Although frigid winter weather has played a major role in disrupting service recently on VIA Rail Canada and Amtrak long distance routes, both operators’ lack of readily available reserve passenger cars and locomotives has clearly exacerbated the situation.
VIA stretched thin
A significant setback occurred last week when VIA’s venerable Vancouver, B.C.-bound Canadian was delayed 11 hours at Winnipeg, Manitoba. It had arrived from Toronto more than six hours late, but a safety inspection revealed that wheels on a Manor-class sleeping car needed to be replaced. No spare sleeper was available, so the consist was split while the car was switched to the wheel shop at the Fort Rouge maintenance facility for a changeout. The train departed from Winnipeg 17 hours, 12 minutes behind schedule.
Sources tell Trains that additional sleeper wheel problems were discovered after that Canadian arrived at Vancouver, where equipment can be substituted. Though constantly sold out in all seasons, in winter the train operates with a reduced 12-car consist.
Unfortunately, enough extra 70-year-old rolling stock isn’t available on the other end of the route. Wednesday’s westbound Canadian was rescheduled to depart Toronto at 7:55 p.m. instead of 9:55 a.m., because eastbound No. 2 was held for seven hours near Oba, Ontario, “behind a disabled freight train with mechanical issues,” according to a VIA advisory. The train arrived more than 10 hours late at 12:40 a.m. Wednesday morning, apparently not enough time for available maintenance personnel to prepare the Canadian for its next trip.
Meanwhile, the Montreal-Halifax Ocean is operating only twice a week because a trainset of Budd and Renaissance equipment was damaged in a collision with two trucks on Jan. 12 [see “VIA Ocean hits …,” Trains.com, Jan. 12, 2026]. That means there has been no service on the route for up to four days in each direction. According to VIA’s ticketing website, tri-weekly frequencies are not set to return until Wednesday, Jan. 28, from Montreal and Friday, Jan. 30, from Halifax.
Amtrak terminal delays
As Trains has reported [“Winter weather forecast…,” Jan. 21, 2026], forecasts of sub-zero temperatures coupled with ice storms have prompted Amtrak to cancel a number of long-distance trains today through Saturday. However, clearly contributing to the decision is the fact that for the last three days, Amtrak has lacked equipment to get many trains out of Chicago close to on time, if at all.
A sampling of recent departure delays:
- Wednesday’s Texas Eagle departed on time but reversed back to Union Station after a four-hour delay “due to ongoing unresolved mechanical assessments of the locomotive.”
- Wednesday’s westbound Borealis departed more than two hours late due to “mechanical crews servicing the trainset.” The train is canceled the next two days.
- The Southwest Chief departed two hours, 35 minutes late Wednesday. On Jan. 19, the train left two hours late, but lost another three hours between Galesburg, Ill., and LaPlata, Mo., due to “a mechanical assessment with the locomotive.” It departed Kansas City, Mo., five hours late at 3:42 a.m.
- The Cardinal left Chicago Tuesday at 9:15 p.m., more than three hours late, after “performing an engine swap and equipment adjustments.” The trainset had arrived the previous day from New York.
- The Floridian, scheduled out of Union Station at 6:40 p.m., departed Monday at 8:02 p.m. and Tuesday at 9:18 p.m. In advisories to passengers, delays were attributed “equipment servicing and an engine swap.”
- The Empire Builder departed almost four hours late at 6:58 p.m. Tuesday with delays also attributed to “equipment servicing and an engine swap.”
An Amtrak spokesman told Trains.com that no additional detail on the issues was available.
There were below-freezing conditions the last few days in the Windy City, but the frequent inability to get trains out close to their scheduled departures appears to indicate a significant shortage of shop manpower and/or serviceable equipment. The upcoming cancellations of the Builder, Borealis, Eagle, and City of New Orleans may provide an opportunity to regroup.
— Updated at 7:38 a.m. CT with Amtrak response to request for more information on delayed departures. To report news or errors, contact trainsnewswire@firecrown.com.
The locomotive situation at Amtrak is critically dire. If you are on a LD train with Genesis engines, if you arrive 3 days later without a failure, you are extremely lucky. Freight engines are summoned to the rescue so at least trains are not annulled, just grossly late.
Not likely to get any better even in spring. You cannot expect Amtrak to be reliable
If the ‘Sunset Limited’ retained her original Budd stainless steel trainsets from 1950, they could still be in use now like the Budd 1954 trainsets of the ‘Canadian’.
I miss the steam heated passenger cars where escaping steam and the sound of expanding pipes added to the mystique of train travel.
“Mechanical assessment on locomotives, engine swaps” sounds like the Chargers are failing in the cold again. We need to go back to basics like building locomotives and cars to withstand rough and rugged conditions instead of these constant cancellations in weather that was more easily dealt with (mostly) a few decades ago.
I can understand cancelling the Empire Builder rather than trying to run through the extremely dangerous conditions forecast for North Dakota (I saw one forecast for wind chills of -60 around Fargo and Grand Forks.) I lived through that here in SE WI in January 1982 and hope I don’t have to go through that again. But I think service to St. Paul with proper equipment could continue until the worst hits Thursday night, then resume again Friday night or Saturday. Remember the “old guys” (WW2 generation) kept going with steam-heated equipment yet.
I haven’t heard of Hiawatha cancellations, but I suppose that’s next. By the way, Metra plans to run Friday with reduced frequencies and possibly slower schedules. Seems to make sense, since a lot of people will probably opt out of work for that day. Also, it might allow for less track turnout operations, lessening the chance of delays due to frozen switches. At least they are not just giving up. But consider that their locomotive fleet is better suited for cold than that of Amtrak. Seems those SD70MACH engines handle cold real well.
Equipment that’s 30-40 yrs old (even older with VIA) can’t be expected to reliably operate in extreme temps. New equipment is not designed for such extremes especially cold since it is not as common across most of the country & when it occurs is of too short a duration to make special costly upgrades not worth the expense.
Reliability is more important than speed. And, if you cannot run conventional equipment reliably, how can you run even more technically difficult higher speed trains reliably. Amtrak can not run reliably.
Because the same reasons for late departures/cancellations are coming much more frequently, AMTRAK owes the public much more detailed information. (For example, are the defects the same, and if so, why? Are they indicative of design/construction errors, etc.?) For sure, the Board should be demanding these answers.