Interested in riding the railroad? One of the best windows on the railroad world are passenger trains, and you have plenty of options. Amtrak, a government corporation that took over nearly all U.S. intercity passenger trains from private railroads in 1971, today operates a 21,000-mile network that includes 500 stations in 46 states served by more than 300 trains each day. Service ranges from hourly on parts of the busy Boston-Washington Northeast Corridor to three times a week on two long-distance runs. Amtrak carries 31 million riders annually.
Rolling stock varies with geography and length of routes. Tight overhead clearances through Northeast Corridor tunnels dictate the use of single-level cars and on overnight trains operating from New York to Miami, New Orleans, and Chicago. Double-deck Superliners equip other long-distance trains, including Amtrak’s unique Auto Train, which allows passengers to take their automobiles between Virginia and Florida. Shorter corridors operate with varying equipment, ranging from the Pacific Northwest’s big-windowed Talgo trains and 150-mph-capable Acela Express trainsets in the Northeast, to rehabilitated mid-20th century passenger cars in North Carolina. Many trains also offer café lounges; overnight trains feature sleeping and dining cars.
Alaska Railroad trains serve that state; operations and on-board amenities vary by season, with more trains in the summer months.
VIA Rail Canada is the country’s intercity rail passenger network. VIA operates frequent service in Canada’s Quebec City-Montreal-Toronto-Windsor (Ont.) corridor, and less-than-daily long-distance trains with sleeping, dining, and dome cars from that region to both Vancouver, B.C., and Halifax, N.S. Other operations serve remote northern areas that sometimes are inaccessible by road.
Independent Canadian passenger rail operators include Ontario Northland Railway (to remote Moosonee, Ont.) and Tshiuetin Rail Transportation, which runs trains between Sept-Îles and Schefferville, Quebec. Canadian National’s Algoma Central Railway subsidiary offers seasonal excursion service north of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., and Rocky Mountaineer hosts luxury daytime summer rail excursions out of Vancouver to the Canadian Rockies.
Commuter trains managed by government agencies radiate from major city centers to nearby suburban areas. Unlike light rail and heavy rail electric transit systems, they operate over standard gauge tracks that are part of the national railroad network. Service into New York and Philadelphia is dominated by electric multiple-unit cars, while diesel-powered trains, often with multi-level coaches operating in push-pull fashion with a locomotive at one end, are common elsewhere. Service levels vary on each line.
No matter how you experience railroads, you can best believe it’s different each day all over North America. Happy rails!
From Hot Spots, a Trains Magazine special, 2018
