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.

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.

Midwest Corridor Suspensions Extended

Amtrak has extended the suspension of two Wolverine Service trains until Oct. 24.

In announcing the suspensions earlier this month, the passenger carrier had said that Nos. 350 and 355 were being suspended due to lack of crews and equipment.

At the time, the trains were to have been reinstated on Sept. 17.

No. 350 is the early morning departure from Chicago while No. 355 departs Pontiac, Michigan, in suburban Detroit in late afternoon.

Two other Wolverine Service roundtrips are unaffected by the service suspensions.

Service suspensions also remain in effect on two other Midwest corridor routes.

Lincoln Service Trains 300 and 305 remain suspended through at least Oct. 23.

No. 300 is scheduled to depart St. Louis at 4:35 a.m. while No. 304 is scheduled to depart Chicago at 5:20 p.m.

The Chicago-St. Louis route continues to field three other Lincoln Service roundtrips plus the Chicago-San Antonio Texas Eagle.

Suspended until at least Dec. 5 is the Saluki from Chicago to Carbondale, Illinois, and the Illini from Carbondale to Chicago.

The former departs Chicago in the morning while the latter leaves Carbondale in late afternoon.

The trains were suspended last January due to shortages of operating crews and equipment.

One factor keeping the trains sidelined is the insistence of host railroad Canadian National that all trains on the Chicago-Carbondale route use Superliner equipment.

Until about two years ago, the State of Illinois-sponsored Chicago-Carbondale trains used Horizon and Amfleet equipment.

Other trains in the Chicago-Carbondale corridor include the northbound Saluki, which departs Carbondale in the morning, and the southbound Illini, which departs Chicago in late afternoon.

The City of New Orleans between Chicago and New Orleans also covers the corridor but is operating just five days a week. Nos. 58 and 59 are slated to resume daily operation on Oct. 8.

Lincoln Service RT Suspended Until Aug. 24

Amtrak has temporarily reduced Lincoln Service between Chicago and St. Louis by one daily roundtrip.

Suspended through Aug. 23, is Train 300, which departs St. Louis at 4:30 a.m. and Train 305, which departs Chicago at 5:20 p.m.

The corridor still has three Lincoln Service roundtrips plus the Chicago-San Antonio Texas Eagle.

The passenger carrier cited equipment availability issues for the service cuts.

Earlier this month Amtrak suspended for a week the Chicago-Quincy Carl Sandburg for the same reason.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari told Trains magazine that the suspended Lincoln Service trains will resume Aug. 24.

Magliari said the Illinois Department of Transportation, which funds the Lincoln Service trains, has asked the passenger carrier to offer substitute bus service for the suspended trains.

On its Way to the Station

Amtrak’s Chicago-bound Lincoln Service No. 302 is just moments away from making its station stop in Springfield, Illinois, as it rolls along down South Third Street. No. 302 is the second northbound of the day out of St. Louis for Chicago. Today’s consist is a pure Horizon Fleet offering. The photo was made on March 1, 2022.

Letter Boards are (Sort of) Back

For decades railroads placed their names in the letter boards of passenger cars. Amtrak has never adopted this practice. It has had an on again, off again practice of even naming passenger cars.

The new Venture cars that entered revenue service on Feb. 1 in the Chicago-St. Louis corridor have sort of brought back the practice of letter board names.

Shown are two Siemens-built Venture coaches in the consist of Lincoln Service No. 301 in Springfield, Illinois, on March 1. Note that the Amtrak herald and the name “Amtrak Midwest” have been applied to the letter board area of the car.

Now the question is how long this practice will continue. Although the traditional Amtrak colors of red, white and blue have been incorporated into the car’s design, the dominant color is gray.

Crossing East Scarritt Street in Springfield

Amtrak SC-44 No. 4615 and its Lincoln Service train are moments away from arriving at the station in Springfield, Illinois. Train 302 is crossing East Scarritt Street in a residential neighborhood on track once operated by the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio.

Union Pacific owns this track now and Train 302 is following a UP stack train that passed through here just a few minutes before Amtrak did. The Amtrak website showed No. 302 running a few minutes late but I can’t say for certain that that delay was due to freight train interference.

Whatever the case, No. 302 still has stops to make before it reaches Chicago Union Station shortly after noon. So it has no time to waste.

Venture Cars Begin Amtrak Revenue Service

Amtrak’s new Venture cars made their first Midwest corridor revenue service run on Tuesday on Lincoln Service No. 303 from Chicago to St. Louis.

Equipment from that train turns in St. Louis and returns to Chicago as No. 306.

The Venture cars, built by Siemens, have been in Amtrak’s possession for more than a year, but undergoing testing on various Midwest routes, including corridors extending to Detroit and Carbondale, Illinois.

The first of the Venture cars built for Midwest corridor service were delivered in August 2020.

Siemens also built Venture equipment for California corridor service that has yet to enter revenue service. 

As was the case with the development of the Siemens SC-44 Charger locomotives used on Midwest corridor trains, the Venture cars were a collaborative effort involving state departments of transportation in Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Missouri.

Chicago-St. Louis Run Times Cut 15 Minutes

Amtrak has cut the running times of trains operating in the Chicago-St. Louis corridor due to faster authorized top speeds.

Affected are the Texas Eagle and all Lincoln Service trains. The new schedules took effect on Dec. 13.

Amtrak said all trains now have a maximum authorized speed of 90 mph and their running times have been cut by approximately 15 minutes.

The faster speeds were the result of track work that has been performed in the past several years with funding from the Illinois Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Transportation.

2 Midwest Routes Get Extra Trains at Thanksgiving

Amtrak will be operating additional trains on two Midwest Corridor routes during the Thanksgiving travel period.

On the Lincoln Service route a pair of extras will operate between Chicago and Bloomington-Normal, Illinois.

Lincoln Service No. 309 will depart Chicago Union Station at 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 27 and Dec. 1 and arrive in Normal at 12:58 p.m.

The equipment will turn and become Train No. 398 scheduled to depart Normal at 1:15 p.m. and arrive in Chicago at 3:41 p.m.

Additional Carl Sandburg trains will operate on the same dates between Chicago and Quincy, Illinois.

No. 385 will depart Chicago at 11:30 a.m., using the equipment of inbound regularly scheduled Illinois Zephyr No. 380. No. 385 is scheduled to arrive in Quincy at 3:53 p.m.

The equipment from regularly scheduled Chicago to Quincy Carl Sandburg No. 381 will turn and operate as No. 384, departing Quincy at 1 p.m. and is scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 5:22 p.m.

The equipment that ran to Quincy as No. 385 will become the regularly scheduled Carl Sandburg No. 382, which is scheduled to depart Quincy at 5:30 p.m.

All of the trains are funded by the Illinois Department of Transportation.