis at 10:36 p.m.

Both trains were suspended on Sept. 17. No. 305 was to return today (Nov. 17) while No. 300 would make its first trip on Friday from St. Louis.

At the time of their suspension, Amtrak has cited equipment shortages.

The Chicago-St. Louis corridor was the first Midwest route to be assigned new Venture coaches back in February.

But those assignments proved to be short lived due to a series of mechanical issues involving the cars.

Those issues are slowly being resolved and Venture cars have returned to revenue service on various routes, including the Chicago-Grand Rapids Pere Marquette, where two of the three cars assigned to the train are Venture coaches.

Dates Set for Amtrak Service Restorations

Daily operation on three Amtrak will be phased into place during the first week of October.

Trains magazine reported on its website that daily operation of the New York-New Orleans Crescent will resume on Oct. 4 and for the City of New Orleans between Chicago and New Orleans on Oct. 8.

Those dates correspond to the first dates that those trains would not have operated under the current operating conditions of running five days a week.

The New York-Miami Silver Meteor, which has been suspended since last January, will resume operating on Oct. 3.

The Trains report said that originally Amtrak said it would reinstate daily service on all three routes starting Sept. 11. But the service suspensions have been extended into October.

In suspending service on these and other routes last mid-January Amtrak cited a shortage of workers in its mechanical and onboard services departments as well as COVID-19 pandemic complications.

The suspended service on most long-distance routes has since been restored.

Amtrak has also restored some suspended services in the Northeast Corridor, including an overnight train between Boston and points in Virginia.

The New York-Toronto Maple Leaf was restored over the length of its route on June 27 and a second St. Louis-Kansas City Missouri River Runner was restored on July 17.

Still suspended are the New York-Montreal Adirondack, the Chicago to Carbondale, Illinois, Saluki, and the Carbondale to Chicago Illini.

Trains reported service restorations made or planned thus far reflect Amtrak’s belief of what service can be reliably supported with the existing labor force and the equipment that is operable.

Hiawatha Service being Restored May 23

Full restoration of Amtrak’s Hiawatha Service will be implemented on May 23.

There will be seven weekday round-trips between Chicago and Milwaukee with an additional Chicago departure on Friday nights.

The Saturday schedule will be seven departures from Milwaukee and six from Chicago. On Sunday there will be six round-trips.

Also being restored are two daily round-trip Amtrak Thruway buses between Green Bay and Milwaukee, with stops in De Pere, Appleton, Oshkosh and Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Amtrak said this service provides connections to and from Chicago using Hiawatha trains.

Reservations will continue to be required for travel on the Hiawathas and other pandemic safety measure remain in effect.

Amtrak said those with monthly or 10-ride passes must confirm their travel plans using Amtrak RideReserve on the company website or smartphone apps.

Capitol Corridor Service to Expand June 7

Capitol Corridor passenger service will increase on June 7, officials said this week.

The announcement said growing ridership demand, funding support and improving public health conditions are making the expansion possible.

Service will increase to 22 weekday and 18 weekend trips. The current level of service is now 16 weekday and 10 weekend trips.

The schedule change will result in a return to  pre-pandemic service between Oakland and San Jose.

However, officials do not expect complete pre-pandemic schedules to be in effect until sometime in 2022.

New York-Harrisburg Keystone to be Restored

One New York-Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Keystone Service roundtrip will be restored on July 6.

The restoration is part of an ongoing restoration of service funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation that began June 1.

All Pennsylvania-funded Amtrak service had been suspended on March 18 during the COVID-19 pandemic after the state imposed stay home orders.

The restored New York-Harrisburg trains include No. 640, which is scheduled to leave Harrisburg at 5 a.m. and No. 653, scheduled to depart New York at 5:10 p.m.

Modified Keystone Service that resumed on June 1 will continue operating between Harrisburg and Philadelphia. That includes nine weekday roundtrips and six weekend roundtrips.

In a news release, Amtrak cited increased travel demand for resuming New York-Harrisburg service.

The New York-Pittsburgh Pennsylvanian also resumed operating on June 1.

Hiawatha Service Restoration to Begin June 1

Amtrak’s Hiawatha Service between Chicago and Milwaukee was will be gradually restored starting June 1 with one roundtrip.

Additional weekday service will return on June 29. Amtrak suspended Hiawatha Service in favor of a Thruway bus on April 24.

Starting June 1, Train No. 332, which departs Milwaukee at 8:05 a.m. will resume along with No. 339, which departs Chicago at 5:08 p.m.

On June 29 Amtrak will restores Nos. 330, 332, 338 and 342 southbound, and Nos. 329, 331, 337 and 339. Nos. 330 and 329 will operate Monday through Friday only.

The Chicago-Seattle/Portland Empire Builder, which uses the same route as the Hiawathas, will continue to stop at all stations served by Hiwathas through June 29.

Effective with that date Nos. 7/27 and 8/28 will cease stopping at Sturtevant and the Milwaukee Airport stations.

Hiawatha tickets will no longer be honored aboard the Empire Builder effective June 29.

Reservations will be required for travel on all trains and passengers must weak a fabric mask.

Pennsylvanian, Keystones to be Restored June 1

Amtrak announced this week that the New York-Pittsburgh Pennsylvanian will resume service on June 1.

On the same day Amtrak will begin restoring Keystone Service between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Keystone service will initially be nine weekday roundtrips with six roundtrips operated on weekends.

There will be no Keystone Service between Philadelphia and New York for now as there was before the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Amtrak said all trains will operate at less than full capacity to allow for social distancing.

Other service restorations set for June 1 include restoration of Acela service with three weekday roundtrips.

Northeast Regional service will increase from eight to 10 roundtrips in the Northeast Corridor.

FRA Southeastern Regional Rail Service Study May Lead to Restoring Chicago-Florida Service

Discussions about establishing a Jacksonville, Florida, to Nashville, Tennessee, intercity rail corridor are being seen as a precursor for linking Chicago and the Southeast by rail again.

The discussion is part of the Southeast Regional Rail Plan study being undertaken by the Federal Railroad Administration.

Other routes being discussed include creating connections from existing Amtrak service to Ashville and Wilmington, North Carolina; and the North Carolina and South Carolina beaches and tourist destinations.

The study also is looking at opportunities for other east-west corridors, including those that might connect northward, e.g., Petersburg-Lynchburg, Virginia; Roanoke-Bristol, Virginia;  Knoxville-Nashville, Tennessee; and Nashville- Memphis, Tennessee.

A focus of the study is finding ways to bring service to college towns and their high concentration of frequent travelers.

Amtrak’s Floridian linked Chicago and Florida until being discontinued in October 1979.

There was direct service between Chicago and the Southeast in the middle to late 1980s and the early 1980s when through cars operated on the Capitol Limited and Silver Star via a connection in Washington.

In a related development, Amtrak said it expects to begin service between Lynchburg and Roanoke this fall provided that adequate station facilities are finished in Roanoke by that time.

The service will be funded by the State of Virginia and is an extension of a Northeast Regional service train that now originates in Lynchburg. Roanoke lost Amtrak service on Oct. 1, 1979, when the Catlettsburg (Kentucky)-Washington Hilltopper was discontinued.

The Virgnia Department of Rail is studying funding another train from Washington to Lynchburg that might be extended to Roanoke.

In another development, construction of a union station in Raleigh, North Carolina, recently passed the halfway point and is expected to open in early 2018.

Work began in May 2015 for the $90 million facility that will be served by Amtrak and Go Triangle bus service.

Once completed, Raleigh Union Station will have restaurants and shops and provide a venue for events.

Raleigh is served by the North Carolina-funded Piedmonts between Raleigh and Charlotte, the New York-Charlotte Carolinan, and the New York-Miami Silver Star.