Amtrak – Page 51 – Railfanning.org

Service Alert: Hurricane Gustav: City of New Orleans, Crescent, Sunset Limited Service Affected

September 3, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

Amtrak has temporarily suspended service to and from New Orleans following the landfall of Hurricane Gustav. Inspections and any repairs needed to Amtrak-owned property are underway. Amtrak is also working with other railroads in the affected area in order to restore service. Amtrak train equipment currently in Memphis is available to federal and state authorities as a national transportation asset in accordance with a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) contract. All passengers who have travel plans through the affected areas on routes of the Chicago-Memphis-New Orleans Amtrak City of New Orleans; New York-Atlanta-New Orleans Amtrak Crescent; and the Los Angeles-San

Amtrak California Corridor Ridership Continues to Soar in July

August 25, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

OAKLAND – July was an historic, record-breaking month for Amtrak California trains. More than half a million passengers traveled on the three state-supported services (Capitol Corridor, San Joaquins and Pacific Surfliner ), the most passengers Amtrak California has ever carried in a single month. The most significant ridership increase was on the Amtrak San Joaquins service (San Francisco/Oakland-Sacramento-Bakersfield) where more than 100,000 passengers traveled the route, a 32 percent increase over the previous year. Over 300,000 passengers rode the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains (San Diego-Los Angeles-San Luis Obispo), a rise of more than 12 percent compared to the same month

Amtrak Ridership Flying High: Soaring Sales for the Heartland Flyer Train

August 18, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

AUSTIN – The newest figures show people are increasingly opting for the Amtrak Heartland Flyer train between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth and avoiding the higher cost of driving their own cars and trucks. For the 10 months ending July 31, ridership on the daily trains is up by more than 17 percent over the year-ago period (67,141 vs. 57,327), with growth of more than 40 percent in July 2008 versus July 2007 (11,721 vs. 8,362). Amtrak operates the Heartland Flyer (Trains 821 & 822) under contracts with the Oklahoma and Texas state transportation departments. These are two of the

Amtrak: July 2008 Amtrak Ridership Sets All-Time Monthly Record

August 14, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON – Amtrak ridership in July Fiscal Year 2008 increased to 2,750,278, nearly a 14 percent increase, marking the most passengers carried in any single month in Amtrak’s 37 year history. Total ridership for the Fiscal Year to date — October 1, 2007 – July 31, 2008 — reached 23.7 million, topping the 21.3 million from the same period last year. Total ticket revenue for the fiscal year to date reached $1.4 billion, a 14.1 percent increase over the same period in FY07. For the month of July, ticket revenue increased by 18.6 percent to $168 million. “Increasing fuel prices,

BNSF Postpones Project in Western Illinois

August 5, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

CHICAGO – BNSF Railway has notified Amtrak of the postponement of an infrastructure project in Western Illinois. Although it was to begin this week, BNSF is now planning to conduct the track work this fall, on a date to be announced. Train 381, the morning westbound Carl Sandburg from Chicago, will operate on its normal schedule to Quincy. Train 382, the evening eastbound Carl Sandburg to Chicago, will operate on a modified schedule this week only, reverting to its normal schedule on August 9. The previously announced schedule called for passengers to arrive early for the departure of chartered motorcoaches

Amtrak Re-launches Regional Service as Northeast Regional

July 14, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Amtrak has announced the re-launch of its Northeast Corridor Regional service, renaming it Northeast Regional. Traveling between Boston, New York, Washington, Richmond and Newport News, Va., the service, Amtrak’s busiest, transported more than 6.8 million passengers last fiscal year. Anticipating a busy summer travel season and the impact of an integrated marketing campaign, Amtrak expects the re-branding of the Northeast Regional and its associated service improvements to attract an additional 136,000 passengers to the service, valued at $8.9 million in ticket revenue annually. So far this fiscal year (October 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008), Amtrak’s Regional service

Missouri Provides $5 Million For Improved Amtrak Service

July 8, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Reliability of Kansas City to St. Louis trains operated by Amtrak for the Missouri Department of Transportation can improve, thanks to $5 million provided by the Missouri state legislature and approved by Gov. Matt Blunt to increase track capacity on the route. The Missouri Mules (Trains 311, 313, 314 & 316) provide twice-daily round trips across the state and have been plagued by lengthy delays due to heavy freight traffic on the Union Pacific Railroad line. “This is great news for Missouri,” said MoDOT Director Pete Rahn. “This funding will lead to improved service, helping make

Southwest Chief, Empire Builder and California Zephyr Midwest Flooding Disruption Update

June 26, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

Amtrak has been notified by BNSF Railway it has restored service through the affected areas on the Los Angeles-Chicago route of the Amtrak Southwest Chief, effective June 24. However, BNSF and Canadian Pacific (CP) railways are still working to restore passenger train service on two other routes disrupted due to flooding on the Mississippi River and its tributaries in Iowa and Wisconsin. BNSF and CP host these trains on tracks they own, maintain and dispatch. Amtrak is planning to operate limited alternate transportation through the affected areas for these trains until further notice, while hoping to restore rail service soon.

Thames River Bridge Rail Service Outage Set for June 24-27

June 21, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

NEW YORK – Amtrak has scheduled limited alternate train and bus service during the rescheduled replacement of the moveable span of Amtrak’s Thames River Bridge in New London, Conn., Tuesday, June 24 through Friday, June 27. During that four-day period, regularly scheduled Amtrak service between New York and Boston will be suspended and limited alternate train and bus service will be provided in the New York-Boston region. Because of the bridge outage, Amtrak has scheduled three Boston-New Haven-New York Inland Route trains (via Hartford and Springfield) and limited connecting bus service to bypass the bridge outage during the four-day period

Southwest Chief, Empire Builder and California Zephyr Midwest Flooding Disruption Update

June 21, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

Amtrak has been notified by BNSF and Canadian Pacific (CP) railways of efforts to restore passenger train service on three routes disrupted due to flooding on the Mississippi River and its tributaries in Iowa and Wisconsin. BNSF and CP host these trains on tracks they own, maintain and dispatch.While still hoping to restore rail service soon, Amtrak is planning to operate limited alternate transportation through the affected areas for each of these trains until further notice. Through June 24, passengers are urged to call Amtrak at 800-USA-RAIL if they have travel plans through the affected areas on routes of the