Amtrak executives will meet today with public officials from West Virginia to discuss the future of the New River Train, which operates annually in the fall between Huntington and Hinton.
The train, which has operated for the past 51 years, is in danger of being canceled after Amtrak said last month that it would no longer operate specials and charters.
The passenger carrier also has been restricting the use of its trains by privately-owned rail cars although a formal policy in that regard has yet to be announced.
Last week some West Virginia officials indicated that Amtrak had said it might make an exception to its policy to enable the New River Train to continue operating.
There has been discussion that Amtrak might be amendable to allow select specials to run on routes over which it operates scheduled trains.
The New River Train uses the part of the route of the tri-weekly Chicago-Washington Cardinal.
The train, sponsored by the Collis P. Huntington Railroad Historical Society, has been touted for its economic impact, which has been put at $5 million.
West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin asked Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson for a meeting to discuss the future of the New River Train.
“I will continue doing everything I can to fix this problem,” Manchin said in a news release.
Tags: Amtrak, Amtrak in West Virginia, Amtrak special moves, Amtrak specials, Amtrak's Cardinal, Collis P. Huntington Railroad Historical Society, Joe Manchin, New River Train, Richard Anderson, West Virginia
akronrrclub.wordpress.com 
Leave a Reply