Amtrak said on Wednesday that as of Thursday, all long-distance train service in the United States will be suspended indefinitely due to a probable freight rail labor strike.
Tuesday marked the start of the cancellation of train routes, with the California Zephyr, Empire Builder, Southwest Chief, and some Texas Eagle train routes seeing their service terminate in the West.
Amtrak will stop operating several lines, including the City of New Orleans, Coast Starlight, Crescent, Lake Shore Limited, Silver Star, Sunset Limited, and the whole Texas Eagle route, starting on Wednesday.
The majority of short- to medium-distance rail travel along the Northeast Corridor between Boston, New York, and Washington will not be impacted by Amtrak's service reductions.
However, the cancellations will impact long-distance East Coast services on the Auto Train, Capitol Limited, Cardinal, and Palmetto lines south of the Washington service region.
Amtrak issued a statement saying that it "will only operate trains this week that we can verify will have enough time to reach their ultimate destinations by 12:01 a.m. on Friday, September 16."
What is canceled by Amtrak and why
Due to the probable inconvenience brought on by a planned freight rail strike, Amtrak is canceling all long-distance rail services across the nation.
The labor negotiations must be concluded by Friday in order to avoid a strike.
While Amtrak and its staff are not parties to the current labor dispute, any strikes by major freight rail lines will have an impact on Amtrak's capacity to run trains on those lines because it uses the railroads on which those lines are located.
In a statement, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari stated, "Amtrak operates practically all of our 21,000 route miles outside the Northeast Corridor (NEC) on track owned, maintained, and dispatched by freight railways."
He claimed that if a settlement in negotiations is not reached, Amtrak's cancellations "are necessary to ensure trains can reach their terminals before freight railroad service suspension"
Amtrak's halted routes include:
Tuesday, September 13, suspended:
• California Zephyr.
• Empire Builder.
• Southwest Chief.
• Texas Eagle (Train No. 421 portion of the Los Angeles-San Antonio route).
Suspended as of Wednesday, Sept. 14:
• City of New Orleans.
• Coast Starlight.
• Lake Shore Limited.
• Crescent.
• Sunset Limited.
• Silver Star.
• Texas Eagle (full service).
Suspended as of Thursday, Sept. 15:
• Capitol Limited.
• Auto Train.
• Cardinal.
• Palmetto (south of Washington).
Which Amtrack routes will still be available?
Amtrak will continue to provide short- to medium-distance train service along the Northeast Corridor and associated branch lines according to its complete, regular schedule.
Amtrak can do this since it controls the local rail system.
Employees of Amtrak run the Northeast Corridor network as well.
Therefore, any freight rail strike shouldn't have an impact on Amtrak's internal operations.
Amtrak's routes from Boston to New York to Washington, as well as the connecting lines to Albany, Harrisburg, and Springfield, Massachusetts, shouldn't be impacted.
However, given the interference with Amtrak's overall operations, travelers along the Northeast Corridor should be aware that schedule adjustments or cancellations may occur even on those routes.
The schedule for any scheduled train trips there should be confirmed in advance.
Amtrak refunds tickets and waives surcharges
Amtrak said that throughout the disruptions, it will inform passengers who might be impacted.
Customers have the option to rebook for departures through October 31 without incurring change fees or paying any fare difference.
Affected passengers can also take advantage of Amtrak's full refund policy, free of cancellation charges.
In conclusion
As a result of the potential for a freight rail strike, Amtrak will stop operating all long-distance trains as of September 15.
Along its wholly owned Northeast Corridor, Amtrak will continue to provide short- to medium-distance train services with service between Boston, New York, and Washington.
Although there shouldn't be many service interruptions in this area, travellers should be alert for delays or other adjustments.
When Amtrak service will resume along any of the routes that have been suspended is unknown given the ongoing situation with the freight rail negotiations.
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