Amtrak Station Briefs

The Amtrak station in Gallup, New Mexico, is closed and passengers no longer have access to the waiting room or restrooms.

In a service advisory, Amtrak said passengers can still reach the boarding platforms. The advisory did not provide a reason for the closure or say how long it would last.

The station closure began on Dec. 1. Gallup is served by Amtrak’s Chicago-Los Angeles Southwest Chief.

Amtrak’s station in Palm Springs, California, continues to be hindered by high winds and sandstorms that cause sand drifts near the station.

In a service advisory, Amtrak said its trains may bypass Palm Springs, which is served by the tri-weekly New Orleans-Los Angeles Sunset Limited, when conditions there are hazardous.

Passengers bound for Palm Springs on days when Trains 1 and 2 bypass the station will instead be taken to the Ontario, California, station located 70 miles west of Palm Springs.

No alternate transportation between Ontario and Palm Springs will be provided.

Amtrak said it is working with host railroad Union Pacific to implement a long-term fix.

The Amtrak Thruway stop in Virginia Beach, Virginia, has been moved. The current location is the Hampton Roads Transit Center at 1912 Arctic Avenue.

The new location will be Parks Avenue and 19th Street near the Virginia Beach Convention Center. The bus shelter is located between 19th and 20th Streets.

College Move-in Days to Disrupt Thruways

Amtrak Thruway bus service in San Luis Obispo, California, will be affected by road closures on Sept. 13 and 14 as students at Cal Poly University return to campus.

In a service advisory, Amtrak said some Thruway buses on those days will be unable to reach the Cal Poly stop or PAC Loop between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. when students will be moving into the school’s residence halls.

Affected on Sept. 13 will be buses 4010, 4015, 4761, 4765, 4770, 4784, 4785, 4794, 6238 and 6241. Affected on Sept. 14 will be Thruway Buses 4010, 4015, 4761, 4765, 4784, 4794, 6238 and 6241.

Amtrak said all Thruway service will run normally at the San Luis Obispo station stop on both days.

Events Affect Thruway Service in Truckee

Amtrak Thruway buses will detour in Truckee, California, through Aug. 11 on Thursdays due to the city’s Truckee Thursdays event that will result in road closures. The detours also will be in effect on July 4 due to a parade.

An alternative stop for Thruway buses has been established two blocks east of the Amtrak station.

The road closures include Donner Pass Road from Spring Street to Bridge and Church streets between 2:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Thursdays.

Interstate buses will take the I-80 exits east of downtown and the depot. Westbound traffic should use Exit 188 and Eastbound should use Exit 188A and proceed to Truckee Way, making a left onto Donner Pass Road for the temporary bus stop for drop off and pick up of passengers.

The same detour will be in effect on July 4 between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. during the Independence Day parade.

Amtrak Begins New Thruway in Pennsylvania

Amtrak has launched a new Thruway service in Pennsylvania linking Philadelphia with Reading and Pottstown.

The twice daily service is being operated by Krapf Coaches under a service agreement with Amtrak.

It is being sponsored in part by the South Central Transit Authority in Reading and the Pottstown Area Economic Development agency.

Temporary Disruptions Occurring at 2 Stations

Operations at two Amtrak stations are being temporarily disrupted.

In California, the South Lake Tahoe Y Transit Center is closed through June 14 due to utility and road work.

Passengers are being advised to use the alternate stop at 1040 Emerald Bay Road. The stop will be on the road in front of the South Y Shopping Center at the sidewalk.

In a service advisory, Amtrak said passengers seeking more information should visit CapitolCorridor.org or Amtrak.com; use the Amtrak mobile app; or call 877-974-3322 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, to speak to a Capitol Corridor representative.

In Eugene, Oregon, the Amtrak Thruway stop for the University of Oregon is being temporarily moved between June 8-11 due to the NCAA Track and Field Championships being held there.

Buses will temporarily stop at Lot 18, a parking lot located directly in front of the University of Oregon Clinical Services building, at 901 East 18th Avenue.

Allentown Thruway Bus Stop Moved

Amtrak Thruway buses now have a new stop in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

The stop is now at the LANTA Allentown Transportation Center, located at 110 North 6th Street. In a service advisory Amtrak said passengers will board at Gate B or C on North Church Street.

Vancouver Thruway Service Curtailed

Amtrak Thruway bus service to Vancouver, British Columbia, has been reduced through April 30.

A service advisory attributed the curtailment to the COVID-19 pandemic and its highly active Omicron variant.

The service is provided by Cantrail between Seattle and Vancouver and for now will be limited to two daily roundtrips on Buses 8911 and 8909 southbound, and 8906 and 8948 northbound.

Buses 8907 and 8900 are suspended through March 31 while Buses 8957 and 8914 are suspended through April 30.

New Thruway Added to Bellingham

Amtrak had added an additional Thruway bus between Seattle and Bellingham, Washington.

The bus service, which is being operated in cooperation with the Washington State Department of Transportation, will bring the number of roundtrip Thruway buses on the route to two daily.

Set to launch on Feb. 28, the new bus service is being provided by MRT Western.

In a service advisory Amtrak said Bus 5605 will depart Bellingham at 10:45 a.m. and connect with Cascades Service No. 505 in Seattle.

The return new bus route, No. 5604 will connect in Seattle with Cascades No. 504 and arrive in Bellingham at 6 p.m.

Other Thruway bus scheduled on the route include Bus 5677 departing Bellingham at 3 p.m. and connecting with Train 507 in Seattle. Bus 5622 connects from Train 500 at Seattle and arrives in Bellingham at 2:15 p.m.

Amtrak Eyes Philadelphia-Reading Thruway Bus

Amtrak may institute a Thruway express bus service from Philadelphia to the Pennsylvania cities of Reading and Pottstown.

The passenger carrier said the bus could be a precursor to establishing passenger rail service between Philadelphia and Reading. The proposed rail service is currently in the early stages of the planning process.

An Amtrak spokesman said the company is seeking a partner to provide the bus service. The spokesman issued a statement that said train service between Philadelphia and Reading will not be determined by bus ridership.

Amtrak Station News Bits

In a service advisory, Amtrak said its station in Lamy, New Mexico, is now unstaffed until further notice.

The station waiting room will be closed and no services will be available.

Passengers are being directed to go directly to the boarding platform to board the Southwest Chief, which serves Lamy on its Chicago-Los Angeles route.

In other station news, the Tacoma Dome station in Tacoma, Washington, moved to a new location on Nov. 18.

It is now located at Freighthouse Square, 422 East 25th Street, about a half-mile west of the old station on Puyallup Avenue and next to the Sound Transit station. 

The station is served by Amtrak Cascades trains and the Seattle-Los Angeles Coast Starlight.

The service advisory said all services that were available at the old station are available at the new station site.

Sound Transit ticketing options are available next door at the Sound Transit Facility.

In conjunction with the change, Northwestern Trailways Thruway bus service is now using the Tacoma Greyhound Station rather than the new Tacoma Dome station.

The bus station is located at 510 Puyallup Avenue, one block from the new Amtrak station location.

In another matter involving bus travel, Greyhound Bus Lines wants to use the Amtrak station in Rensselaer, Indiana.

The bus company recently told the Rennselaer city council that it is seeking approval from Amtrak to use the station, which is served by passenger carrier’s tri-weekly Cardinal (Chicago-New York)

Greyhound stops in Rensselaer twice a day five days a week on its Chicago-Indianapolis route.

In the meantime, Greyhound is using an interim boarding site at Filson Park between Front and Van Rensselaer streets.