NEW YORK — Amtrak says service has been fully restored between New York’s Penn Station and Philadelphia.
The company said “all services are operating” in a post shortly before 8 a.m. ET today (Dec. 24, 2024) on its Northeast Corridor alerts feed on X.com. However, Amtrak also reports that Acelas No. 2154 (a 7 a.m. Washington-Boston train), No. 2173 (a 4:15 p.m. departure from Boston for Washington) , and No. 2124 (a 6:30 p.m. Washington-New York train) have been cancelled because of mechanical and equipment issues.
The problems on the Northeast Corridor began early on Sunday, Dec. 22, with downed overhead wires near Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station, leading Amtrak to suspend Philadelphia-New York service for most of the morning. Delays continued throughout the day as the four tracks in the area were slowly returned to operation [see “Some Amtrak, NJ Transit service … restored,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 22, 2024]
On Monday morning, the company reported that passengers should expect delays in and out of New York Penn Station because of signal power issues, and that operations on the entire corridor were being affected by “crew constraints and residual issues” [see “Amtrak Northeast Corridor issues continue,” News Wire, Dec. 23, 2024]. At least 10 trains were cancelled as a result.
U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) called the Amtrak issues “completely unacceptable” on Monday, saying many passengers were unable to rebook trips online and could not reach agents by phone.
“Amtrak’s latest service meltdown during the holiday season is an unmitigated disaster,” Pallone said in a press release. “Commuters, and holiday travelers are being left in the lurch without basic support or answers. Cancelling trains with no viable solutions in place is completely unacceptable. Amtrak has received historic federal investments to improve service reliability, and yet these failures continue. It’s clear more accountability and urgency are needed.”
Pallone was one of 11 members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation who called for an investigation into Amtrak issues on the corridor earlier this year [see “New Jersey congressional delegation seeks investigation …,” News Wire, June 26, 2024. Corridor issues in New Jersey eventually led New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy to call a meeting with Amtrak and NJ Transit representatives, leading to a joint effort to address those problems [see “Amtrak, NJ Transit pledge to work together …,” News Wire, June 28, 2024].
— Updated at 4:10 p.m. with cancellation of Acela No. 2124.
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