Amtrak Service Cancellations Continue

Amtrak has continued to cancel trains in the Midwest and East amid the effects of a winter storm that swept across the country and disrupted travel generally.

Several Midwest corridor trains did not operate on Saturday and will not operate today.

The latest service advisory posted on the Amtrak website shows the following trains will not operate on Christmas Day.

Lincoln Service Trains 300, 301, 302, 305 and 306 between Chicago and St. Louis; Missouri River Runner trains 311 and 316 between St. Louis and Kansas City; Trains 318 and 319 between Chicago and Kansas City via St. Louis; Hiawatha Service Trains 329, 332, 333, 336, 337, 340 and 343 between Chicago and Milwaukee; Wolverine Service Trains 352 and 353 between Chicago and Detroit (Pontiac); Blue Water No. 365 from Port Huron, Michigan, to Chicago; the Pere Marquette from Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Chicago; Illinois Zephyr No. 382 from Quincy, Illinois, to Chicago;

Several trains did not operate on Christmas Eve and have not yet been posted as cancelled for Christmas Day.

They include Lincoln Service Train 307; Hiawatha Service Train 341; Saluki Trains 391 and 382 between Chicago and Carbondale, Illinois; Wolverine Service Trains 350, 351, 354, 355, 364 and 365; and Pere Marquette Train 370 from Chicago to Grand Rapids.

Trains 318 and 319 have already been cancelled for Dec. 26.

In the East, the New York-Toronto Maple Leaf was cancelled between Syracuse and Niagara Falls on Saturday.

Empire Service Nos. 280, 281 and 283 were cancelled between Niagara Falls and Albany-Rensselaer on Saturday while No. 284 is cancelled on Sunday between Syracuse and Niagara Falls.

In the long-distance network, the Capitol Limited did not depart its terminals in Chicago and Washington on Saturday.

The Lake Shore Limited will not originate in Chicago, Boston or New York on Saturday or Sunday.

The Chicago-New York Cardinal did not operate on Saturday. Its next scheduled trip is out of New York on Christmas Day.

The Empire Builder between Chicago and Seattle/Portland continues to be suspended through Sunday.

Izaak Walton Inn Sold

Many travelers who use Amtrak’s Empire Builder to reach Glacier National Park have stayed at the Izaak Walton Inn.

The historic hotel, which was built 80 years ago by the Great Northern Railway, has been sold to LOGE Camps, which owns properties in Washington, Oregon and California, and is based in Seattle.

Although terms of the sale were not announced, hotel had been for sale for $17.9 million although that price was later lowered to $13.5 million.

LOGE Camps told Railfan & Railroad magazine that it plans to update the inn, which is a popular destination for railfans and has railroad artifacts throughout the facility.

The renovation plans will retain the inn’s historic character.

Amtrak Cancels Midwest Trains During Christmas Travel Period Due to Pending Winter Storm

Just in time for Christmas Amtrak is curtailing service in the Midwest in advance of a winter storm that will bring subzero temperatures and heavy snow in some places.

The cancellations affect corridor service from Chicago to Milwaukee, St. Louis and Detroit (Pontiac). Also affected is the route between St. Louis and Kansas City and the Chicago-Seattle/Portland Empire Builder.

The cancellations are in effect on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

Cancelled are Wolverine Service Trains 352 and 353 between Chicago and Pontiac; Lincoln Service Trains 300, 301, 305 and 306 between Chicago and St. Louis; and Hiawatha Service Trains 329, 332, 333, 336, 337 and 340.

On the Missouri River Runner route trains will not operate on Saturday or Sunday between St. Louis and Kansas City, which means there will be no Amtrak service on those dates.

The Empire Builder will not depart Chicago or from the West Coast on Tuesday and Wednesday.

BNSF Seeks Federal Grant to Upgrade Track Used by Amtrak’s Empire Builder in Montana

The route of Amtrak’s Empire Builder may be getting some upgrading.

BNSF is seeking a federal grant for track work on its Hi-Line across Montana used by the Chicago-Seattle/Portland train.

The Class 1 carrier has the support of the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority, which is seeking to bring back intercity rail passenger service to the southern part of the Treasure State.

If awarded, the $15 million grant would be used to rebuild the track between Malta and Havre, Montana.

News reports indicated that BNSF approached the Big Sky Authority to help in landing the grant because the railroad cannot pursue the grant on its own.

Amtrak Suspends Service in Advance of Possible Railroad Work Stoppage Later This Week

As railroads begin to embargo traffic ahead of a possible national railroad strike and/or lockout that could begin as early as Friday, legislation has been introduced in the Senate to settle the dispute.

Amtrak said it would suspend service on four long-distance routes in advance of a possible railroad work stoppage.

The Senate resolution would force railroad labor unions and railroads to accept the recommendations made last month by a presidential emergency board.

It was introduced by Sens. Richard Burr (R-North Carolina) and Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi).

Negotiations for a new contract have been ongoing for more than two years with unions representing locomotive engineers and train conductors at loggerheads with management over wages, benefits and work rules.

To date, eight of the 12 railroad labor unions have reached tentative contract agreements with the National Carriers Conference Committee, which represents railroad management in the negotiations.

Those agreements have been described in statements issued by the two sides as generally following the recommendations of the PEB.

The PEB issued its recommendations on Aug. 16 and under federal law strikes and/or lockouts are prohibited for 30 days following that. The 30-day cooling off period will expire at 12:01 a.m. on Friday.

Amtrak said it will suspend service today on the routes of the Southwest Chief, Empire Builder, California Zephyr and portions of the route of the Texas Eagle.

The latter involves the Los Angeles to San Antonio segment of the Texas Eagle route, which overlaps with the route of the Sunset Limited.

The passenger carrier said suspensions could expand to all routes outside the Northeast Corridor by the end of the week.

The Amtrak statement said suspensions being imposed today will ensure that the affected trains can reach their endpoint terminals before a strike and/or lockout begins.

Although neither Amtrak or its workers are parties to the railroad labor negotiations, the passenger carrier uses track owned by freight railroads where a strike and/or lockout may occur.

In the event of a strike and/or lockout, Amtrak said it would continue operating trains that wholly use track that it owns or is owned by public agencies.

This includes the Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington; the line between New Haven, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts; the Empire Corridor between New York and Albany-Rensselaer, New York; and the Keystone Corridor between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

An Amtrak statement said passengers affected by service suspensions due to the labor dispute will be contacted and offered the opportunity to change their travel dates or offered a full refund of their fare without any cancellation fees.

In a related developments, Class 1 railroads have begun embargoing certain types of shipments starting today.

Norfolk Southern told its shippers that it will stop accepting intermodal and automotive traffic.

The NS notice said it will close the gates for loaded or empty intermodal units at its terminals as of noon Tuesday and would also stop accepting traffic at on-dock port facilities and privately owned intermodal terminals.

The notice said the gates would remain open for intermodal pickup until further notice. Customers using railroad-operated EMP and TMX containers will be unable to make reservations after 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday. They will be able to return empty containers to NS terminals as normal until further notice.

Automotive traffic gates will close at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, with an embargo on auto traffic beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday.

The railroad also said it is planning “for the orderly lay down of trains in the bulk network” and will contact customers moving bulk commodities in unit trains with specific details.

CSX has also began on Monday an embargo of “high hazardous, toxic by inhalation and poisonous by inhalation” cargo.

ALC-42 Charges Now on 3 Routes

Amtrak’s new ALC-42 Charger locomotives are operating on three long-distance routes, but not all trains on those routes are yet pulled by the Siemens-built locomotives.

A report on the website of Railfan and Railroad magazine said Chargers have seen service in recent weeks pulling the Empire Builder (Chicago-Seattle/Portland), the City of New Orleans (Chicago-New Orleans) and the California Zephyr (Chicago-Emeryville, California).

Four ALC-42 locomotives were in the motive power of a recent eastbound California Zephyr, although just two of them were online with the other two new deliveries being towed.

Those new deliveries were later towed by the Chicago to Washington Capitol Limited.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari told the magazine that it will be some time before all runs on the three aforementioned routes will be covered by ALC-42 units.

Magliari said 11 Chargers are in service in long-distance train service but not all 11 are necessarily operating at the same time.

At least 25 locomotives are needed to cover all runs of the three routes.

The ALC-42 Chargers debuted last spring on the Empire Builder. It was a troubled inauguration with technical issues hindering the positive train control system of the locomotives.

Those issues largely have since been worked out.

The Railfan and Railroad report said that often an ALC-42 is paired with a P42DC. The report said typically the Charger trails the P42 on westbound trips of the Empire Builder.

However, Chargers have worked as solo units on the City of New Orleans in recent weeks. Between Chicago and Carbondale, Illinois, on the City route, Amtrak crews are already familiar with similar locomotives, the SC-44 Chargers.

On the Empire Builder route, an ALC-42 often leads Train 7 from Spokane, Washington, to Seattle as a solo unit while a P42 pulls the Portland section.

Amtrak has agreed to purchase 125 ALC-42 units and all of them are expected to be in revenue service as replacements for P42 and P40 units by 2029.

Equipment Shortage Sidelines Carl Sandburg

Amtrak cited equipment shortages for suspended its Carl Sandberg trains last week between Chicago and Quincy, Illinois. The suspension was to last through Aug. 7.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari told Trains magazine Nos. 381 and 382 lacked enough usable equipment.

“We have exceeded the margin of spare equipment, so we had to suspend that round trip,” Magliari said. “We expect the release of enough usable equipment to be able to restore that service next week.”

The Trains report said federal maintenance rules require passenger cars to be taken out of service periodically.

Aggravating the situation in the Midwest has been the slower than expected assignment of new Venture coaches due to a defect with their doors.

Another factor has been that some Horizon equipment once used in Midwest service was sent to the Pacific Northwest after Talgo trains there were removed from service.

The Trains report said host railroad Canadian National has demanded that Amtrak assign Superliner equipment to its Chicago-Carbondale, Illinois, trains.

Since January the southbound Saluki and northbound Illini have been suspended.

In other Amtrak equipment woes last week, some trips of the Chicago-Seattle/Portland Empire Builder were canceled.

However, a factor in those cancellations was the route being blocked by a BNSF freight train derailment in western Montana.

Cancelled were the westbound departure from Chicago on Aug. 3 and the eastbound departures from Seattle and Portland on Aug. 5.

The Empire Builder operates with five Superliner equipment sets consisting of three coaches, two sleeping cars, a transition sleeper, dining car, Sightseer lounge, and baggage car split between the Portland and Seattle sections.

Trains reported that is one coach and at least one sleeping car less than what the Builder normally carries.

Some of that equipment has been sidelined for weeks because Amtrak lacks enough mechanical workers to perform safety overhauls before the cars can return to revenue service.

4 Amtrak LD Trains to Resume Daily Service

Amtrak will restore daily operation to four long-distance trains the week of May 23, Trains magazine reported Tuesday.

Resuming daily operation will be the Chicago-New York/Boston Lake Shore Limited, the Chicago-Los Angeles Southwest Chief, the Chicago-Seattle/Portland Empire Builder, and the Chicago-San Francisco Bay California Zephyr.

Starting May 2 Amtrak will end a joint equipment sharing plan involving the Chicago-Washington Capitol Limited and the Chicago-San Antonio Texas Chief.

Consequently, the Texas Chief will resort to its previous schedule because there will no longer be a need for a long layover in St. Louis to inspect the equipment.

However, Trains reported, the New York-Miami Silver Meteor will remain suspended through Sept. 11. The Chicago-New Orleans City of New Orleans and the New York-New Orleans Crescent also will remain five-day-a-week trains for now.

The Chicago-New York Cardinal will get a marginal boost in capacity when unused sleeping car accommodations in a crew car will begin being sold to the public.

Those accommodations are in a dorm-baggage car that runs on the rear of the train.

The southbound Chicago to Carbondale, Illinois, Saluki, and northbound Carbondale to Chicago Illini will remain suspended through Sept. 11. Both trains were suspended in late January.

The Trains report cited a planning document that it obtained.

That document also indicated there will be additional trains added in the Northeast Corridor.

The document said some train consists are being adjusted to account for lower than expected passenger car availability and continued onboard service worker shortages.

In a statement provided to the magazine, Amtrak acknowledged the additional services and cited increased demand for business and leisure travel.

To read the article visit https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/amtrak-to-restore-four-long-distance-trains-to-daily-service-in-late-may/

Grant Released for 2nd Chicago-St. Paul Train

State departments of transportation in Wisconsin and Minnesota have received a federal grant of $31.8 million that will be used toward development of a second Amtrak train between Chicago and Twin Cities.

The funding will used to pay for station and rail segment improvements on a Canadian Pacific route also used by the Empire Builder and Hiawatha Service trains.

The new Chicago-St. Paul, Minnesota, train is expected to begin service by 2024 although officials said it could be sooner.

A news release said the funding will ease rail traffic congestion, modernize some sections of track, and speed the movement of freight trains along the 411-mile route.

Studies have projected a second train between Chicago and St. Paul would draw more than 124,000 passengers during its first year of operation.

The grant funding comes from the FRA’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements program.

Trains in the Chicago-St. Paul corridor are expected to depart in the morning and midday.

Long Distance Charger Era Begins Today

The Charger era on Amtrak’s long-distance network begins today.

Railfan & Railroad magazine reported on its website that two Siemens-built ALC-42 locomotives are slated to lead the westbound Empire Builder out of Chicago Union Station, making this the first revenue run for new passenger units.

Amtrak plans to replace P42DC locomotives with the ALC-42 Chargers, which are similar in design to the SC-44 Chargers that have been in service on Amtrak’s Midwest corridor routes for more than three years.

The Railfan & Railroad report said the lead unit on Train 7 will be “Day 1” heritage locomotive 301. The training unit will be No. 302.

One of the units will lead the Seattle section while the other will lead the Portland section west of Spokane, Washington.

The article can be read at https://railfan.com/amtraks-new-alc-42s-to-enter-service-today/