Amtrak Seeking Info for New Long-Distance Equipment

Although Amtrak has set in motion the process to replace aging Superliner, Viewliner and Amfleet equipment used in its long-distance network, many decisions have yet to be made as to the attributes that that equipment will have.

The passenger carrier this week announced it sent a request for information to various rail passenger car builders.

Amtrak said it expects as many as 10 companies to express interest in the project.

A formal request for proposals is expected to be sent to interested builders by the end of this year.

Among the unanswered questions are whether the replacement cars will be single level, such as Amfleet and Viewliners, or bi-level, such as the Superliner fleet.

Likewise the designs of the cars have yet to be determined and it remains uncertain when production of the new equipment will begin.

A report on the website of the Rail Passengers Association said answers to questions such as these are expected to emerge in the answers that Amtrak gets from interested car builders.

Funding for the acquisition of the new cars is expected to come from the Investment in Infrastructure and Jobs Act.

Amtrak’s 14 long-distance routes are served with a mixture of equipment. Routes operating primarily east of Chicago are assigned Amfleet and Viewliner equipment whereas routes west of Chicago use Superliner cars.

Some of the newest Viewliner dining, sleeping and baggage cars seem likely to be used alongside the new equipment Amtrak wants to develop. Some Viewliner cars have been in service less than a decade.

The request for information Amtrak sent to the car building industry was only a few pages and designed primarily to solicit ideas for what is possible and desirable in a future fleet of passenger equipment.

Amtrak has had mixed experiences acquiring new equipment. The new equipment for Acela service in the Northeast Corridor is two years behind schedule and yet to go into service.

The most recent order of Viewliner equipment built by CAF USA was several years behind schedule.

More recently, the Venture cars built by Siemens Mobility for corridor services, particularly in the Midwest, has entered revenue service in fits and starts as cars have been removed from service to fix various mechanical issues that cropped up in service.

Last month Amtrak provided information about the Airo equipment to be built by Siemens that will replace Amfleet cars in corridor services.

Production of the Airo fleet is just now getting underway.

Amtrak Equipment Shortages to Continue Into 2023

About 11 percent of the equipment Amtrak once assigned to its long-distance trains remains sidelined awaiting mechanical restoration.

Amtrak Vice President of Long-Distance Service Larry Chestler told members of the Rail Passengers Association this week that it will be more than a year before that equipment is back in service meaning reduced consists are likely to be norm through much of 2023.

Speaking during an RPA online event, Chestler also said full-service dining is expected to return to the New York-Miami route early next year but did not indicate that Amtrak has plans to move away from the flexible dining model of serving meals in a bowl on other eastern long-distance trains.

Although Amtrak has experimented with allowing business class passengers to buy dining car meals on the Los Angeles-Seattle Coast Starlight with the experiment expected to be soon extended to coach passengers.

However, there apparently are no plans to extend that practice to all long-distance trains anytime soon.

Chestler did indicate that coach passengers on two other trains will eventually be able to buy dining car meals. The overall thrust of his comments was that dining cars meals will continue to be largely limited to sleeping car passengers for the time being.

The equipment shortages that cut the number of coaches, sleeping cars and lounge cars assigned to long-distance trains stems from Amtrak’s decision during the COVID-19 pandemic to sideline a sizeable number of cars at a time when ridership had collapsed.

At the same time, the passenger carrier reduced the size of its mechanical force and is now struggling to hire enough mechanics to get sidelined equipment back in service.

Also exacerbating the availability of Superliner equipment were derailments involving the Empire Builder in 2021 and the Southwest Chief in 2022 that took more cars out of service.

Chestler said Amtrak has yet to complete a schedule for returning idled passenger cars to service although he said such scheduling could be achieved “in the coming weeks.”

As for when that equipment might return to service, he said Amtrak’s objective is to reduce the 11 percent gap during 2023 with an eye toward restoring “as much of the equipment as is feasible” by 2024.

Amtrak also has begun the planning process toward acquiring new equipment to replace the existing passenger car fleet assigned to long-distance trains.

That process is in the design phase and requests for information will be issued to passenger car manufacturers later this year.

Chestler said Amtrak expects to issue a request for proposals by late 2024.

During his presentation Chestler said Amtrak is developing new procedures that call for senior management to get involved in situations in which a train on the road has lost head end power and the crew has been unable to resolve the situation.

Related to that, he said Amtrak is increasing the number of personnel assigned to contact passengers affected by service disruptions as well as seeking ways to make rebooking easier for passengers whose travel plans have been adversely affected.

A report on Chester’s comments can be found at https://www.trains.com/trn/amtrak-long-distance-capacity-to-remain-tight-through-2023/

Amtrak Ridership, Revenue Growing, but Results Have Been Uneven Across the Network

Amtrak continues to make progress in clawing back ridership and revenue lost during the COVID-19 pandemic although individual routes have produced uneven results as the effects of the pandemic continue to linger.

Figures published on the website of Trains magazine show that during fiscal year 2022, which ended Sept. 30, Amtrak garnered $1.78 billion in gross ticket revenues. Ridership was 22.9 million passengers.

The report noted that revenue of $113 million posted by long-distance trains was up 24 percent over 2019.

Much of that increase was recorded by the Auto Train, which operates between Lorton, Virginia, and Sanford, Florida.

Revenue earned by Northeast Corridor and state-funded corridor trains fell by 30 percent.

The Trains report said Auto Train per passenger revenue increased 34 percent in FY 2022. The corresponding figures for state-funded trains was 2 percent while Acela and Northeast Regional per passenger ridership was down a negative 6.8 percent.

The Trains report concluded that long-distance trains have benefited from higher ticket prices, which was related to decreased capacity due to shortages of available equipment.

That is because Amtrak is reaping higher revenue yields from fewer passengers.

During the pandemic, Amtrak mothballed many passenger cars and furloughed workers.

Once demand picked up the company struggled to have enough mechanical workers to return those idled cars to revenue service.

Ridership data reported by Trains showed that corridor routes that are more dependent upon commuter travelers are generally lagging longer corridor routes as large numbers of workers continue to work remotely.

The Trains report can be read at https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/capacitys-impact-shows-in-amtraks-fiscal-2022-revenue-and-ridership-analysis/

Website Launched for Amtrak Routes Study

A study of potential new Amtrak long-distance routes has taken its first step with the launching of a website.

The site, which is administered by the Federal Railroad Administration and went active on Oct. 28, can be found at https://fralongdistancerailstudy.org/

The home page notes that the study is in its early stages and thus far does little more than describe the agency’s project to examine the possibility of reviving routes discontinued by Amtrak at various points during its 51-year history.

The study was mandated by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.

The study also will consider the prospect of making daily the twi-weekly Sunset Limited (New Orleans-Los Angeles) and Cardinal (Chicago-New York).

“This study will ultimately create a long-term vision for long-distance passenger rail service and identify capital projects and funding needed to implement that vision,” the FRA said on the site’s homepage.

Many of the discontinued Amtrak long-distant route vanished in October 1979 and May 1997.

Among them have been the Floridian (Chicago-Miami/St. Petersburg), National Limited (New York-Kansas City) Lone Star (Chicago- Houston), Broadway Limited (Chicago-New York); Three Rivers (Chicago-New York) North Coast Hiawatha (Chicago-Seattle), Desert Wind (Salt Lake City-Los Angeles) and Pioneer (Seattle-Denver).

One challenge of reinstating some of these trains is that key segments of their route have since been abandoned and the trains would need an alternative route.

A similar challenge is that existing segments used by some trains have since been downgraded to much slower speeds.

The FRA website indicated that the study will be developed over the next year. An FRA spokesman told Trains magazine that the study also will consider new routes that Amtrak has never operated.

Amtrak ALC-42 Chargers Now on 3 Routes

Amtrak’s new ALC-42 Charger locomotives are operating on three long-distance routes, but not all trains on those routes are yet pulled by the Siemens-built locomotives.

A report on the website of Railfan and Railroad magazine said Chargers have seen service in recent weeks pulling the Empire Builder (Chicago-Seattle/Portland), the City of New Orleans (Chicago-New Orleans) and the California Zephyr (Chicago-Emeryville, California).

Four ALC-42 locomotives were in the motive power of a recent eastbound California Zephyr, although just two of them were online with the other two new deliveries being towed.

Those new deliveries were later towed by the Chicago to Washington Capitol Limited.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari told the magazine that it will be some time before all runs on the three aforementioned routes will be covered by ALC-42 units.

Magliari said 11 Chargers are in service in long-distance train service but not all 11 are necessarily operating at the same time.

At least 25 locomotives are needed to cover all runs of the three routes.

The ALC-42 Chargers debuted last spring on the Empire Builder. It was a troubled inauguration with technical issues hindering the positive train control system of the locomotives.

Those issues largely have since been worked out.

The Railfan and Railroad report said that often an ALC-42 is paired with a P42DC. The report said typically the Charger trails the P42 on westbound trips of the Empire Builder.

However, Chargers have worked as solo units on the City of New Orleans in recent weeks. Between Chicago and Carbondale, Illinois, on the City route, Amtrak crews are already familiar with similar locomotives, the SC-44 Chargers.

On the Empire Builder route, an ALC-42 often leads Train 7 from Spokane, Washington, to Seattle as a solo unit while a P42 pulls the Portland section.

Amtrak has agreed to purchase 125 ALC-42 units and all of them are expected to be in revenue service as replacements for P42 and P40 units by 2029.

Dates Set for Amtrak Service Restoration

Daily operation on three Amtrak will be phased into place during the first week of October.

Trains magazine reported on its website that daily operation of the New York-New Orleans Crescent will resume on Oct. 4 and for the City of New Orleans between Chicago and New Orleans on Oct. 8.

Those dates correspond to the first dates that those trains would not have operated under the current operating conditions of running five days a week.

The New York-Miami Silver Meteor, which has been suspended since last January, will resume operating on Oct. 3.

The Trains report said that originally Amtrak said it would reinstate daily service on all three routes starting Sept. 11. But the service suspensions have been extended into October.

In suspending service on these and other routes last mid-January Amtrak cited a shortage of workers in its mechanical and onboard services departments as well as COVID-19 pandemic complications.

The suspended service on most long-distance routes has since been restored.

Amtrak has also restored some suspended services in the Northeast Corridor, including an overnight train between Boston and points in Virginia.

The New York-Toronto Maple Leaf was restored over the length of its route on June 27 and a second St. Louis-Kansas City Missouri River Runner was restored on July 17.

Still suspended are the New York-Montreal Adirondack, the Chicago to Carbondale, Illinois, Saluki, and the Carbondale to Chicago Illini.

Trains reported service restorations made or planned thus far reflect Amtrak’s belief of what service can be reliably supported with the existing labor force and the equipment that is operable.

Amtrak to Reinstate Suspended Service on Oct. 3

Amtrak will restore fully daily service on Oct. 3 to long distance trains that are now operating five days a week.

The Rail Passengers Association reported on its website that the change affects the New York-New Orleans Crescent and the City of New Orleans between Chicago and New Orleans.

Also on Oct. 3, RPA, said the now suspended Silver Meteor will resume operation between New York and Miami.

In recent months the only service between New York and Miami has been the Silver Star, which follows a different route from the Meteor in North Carolina and South Carolina.

RPA also said some improvements in food service aboard trains might be rolled out this fall but no details on what those changes might entail are yet available.

Amtrak cited staffing shortages for reducing the frequency of most long-distance trains in January to five days a week.

Most of those service cuts have since been reversed and train operations have reverted to seven days a week.

The RPA report said Amtrak is now confident that it will have the staff and equipment needed to bring the rest of the trains back on to pre-pandemic schedules.

However, the RPA report did not say whether the service restorations includes reinstating service now suspended in the Chicago-Carbondale, Illinois, corridor.

Since January the State of Illinois supported service on that route has been only the northbound Saluki in the morning and the southbound Illini in late afternoon and evening.

Amtrak Extends Some Service Suspensions

Amtrak indicated on Thursday that some trains will not resume daily operation on March 28 as the passenger carrier had earlier indicated they would.

Trains that will continue to operate five days a week include the Empire Builder, California Zephyr, Southwest Chief, Lake Shore Limited, City of New Orleans, and Crescent.

The Capitol Limited, Texas Eagle, and Coast Starlight will resume daily operation on March 28.

On that date, all seven Chicago-Milwaukee Hiawatha weekday round trips and full weekend service will be restored, as will nine weekday trips each way between New York City and Albany-Rensselaer, New York.

Other state-supported and Northeast Corridor cuts announced in January are to continue indefinitely.
Most notable among those in Midwest corridors is the southbound Saluki from Chicago to Carbondale, Illinois, and northbound Illini from Carbondale to Chicago.

The suspension of the Silver Meteor, which had been suspended in its entirety, will continue.

Amtrak has not said when suspended trains will be reinstated. “We continue to work on further frequency additions for the coming months as staffing and other resources allow,” Amtrak said in a statement.

In the meantime, the passenger carrier has been notifying passengers booked to travel in April and May on dates of which there will be no service that they need to reschedule their trips.

Trains magazine reported on its website that the affected long-distance trains are shown in the Amtrak reservation system as being reinstated to full daily service between May 23-28.

However, an Amtrak spokesman told Trains that that is its spring schedule and the company will announce its summer schedules at a later date.

In a statement to Trains, Amtrak said the continued service suspensions are due to “staffing and hiring shortages for skilled technical employees caused by the pandemic.”

The statement said Amtrak is working toward restoring train frequ3nces “in the coming months as our hiring, training and staffing levels advance.”

Railfan & Railroad magazine reported on its website that Amtrak officials cited hiring challenges for the service suspensions continuation.

Racing North Near Leverett

To appreciate this image it probably helps if you grew up in a place with a lot of flat farmland.

Shown is Amtrak’s City of New Orleans racing northbound toward Chicago near Leverett, Illinois, shortly after sunrise on a Sunday morning.

No. 58 was more than an hour behind schedule leaving Champaign. The train is on the Chicago Subdivision of Canadian National, which at one time was the mainline of the Illinois Central between Chicago and New Orleans.

As for what I, an east central Illinois native, see in this photograph, I see familiarity. There are no striking physical features such as mountains and valleys, just farmland and in the distance traces of urbanization in Champaign-Urbana. Above the Superliner cars you also can see the top of the grain elevator at Leverett.

This is all familiar to me and in a way comforting.

I would not have been able to get this image had No. 58 been on time as it would have been dark as it passed through here. It was a nice way to get a day of railfanning off to a good start.

If you look closely, you will see there is frost on the crossties of the CN track. Temperatures were in the 20 when I made this photograph on a winter morning.

I later checked and determined No. 58 halted at Chicago Union Station 58 minutes late.

January Amtrak Service Cuts Seem Likely

Amtrak Service reductions in January appear to be a near certainty.

The passenger carrier’s president, Stephen Gardner, told a congressional hearing on Thursday, that the service cuts, which are expected to involve long-distance trains, are due to expected crew shortages stemming from a COVID-19 vaccination rule the carrier imposed.

Gardner said 94 percent of Amtrak workers are full vaccinated and 96 percent have received at least one immunization.

However, the company is expected to find itself short staffed as workers who have failed to be vaccinated are terminated. Another factor, Gardner said, is a wave of retirements during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said Amtrak also has faced slow going in hiring new workers to replace the retirees and vacancies expected to be created by those who do not comply with the vaccination rule.

Gardner said vaccination rates among workers are lowest in the ranks of workers assigned to long-distance routes.

Amtrak imposed the vaccination rule in compliance with an executive order issued by the Biden administration requiring employees of government contractors to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4, 2022.

That mandate has been challenged in federal courts and earlier this week a judge in Georgia issued a stay of the order. Unions representing workers at Amtrak and various Class 1 railroads have filed lawsuits challenging the rules imposed by the carriers.

It is unclear how these developments might affect the expected Amtrak service reductions.

Amtrak officials have been indicating for several weeks that the passenger carrier doesn’t expect to have enough fully vaccinated workers by January to support its full national network as well the various corridor services that it offers.

An announcement of which routes will see reduced service is expected to be made next week.

Those service cuts are expected to be similar to those imposed in October 2020 when most long-distance routes were reduced to tri-weekly or quad-weekly frequency of operation. The impetus for those reductions was low patronage cause by the pandemic depressing travel.

Those service reductions were restored on a route-by-route basis in last May and June.

During his testimony, Gardner said the long-distance route service cuts are expected to be temporary with full service restored by March.

In some crew bases that serve long-distance routes, Gardner said the rate of noncompliance with the vaccine rule is relatively high.

Passengers whose trips will be disrupted by the service cutbacks will be contacted and offered the opportunity to rebook their trips.

The hearing was held by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Rail Subcommittee hearing and was titled, “Leveraging Infrastructure and Jobs Act: Plans for Expanding Intercity Passenger Rail.”