First in a series WASHINGTON — Any savings Amtrak management may achieve by reducing most long-distance trains to triweekly service will be overshadowed by a precipitous drop in revenue, additional unforeseen expenses, and a crippled ability to restart service. That assessment is the consensus of former Amtrak managers contacted by Trains News Wire: former president […]
Wednesday morning rail news: Amtrak adds business-class reserved seating on Acela Amtrak will offer reserved seating in business class on Acela trains beginning Monday, Aug. 3, expanding the seat-selection program that had previously been available only in first class. The feature also allows passengers a look at the overall occupancy rate of a train. As […]
Tuesday morning rail news: NJ Transit approves agreement to replace Portal Bridge, Northeast Corridor trouble spot An agreement to replace New Jersey’s infamous Portal Bridge on the Northeast Corridor is finally in place. NJ.com reports that the NJ Transit board of directors has unanimously approved an agreement with Amtrak, owner of the bridge, to replace […]
WASHINGTON — More than 500 management and union employees are accepting buyout offers to leave Amtrak as part of the company called a “self-help” effort to defray the financial impact of revenue losses from the COVID-19 pandemic. Last Friday, July 24, was the final day for many of those departing. The one-time payouts to 284 […]
Monday morning rail news in brief: Equipment update reports 51 cars for Amtrak regional service built or under construction; first Charger due in early 2021 Fifty-one Siemens cars in the order for Amtrak state-supported service in California and the Midwest have either been completed or are under construction, according to the end-of-June report by the […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak President and CEO William Flynn has told members of Congress that proposed funding for fiscal 2021 “would enable us to avoid frequency reductions on our Long Distance routes, as well as minimize further impacts to our workforce.” In a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee […]
More Thursday morning rail news in brief: Appropriations bill would block Amtrak service reductions Amtrak and public transportation would receive at least $26 billion in emergency aid under the fiscal 2021 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development funding bill proposed by the House Appropriations Committee — but the money for Amtrak would be tied to a […]
Tuesday morning rail news in brief: Inspector general: Amtrak needs to better define role of its police Amtrak needs to define the role and priorities of its police department before it can determine the optimum size of the force and determine if it is being used efficiently and effectively, according to an audit from the […]
WASHINGTON — Sixteen U.S. Senators have pushed back against Amtrak’s plan to reduce 12 daily long-distance trains to triweekly departures and cut its workforce by 20%. In three separate letters to President and CEO William Flynn sent late last week, the lawmakers strongly hinted they were unwilling to grant the company’s request for an additional […]
More Wednesday morning rail news in brief: Amtrak ‘Pere Marquette’ to resume operation Amtrak will resume operation of the Chicago-Grand Rapids, Mich., Pere Marquette next week, with the first Chicago-Grand Rapids train on Monday, June 29, and trains operating in both directions on Tuesday, June 30. Departures from Chicago for train No 370 are at […]
Passenger rail news and analysis: ‘Silver Star,’ ‘Meteor’ changes coming July 6 Amtrak will alternate service on its two New York-Miami trains running on different routes through the Carolinas as of July 6, a move it attributes to COVID-19 pandemic ridership drops and a preview of the company’s still mostly undefined plans to cut virtually […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak plans to reduce most long-distance trains to three-day-a-week service as of Oct. 1, according to an internal message obtained by Trains News Wire. In an internal “Service Update,” Amtrak Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing and Revenue Service Officer Roger Harris told employees today that the goal would be “to restore daily service […]
