Moynihan Train Hall, Amtrak’s home in N.Y.C.
The greeting “All aboard, Amtrak!” began to return to long-distance passenger rail service after a looming freight railroad strike was averted early Thursday morning. The news caused Amtrak to scramble to restart service as quickly as possible after saying on Wednesday it would have to suspend almost all long-distance service due to the strike.
Amtrak, the operator of most of the United States’ passenger rail services, had said late Wednesday that it wouldcancel all passenger train service starting Thursday, with the exception of trains in the Northeast Corridor, because almost 95% of its route network operates on lines owned and dispatched by freight carriers.
“Amtrak is working to quickly restore canceled trains and reaching out to impacted customers to accommodate on first available departures,” the railroad said in a statement on social media Thursday morning.
The only service that hadn’t been cancelled by Amtrak was for trains in the Northeast Corridor, including the railroad’s flagship Acela service.
The Northeast Corridor runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore, to Washington, D.C.
Amtrak’s Acela train service, which operates only in the Northeast Corridor serving nine states and 16 stations, is the fastest in the Western Hemisphere. It is capable of reaching 150 mph (241 km/h) on certain sections of its route between Boston and New Haven and 135 mph (217 km/h) between New York City and Washington, D.C. On average, according to Amtrak, train travel produces 67% fewer emissions per passenger than flying.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
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